The yellow Yahama 90 Enduro was a constant subject of envy for a lower middle-class 15-year-old kid.
Even after my older brother wrecked it.
The accident rendered motorcycles off-limits. Pleas were ignored. Protests of unfairness fell on deaf ears.
That was until August of 1976.
Perhaps Mom had an epiphany that a younger son shouldn’t be denied what an older son had been given. Perhaps, she had grown tired of constant whining. Or perhaps she had grown worried about my academic future.
Whatever, she was willing to bargain. Straight A’s would earn a motorcycle.
Mom understood difficult tasks can be accomplished and lofty goals can be achieved with the right motivation.
Which brings us to the remainder of Texas A&M’s football season.
Ambitious goals of winning the Southeastern Conference West division, an SEC championship and a place in the College Football Playoff are all attainable.
It starts with posting straight A’s — consecutive victories over Auburn, Arkansas and Alabama.
Obviously, more work will remain. Trips to Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU still loom, but victories in the next three games would establish the Aggies as legitimate threats in the SEC.
“The stakes are for sure higher. We try to go out and win every SEC game… Every game in general.”
- Texas A&M QB Conner Weigman
The fact hasn’t been lost on the Aggies.
“The stakes are for sure higher,” sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman said. “We try to go out and win every SEC game… Every game in general.
“Everyone has a pretty good mind frame on what we’re about to go and do. I feel like everyone is ready to go and do it.”
Doubts about A&M surfaced in a disappointing 48-33 loss at Miami. A lopsided win over ULM did little to assuage those doubts.
Yet, the Aggies’ chances of hitting that Auburn, Arkansas and Alabama trifecta have improved since the Miami loss.
The same night A&M fell at Miami, Alabama was pushed around in a 34-24 loss to Texas. Also, Auburn benefitted from three missed field goals, two interceptions and a fumble to escape Cal with a narrow 14-10 win.
Then, last week, Alabama struggled to eke past South Florida, and Arkansas lost to BYU.
For what it’s worth — which is nothing — A&M’s loss might be the least egregious among the SEC West’s non-conference losses.
Alabama and Arkansas lost at home. LSU was blown out by Florida State. Even Ole Miss’ signature victory over Tulane was against a backup quarterback.
Texas A&M has its own reasons for optimism moving forward. They center around offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino and Weigman.
Under Petrino’s influence, the A&M offense has scored 132 points in three games. That’s more than the Aggies scored in their first six games last season.
Jamie Maury, TexAgs
Texas A&M ranks third in the SEC in scoring offense, behind Ole Miss and LSU.
A&M ranks 12th in the nation in scoring. The Aggies are 11th in passing offense. Weigman is among the country’s top 10 in passing. A&M’s receivers have proved to be among the best in the country.
The Aggies are no longer hoping to score. They’re expecting to score.
“Coach Petrino and I try to preach to every guy on the team (that) every time we touch the ball, we want to score,” Weigman said. “I feel like that message has gotten across well. You’ve got to lock in every drive, every play. I feel like we’ve been doing a pretty good job of that.”
Alas, there are two sides on the line of scrimmage.
Defense is a concern. The pass rush has been largely anemic. In the loss to Miami, pass coverage was poor and tackling was worse.
Dramatic improvement is necessary to make a serious run at an SEC title. The Aggies cannot expect to score 40 points on a weekly basis.
But A&M’s next three opponents are struggling to pass. Arkansas’ passing offense is ranked 84th in the nation. Auburn is 89th. Alabama is 101st.
Arkansas has allowed seven sacks. Alabama has allowed 12.
There’s a great opportunity to bolster the pass rush and improve the secondary.
The Aggies are obviously highly motivated to fix those problems. Then, reaching all the lofty goals becomes even more realistic.
Of course, that requires performance and production. Motivation for even the most coveted goals isn’t enough.
Don’t I know? Never got that motorcycle. Got an F in typing. Seriously, typing.
Damn manual typewriters.
