A first round exit would validate all the media narratives surrounding this team since the Texas loss. "A&M was a product of their schedule", "A&M was fraud; as soon as they play a team with a pulse, they fold", "Elko can't win when the pressure is on", etc. While most of it is inflated media talking points, it would damage our reputation and morale. I can't imagine the meltdown if we lose.

Win next week and we prove that we belong.

I have a feeling we do not win. I ignored all the media narratives until the Texas loss, that was a 2X4 to the forehead.

I thought the ND win away did that this year?!

They'll just come up with something else, even if the Ags win.

HJack20 said:

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A first round exit would validate all the media narratives surrounding this team since the Texas loss. "A&M was a product of their schedule", "A&M was fraud; as soon as they play a team with a pulse, they fold", "Elko can't win when the pressure is on", etc. While most of it is inflated media talking points, it would damage our reputation and morale. I can't imagine the meltdown if we lose.

Win next week and we prove that we belong.

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Every game is important to win, that's what got A&M in the position they're in. The tu game certainly didn't help validate.

Elko is still trying to coach the end of season slump out of this team. It's happening later this year, and not as dramatically, but this team still doesn't seem to know how to close out a season. The reason this win is a big deal is to give the team the confidence the expectation that they can finish strong

Honestly I can handle a first round loss if we show up ready to fight & Miami is just the better team


But if we show up like dumb****s the way we did against sip.... Getting clowned in all phases by a subpar unit, then all the criticism will be more than deserved

Credible Source said:

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I have a feeling we do not win. I ignored all the media narratives until, the Texas loss, that was a 2X4 to the forehead.

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We played about as bad as we could possibly play in all 3 phases of the game...and only lost by 10 to our rival on the road...who was playing their superbowl with nothing else to play for except that game this season.

If that was really a 2x4 to your forehead you're being irrational.

The game was essentially lost by a piss poor defensive game plan. Let's sit back and see if Arch can beat us with all day to throw. The only concerning part of that game to me moving forward is why Elko thought that was a good idea that second half.

It's a better year than we could have hoped for when it got started. We lucked out on schedule, but there are 3 additional games that A&M teams of the past absolutely find a way to lose. The narrative I had in my head for this program has been broken.

Logos Stick said:

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I thought the ND win away did that this year?!

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Did you miss the last month of the season?
The nay sayers and doubters were out en masse.

Agree - No one in the media and most of the college football analyst say we lose.

They see the following from the 30,000 foot level (right or wrong):

We lost our last game against t.u. and had to overcome a 30 to 3 score at half against SC.
Marcel Reed throws interceptions and is not a consistently accurate passing QB.
The media believes that Moss will not play at running back.
That both Miami's Offensive and Defensive lines are better than the Aggies.
That the Miami's secondary can handle KC, Craver, Bussey & Ashton BR.
That, if this is a close game that our FG kicker is not accurate.
Lastly, that aggie fans are selling their tickets to make money and the crowd
will only be about 80% true diehard aggie fans and not the normal 108,000.

This will be the hardest game that we will play in this season.
No one is picking us - We are the underdog and must Fight Like Hell to WIN...

Sefton said:

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They'll just come up with something else, even if the Ags win.

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exactly, Miami lost to Louisville and SMU etc...


you also can not overstate how bad losing to Texas ****ed us

you win that game then most likely beat a wounded Bama team and you are the 2/3 seed playing the winner of ole miss tulane

HJack20 said:

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A first round exit would validate all the media narratives surrounding this team since the Texas loss. "A&M was a product of their schedule", "A&M was fraud; as soon as they play a team with a pulse, they fold", "Elko can't win when the pressure is on", etc. While most of it is inflated media talking points, it would damage our reputation and morale. I can't imagine the meltdown if we lose.

Win next week and we prove that we belong.

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Ignore BAS. Ignore media. Discard superstition. Support the team. And don't stop until time runs out and OT is resolved.

We have to quit inventing excuses to act like losers.

Gyles Marrett said:

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Credible Source said:

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I have a feeling we do not win. I ignored all the media narratives until, the Texas loss, that was a 2X4 to the forehead.

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We played about as bad as we could possibly play in all 3 phases of the game...and only lost by 10 to our rival on the road...who was playing their superbowl with nothing else to play for except that game this season.

If that was really a 2x4 to your forehead you're being irrational.

The game was essentially lost by a piss poor defensive game plan. Let's sit back and see if Arch can beat us with all day to throw. The only concerning part of that game to me moving forward is why Elko thought that was a good idea that second half.

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I hope so, I'd love to see the team that beat LSU AND Mizzou show up next weekend, but they legitimately seem to have peaked too early and have been fading since.

