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Texas A&M Football

Rivalry or not, Aggies looking to LSU game as a must-win

November 24, 2020
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Conventional wisdom suggests that if someone must ask the price of an expensive car or home, he cannot afford it.

The same would hold true for college football rivalries. If one has to ask if a game is a rivalry, it is not.

“it’s a very important game. Whether it’s a rivalry or not, that’s for other people to decide. It’s just an extremely important game each and every year.”
- A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher

There is no question Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn and Georgia-Florida are rivalries. Nobody has to ask.

The local media — which for eight years has been pushing the narrative that Texas A&M-LSU is a blood feud — proved earlier this week that it is not by asking if it is.

If the question didn’t prove it, then the A&M players’ answers did.

“I wouldn’t look at it as a rivalry game,” sophomore receiver Ainias Smith said. “I haven’t been here long enough for it to be a rivalry game, so I wouldn’t know.”

Senior defensive tackle Jayden Peevy has been around long enough to know.

“It’s just another game,” Peevy said. “Another opponent in the way. We want to go 1-and-0 each week. That’s our goal.”

Those quotes will make some bristle. They should be celebrated because A&M has much more at stake than a manufactured rivalry or revenge for last year’s 50-7 loss.

These Aggies are focused on the grandiose possibilities. A&M is fifth in the AP poll and should be ranked no lower than that when the initial College Football Playoffs rankings are announced on Tuesday night.

The Aggies (5-1) should be ranked ahead of No. 6 Florida (5-1) on the strength of a 41-38 victory over the Gators.

Braden Huggins/Texas A&M Athletics
The Aggies’ resumé boasts perhaps college football’s best win: a 41-38 victory over Florida.

A&M should be ranked ahead of Cincinnati (8-0), which has not beaten an opponent currently in the Top 25.

A&M should be ahead of BYU (9-0), which has played a cotton-soft schedule. The Cougars’ opponents are a combined 30-39. Further, BYU just turned down a chance to play Washington.

A&M should be ranked ahead of Pac-12 leaders USC and Oregon, who have been unimpressive in posting 3-0 starts.

A&M should be ahead of any team from the Big 12, including Oklahoma (6-2). The Sooners’ apologists argue that losses to Kansas State and Iowa State should not be held against them because they occurred early in the season.

OK, A&M lost to Alabama in Week Two, so that loss should be forgiven, too.

Besides, Iowa State (6-2) — who leads the Big 12 standings — lost to Louisiana (7-1), 31-14. The Ragin’ Cajuns have a better argument to get into the playoff than any Big 12 team does.

Getting into the playoff is where the Aggies’ attention should be. So, of course, it is not.

“I’m not going to look at (CFP show),” Smith said. “I’m not too much worried about it.”

Apparently, the Aggies are following the lead of coach Jimbo Fisher, who said he wouldn’t watch the CFP rankings show.

“I’ll be in there watching film like crazy trying to get ready for Wednesday. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday … those are grind days. I won’t have time to look at a TV. Somebody will tell me,” Fisher said. “That’s your ultimate goal of where you want to go. We understand that. It’s great to be mentioned. It’s great to be up there. You want to be in those situations, for sure, because you don’t want to have to climb.

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The last time Texas A&M and LSU met at Kyle Field, the Aggies won a 7OT thriller.

“What we have to do now is take care of our business one week at a time. If we’re in there and close, that’s awesome, but it ain’t going to make us win a game. It ain’t going to make us lose a game.”

Fisher’s message is that his team need not worry about rankings because if they lose, they won’t be ranked high anyway.

The Aggies need to beat LSU because they are in the playoff discussion. They need to beat LSU because every win bolsters their playoff resumé.

That’s their motivation. That’s why beating LSU doesn’t mean any more to the Aggies than beating Auburn or Tennessee or Ole Miss.

Trying to label it a rivalry doesn’t make the game bigger, especially when players obviously don’t see it that way Alabama and Auburn players see the Iron Bowl.

“Whether it’s a rivalry or not, I don’t know that. I just know it’s a very important football game,” Fisher said. “One, it’s the next game. It’s a big game, and it’s a team you have to play well against to reach your goals in the SEC West to get to where you have to go in the national spotlight.

“So it’s a very important game. Whether it’s a rivalry or not, that’s for other people to decide. It’s just an extremely important game each and every year.”

Discussion from...

Rivalry or not, Aggies looking to LSU game as a must-win

6,720 Views | 11 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by Gil Renard
Colonel A. 1976
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AG
It is a big game....LSU 50 Ags 7, that in my book makes it a big game as well as what we need to do to stay where we are in the rankings.
Col. A 1976
The Chicken Ranch
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AG
What a BS article.

A&M/LSU has been a rivals for over 100 years. Some years it is bigger than others, but there has always been drama with this game.

And we need to kick their @$$es this year. He all yeah, it's a rivalry!
TAMU74
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AG
Rivalry games can't be just a one-way street to be a true rival.
Both teams have to see each other as such.
I seriously doubt Lsu sees us as a rival compared to their longtime SEC rival Florida.
The Chicken Ranch
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AG
LSU doesn't see Florida as a rival so much as they do Alabama and Ole Miss. They didn't start playing Florida regularly until the 1970s, and UF was terrible until the 90s.
PyriteAg
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The Chicken Ranch said:

What a BS article.

A&M/LSU has been a rivals for over 100 years. Some years it is bigger than others, but there has always been drama with this game.

And we need to kick their @$$es this year. He all yeah, it's a rivalry!
He was only quoting Jimbo. It's right there in that quote box.
Agsuffering@bulaw
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Too many stops and starts and too many guarantee games. They came to cs in 1920. Didn't come back until 1987. They used us to get easy wins and would stop scheduling us when we were up.

They have not seen us as an equal for the past hundred years.

The Chicken Ranch
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Agsuffering@bulaw said:

They have not seen us as an equal for the past hundred years.


. Kind of like another rival of ours, correct?
Agsuffering@bulaw
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Yes, but the sips came to Kyle every other year. We were just business to LSU. When we were up, their roi went down and they stopped scheduling us until we came back down.

Sips controlled the swc politically and could have jacked with scheduling rules. The old sec allowed members to set their own conference schedules. Just had to play a minimum number of games. Why bama didn't play Auburn for a 40 year stretch.
AWP 97
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The Chicken Ranch said:

LSU doesn't see Florida as a rival so much as they do Alabama and Ole Miss. They didn't start playing Florida regularly until the 1970s, and UF was terrible until the 90s.


You must not know many LSU fans. I have a lot of family and friends that either graduated from or are t-shirt LSU fans and the one team they truly hate is Florida.
Gil Renard
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TAMU74 said:

Rivalry games can't be just a one-way street to be a true rival.
Both teams have to see each other as such.
I seriously doubt Lsu sees us as a rival compared to their longtime SEC rival Florida.


LSU is 4th down the list on biggest rivalry game for the gators
Gil Renard
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The Chicken Ranch said:

Agsuffering@bulaw said:

They have not seen us as an equal for the past hundred years.


. Kind of like another rival of ours, correct?


Arkansas? Bama?
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