Fisher's arrival proves timing may be everything in Aggies' title quest

In retrospect, 1929 wasn’t a good year to invest heavily in the stock market. Also, 2008 probably wasn’t the most advantageous year to take out a mortgage.

Years ending in zero were not the best to be elected president. From 1840 with William Henry Harrison to 1960 with John F. Kennedy, every president elected in a year ending in zero died in office. That “curse” ended in 1980 with Ronald Reagan. Reagan didn’t die in office, but he did get shot.

Sometimes, the timing just isn’t right.

Texas A&M has waited a long time. The Aggies' last football national championship was won in 1939. That’s a 79-year drought. Hence the arrival of reign-maker Jimbo Fisher. He’s here to end the drought. He’s changing the culture. He’s making the Aggies tougher. He’s making them more accountable.

But the Aggies don’t project as national championship contenders in 2018.

That might be a good thing. The timing isn’t right. History shows that teams that win national championships in years that end with eight may be jinxed in future years.

TCU won the AP title in 1938. The Frogs haven’t won a championship since. Michigan won the AP title in ’48 and didn’t win again for 49 years. LSU won in ’58. Its next championship came in ’03. Ohio State won the AP title in ’68. The Buckeyes didn’t win another until 2002.

Notre Dame won in ’88 and still awaits its next championship. The same for Tennessee in ’98. Florida won it in ’08 and has been largely irrelevant since.

Alabama won in 1978 and then again in ’79. Clearly, the same rules don’t apply to Alabama. But for everyone else it seems the it’s best to wait than win in years that end with eight.

Realistically, A&M need not worry about any jinxes. No team has won a  national championship in a head coach’s first season since Miami won under Larry Coker in 2001. Miami also won in 1989 in its first season under Dennis Erickson. Michigan was named the 1948 national champion in its first season under Bennie Oosterbaan.

To his credit, Fisher isn’t conceding anything. If he doesn’t think A&M can win the national championship this year, he isn’t saying so. At least not publicly.

That’s better than former Texas coach Charlie Strong, who raised the white flag three months before the 2014 season started.

“We will not be in the national championship game,” Strong told a group of boosters in Fort Worth that year. He was truthful. Texas went 6-7 in Strong’s first season.

Margaret Connett, TexAgs

Fisher's track record indicates he'll boost Texas A&M's win total quickly. He'll have plenty of returning starters to work with in 2018.

The Aggies figure to fare better in Fisher’s first year. He has a lot of starters returning from last year’s squad that finished 7-6. There is reason for optimism. Fisher’s influence alone figures to be good for another win or two. Or more? A 7-win season isn’t exactly a table-setter for a national championship run.

Except…

Oklahoma won the 2000 championship after finishing 7-5 the previous season. Clemson and Georgia were both 6-5 before winning championships in ’81 and ’80, respectively. USC won the ’62 national title after going 4-5-1 in ’61.

Heck, Minnesota was 2-7 in 1959 and then was voted champion in 1960 despite losing its bowl game and finishing 8-2.

In fact, Texas A&M was 4-4-1 the year before the Aggies’ AP national championship. It’s been a long wait since.

And that one wasn’t even in a year that ended in eight.