Yes. It is important for the next step for the program. That said, a loss doesn't move them backwards. The season was still very good, even taking into account the weaker schedule. A&M won the games they were supposed to. This is a step forward.

A&M has to start figuring out how to win the Big Games when its all on the line. They have never been able to do this.

Nobody would have believed we'd be sitting at 11-1 and in the playoff before the season started. Do we deserve to be a higher seed? Absolutely. Did we get hosed with the hardest path to the championship? Yep.

If any of us were offered 11-1 in the playoff as a 7 seed with a home game first round, we would have taken it in an instant pre-season.

Let's also not forget this is only year 2 of Elko and it's the best season we've had in over 30 years. We're recruiting very well, making solid use of the portal, and the culture certainly seems to be moving in the right direction. This is the kind of juice that can warm up those BMA checkbooks.

I think a lot of people are looking at this as some sort of once in a lifetime Cinderella season, I think we're at the beginning of a new era of A&M football. The sleeping giant may have awoken.

Pichael Thompson said:

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Honestly I can handle a first round loss if we show up ready to fight & Miami is just the better team


But if we show up like dumb****s the way we did against sip.... Getting clowned in all phases by a subpar unit, then all the criticism will be more than deserved

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This is how I view it. I don't mind losing a close game to a good team. I do mind us showing up not ready to play and getting embarrassed.

We had another Nov swan song…not as bad as last yr, but it happened (a top 5 team doesn't allow USCe to own a 1st half and lose all 3 phases vs ur rival knowing the significance of the game).

Elko is ahead of sched, but issue of winning 11 games means he reset expectations and told everyone to jettison the past of BAS.

Unfortunately tu performance proved the team not quite there mentally for the next steps and hard to just turn that switch on.

UM is better than tu IMO (DL, DBs, OL, RBs and a real passing QB) and not sure we really know how to be ready yet (but hope Elko somehow wills it into them via play and not all the cheap talk that we seem to be doing on many levels).

Bain will go out of his way to try and make a stmt this game due to pre talk (many forget he's projected as possible top 10 pick on some services).

We shall see how well prepared physically and mentally they are. BTHO miami!

Gyles Marrett said:

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The game was essentially lost by a piss poor defensive game plan. Let's sit back and see if Arch can beat us with all day to throw. The only concerning part of that game to me moving forward is why Elko thought that was a good idea that second half.

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We also had a piss poor offensive plan. And a piss poor kicking game plan.

This next game is important... BECAUSE IT IS THE NEXT GAME!

We just need to go 1-0. At home.

The last game is not important.

The previous 11 games are not important.

Last season is not important.

Any potential future games beyond the next one are not important.

If we can get our players to focus only on what their responsibilities are for Saturday morning and early afternoon on 20 December 2025, including beating the HECK out of the opposing players - being stronger and faster and tougher than they are - then they will make me and all Aggies proud!!!

BTHO Miami!!!

90ags said:

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We had another Nov swan song…not as bad as last yr, but it happened (a top 5 team doesn't allow USCe to own a 1st half and lose all 3 phases vs ur rival knowing the significance of the game).

Elko is ahead of sched, but issue of winning 11 games means he reset expectations and told everyone to jettison the past of BAS.

Unfortunately tu performance proved the team not quite there mentally for the next steps and hard to just turn that switch on.

UM is better than tu IMO (DL, DBs, OL, RBs and a real passing QB) and not sure we really know how to be ready yet (but hope Elko somehow wills it into them via play and not all the cheap talk that we seem to be doing on many levels).

Bain will go out of his way to try and make a stmt this game due to pre talk (many forget he's projected as possible top 10 pick on some services).

We shall see how well prepared physically and mentally they are. BTHO miami!

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A November Swan song…

The Aggies dominated Mizzou on the road. Had the largest comeback in school history and went 3-1. Ignoring the 2020 COVID season, the last time the Ags went 3-1 in November was 7 years ago.

UM lost to SMU and Louisville and has an SOR of 14 and an SOS of 45. The hardest road game they played this season was against SMU, #20 according to Sagarin.

If you are going to go out of your way to discount the Aggies season based on 2 games they went 1-1 in, make sure you do the exact same for Miami who has 2 losses.

I get it's super easy to be scared and fearful and whiney, but come on. The direction this board is trending for this home playoff game is embarrassing.

90ags said:

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We had another Nov swan song…not as bad as last yr, but it happened (a top 5 team doesn't allow USCe to own a 1st half and lose all 3 phases vs ur rival knowing the significance of the game).

Elko is ahead of sched, but issue of winning 11 games means he reset expectations and told everyone to jettison the past of BAS.

