Fisher, Aggies view Orange Bowl as an opportunity, not a let down

A winter trip to Miami typically would not be a source of disappointment, but this has been an atypical football season.

A day after Texas A&M closed out an 8-1 Southeastern Conference campaign with a 34-13 victory over Tennessee, the Aggies were hoping to be selected for the four-team College Football Playoff field.

But for whatever reason, A&M remained fifth in the CFP rankings on Sunday morning. As a consolation prize, the Aggies will play North Carolina (8-3) in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2.

The news resulted in a series of social media protests from Texas A&M players, coaches and support staff.

Yet, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher insisted there was no frustration within his program. Instead, he suggested the Aggies would react as if they were overcoming a turnover or controversial call.

“It's like having a bad play,” Fisher said on an Orange Bowl press conference. “You get disappointed for a minute, and then you play the next play. You move on. That's life. We've had a great opportunity. We've had a great year. We've done great things, and we put ourselves in a position to be in (the playoff), but we weren’t. So, now it's time to move on.”

That might be easier said than done.

Since the inception of the four-team playoff in 2014, teams that finished No. 5 in the CFP standings are just 2-4 in their New Year’s Six bowl games.

Some fifth-ranked teams might use a perceived slight as motivation to prove to the CFP committee wrong. Others seem disinterested and appear to go through the motions on game day.

No. 5 Ohio State defeated No. 8 USC, 24-7, in the 2017 Cotton Bowl. No. 5 Georgia defeated No. 7 Baylor, 26-17, in the Sugar Bowl last year.

But No. 5 Georgia lost to No. 15 Texas, 28-21 in the 2018 Sugar Bowl. That was the game in which Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger erroneously proclaimed the Longhorns were “back.”

Other fifth-ranked teams to falter in bowl games include Penn State, which lost to No. 9 USC, 52-49, in the 2016 Rose Bowl. Iowa lost to No. 6 Stanford in the 2015 Rose Bowl, 46-16. Baylor lost to No. 8 Michigan State in the 2014 Cotton Bowl, 42-41.

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Texas A&M finished their regular season on a seven-game winning streak after defeated Tennessee on Saturday,

Fisher said he doesn’t want the Aggies to go to Miami as an angry football team.

“You can create a chip on your shoulder, but if those are the real reasons you have to motivate yourself to play, your program is not where it needs to be,” Fisher said. “I think it's the next game. It's the next play. It's the next situation. Whatever it may be, you handle it and move on because that's what you do as a human being, and you move on in life.

“I hope we're just ready to play a very good North Carolina football team, who’s a very well-coached team that I have a lot of respect for and that we do our job and play our best game.”

The Aggies’ “best” game resulted in A&M defeating then-No. 4 Florida, 41-38, on Oct. 10. That kicked off a seven-game winning streak that propelled A&M into the top five.

In just their third season under Fisher, the Aggies have a chance to finish ranked among the nation’s top five for the first time since 2012.

North Carolina coach Mack Brown, who turned a moribund Texas program into a national champion 15 years ago, is impressed that Fisher has accomplished so much so quickly at A&M.

“I think that Jimbo has gotten (A&M’s program) to this point much quicker than I thought he would,” Brown said. “To be in that (West) division in the SEC and to be able to compete like he has and put his team in a position that arguably should be in the Final Four today — I think it's amazing what he's been able to accomplish in such a short time.”

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Mack Brown is in the second season of his second stint at North Carolina. He posted a 10-4 record vs. A&M while at Texas.

Brown and Fisher both advocated for expanding the playoff to eight teams. The omission of A&M might provide fuel to expedite an inevitable expansion.

However, Fisher said an Orange Bowl appearance could boost the Aggies in other more immediate ways.

“I think it shows the trajectory we're on and what we're trying to accomplish. That we are being relevant in the national conversations and where we're going,” Fisher said. “Our brand is becoming a national brand. We've got a great state here in Texas that we want to recruit the heck out of, but we also got to brand ourselves nationally across the board.

“I think (playing in the Orange Bowl) sends a sign to players out there that, ‘Hey, A&M is on the rise.’ We're doing the things we need to do to have success, and this is a tremendous program, and hopefully, they'll want to come be a part of it.”