SDS's Connor O'Gara predicts the Aggies to go 10-2 in 2021

Key notes from Connor O’Gara interview

• I feel like I should say that I just want to hug an Aggie fan every time you talk about my projection. Everyone in College Station is hoping this is the year, and my projection would be the most painful possible way for this season to happen. I hope it doesn't play out this year.
   
• Going into last season, I did not like the idea that Texas A&M would simply get better because of the schedule in 2020. They played 310 minutes of football in 2019 against top-20 opponents, and they led for just over seven minutes. At the beginning of last year, they struggled early but very clearly got better. By the end of the season, I was banging the drum for them to get into the playoff. They were beating teams in a controlling manner, and they’ll do more of that this year. That's why I'm high on them going into this year.
   
• If Jimbo Fisher hadn't succeeded last year, it would've been four years of wondering if he was wasting the opportunity. In year three, most of the roster was his, and there wasn't any turnover at the coordinator positions. If he had a 7-5-type of season last year, you couldn't call him a top-ten coach in college football. Obviously, that was not the case, and the Aggies went 9-1. A&M had a phenomenal season, and Jimbo deserves a lot of credit for that.
   
• Fisher might not have been set up to succeed in year one the way he was set up in 2020. He did some nice things with Kellen Mond, who was a better, more developed quarterback. Games against Alabama are always going to be the measuring stick. That is how Fisher will be judged moving forward, and it'll be about winning SEC championships and getting to the playoff more than once.
   
• I remember watching games last year where the announcers would talk about A&M needing to stretch the field. It would be like 21-7, and they'd be controlling possession. What they were doing was working, so do they have to stretch the field or take a shot? I think they were hurt to a certain regard by today's college football. It's all about the receivers, and when Alabama and Ohio State are doing it one way, you get knocked for going against them. Georgia has been knocked. I think Texas A&M was held back in the national regard in part because they didn't stretch the field the way other teams could.
   
• If my 10-2 projection plays out, it would be a rollercoaster for Texas A&M fans. You'd start SEC play with a loss to Arkansas, and that's a decade-long streak now. Arkansas fans are hoping this can be the year, and what worries me for A&M is what Barry Odom can throw against a first-time starting quarterback. With the veterans the Razorbacks have, they can disguise some of those looks, and I see some struggles there. It could be a breakthrough type of game for Arkansas.
   
• I still have A&M beating Alabama. If Mike Elko wants to only have four guys rush the passer, this is an A&M secondary that can handle it better than they have in the past. They have the power up front to compete with Alabama. There will not be a better atmosphere in college football than the one at Kyle Field on Oct. 9, and I think that is too much for Bryce Young.
   
• I watched an LSU team that looked like they had no interest in playing football in 2020. If A&M were 10-1 going into Death Valley, I think LSU would relish the opportunity to play spoiler. I think Max Johnson would be capable of rising to the occasion. I hope Texas A&M fans don't have to experience that.
   
• In a way, it's strange, but Texas A&M can help its national brand with my projection than last year because it's all about Alabama. Beating Alabama is a sure sign that you can compete. A&M is in a position where people want to see them fall off. People want to point to 2020 and say the Aggies were built for that year only. People want to say they're going back to an eight or nine-win team. If they could have an SEC West title path paved by beating Alabama, they'd still go to a New Year's Six bowl and finish in the top five. Bear Bryant didn't even do that at Texas A&M.
   
• I love Ainias Smith, and I came to appreciate his game last year. One of my co-workers told me that if we're sleeping on a player in the SEC, it's Ainias Smith. He's not just a scatback because what he can do in the slot and making people miss in the open field is special. I think he's that dude, and he gives you a different element on offense. He's going to be such a safety valve for that first-year starting quarterback. A more entrenched role will help him as Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane solidify that backfield. I think he has All-SEC potential for sure.