Unfortunately tu performance proved the team not quite there mentally for the next steps and hard to just turn that switch on.

UM is better than tu IMO (DL, DBs, OL, RBs and a real passing QB) and not sure we really know how to be ready yet (but hope Elko somehow wills it into them via play and not all the cheap talk that we seem to be doing on many levels).

Bain will go out of his way to try and make a stmt this game due to pre talk (many forget he's projected as possible top 10 pick on some services).

We shall see how well prepared physically and mentally they are. BTHO miami!

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I think they are better than sip except they don't have a QB running threat, which killed us in that game.

The swoon that started with SC has to end. It looked like we got complacent after the road sweep. If we had lost to SC maybe we beat tu. Time to flip the script

oh is winning the playoff game good?

Media will say Miami wasn't good and didn't deserve to be in the playoff

Logos Stick said:

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I thought the ND win away did that this year?!

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"ND sucks, that's why they're not in the playoffs."

Nah, not that important. Let's e-blow it off.

Gaius Rufus said:

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90ags said:

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We had another Nov swan song…not as bad as last yr, but it happened (a top 5 team doesn't allow USCe to own a 1st half and lose all 3 phases vs ur rival knowing the significance of the game).

Elko is ahead of sched, but issue of winning 11 games means he reset expectations and told everyone to jettison the past of BAS.

Unfortunately tu performance proved the team not quite there mentally for the next steps and hard to just turn that switch on.

UM is better than tu IMO (DL, DBs, OL, RBs and a real passing QB) and not sure we really know how to be ready yet (but hope Elko somehow wills it into them via play and not all the cheap talk that we seem to be doing on many levels).

Bain will go out of his way to try and make a stmt this game due to pre talk (many forget he's projected as possible top 10 pick on some services).

We shall see how well prepared physically and mentally they are. BTHO miami!

---

A November Swan song…

The Aggies dominated Mizzou on the road. Had the largest comeback in school history and went 3-1. Ignoring the 2020 COVID season, the last time the Ags went 3-1 in November was 7 years ago.

UM lost to SMU and Louisville and has an SOR of 14 and an SOS of 45. The hardest road game they played this season was against SMU, #20 according to Sagarin.

If you are going to go out of your way to discount the Aggies season based on 2 games they went 1-1 in, make sure you do the exact same for Miami who has 2 losses.

I get it's super easy to be scared and fearful and whiney, but come on. The direction this board is trending for this home playoff game is embarrassing.

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Miami has dominated and blown out their last 4 opponents. It's easy to see that Miami is the hot trendy team to pick and A&M hasn't played a complete game since Missouri which was over a month ago now.

Need to win the next 2 games to break the negative media cycle. Even then, they will point to the game against Ohio State as being basically a home game for A&M. Only way to shut these mofo's up is to just win.

I agree with OP. If we don't beat Miami I'll have serious concerns about winning the national championship this season.

Sefton said:

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They'll just come up with something else, even if the Ags win.

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Correct

OP, I'm curious, do you typically waste time listening too others that have angendas against you?

My gut says there's no way we win this game. The stars are aligned for a letdown

Given the historical performance of our program, it is a gigantic game. We've never made the playoffs and our schedule next year is brutal. We tied for the Big XII South in 2010 and won it all in 1998. We certainly had a nice run in the SWC in the 80s and 90s but suffered on the bigger stages against national opponents in bowl games. We are at home and playing a game against a quality opponent. It's a tossup game (IMO). A win propels us against the defending national champions who were ranked #1 all year. Another gigantic opportunity to turn the narrative at Texas A&M.

SilverTaps86 said:

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Gyles Marrett said:

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The game was essentially lost by a piss poor defensive game plan. Let's sit back and see if Arch can beat us with all day to throw. The only concerning part of that game to me moving forward is why Elko thought that was a good idea that second half.

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We also had a piss poor offensive plan. And a piss poor kicking game plan.

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Yep, it seemed like the "plan" for the sip game was to do absolutely nothing to put any sort of pressure on the sips. We had three drives in the first half where we moved the ball well and then got into the red zone. We scored one TD when we actually ran some inventive plays that put pressure on the defense. The other two consisted of boring, predictable, into the teeth of the defense play calls that resulted in a FG and a missed FG.

Then the second half happened and we quit putting pressure on Manning and the offensive play calling went to another level of stupid.

I agree completely. We win and lose to OSU and that's a hell of a year.

If we lose this game then it's basically just last year over again only we happened to have a miracle against USC. We still played our worst football down the stretch when it mattered and we still lost all the games when something tangible was on the line