Things certainly don’t get easier for Texas A&M and head coach Jimbo Fisher. The Aggies, 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the SEC, are sub-.500 for the 1st time for Fisher, whose 5th season in College Station continues to trend toward his worst. That would be Fisher’s 2019 team, which lost 5 games. His worst season as a head coach was his last at Florida State, when the Seminoles went 5-6 before he exited for the lucrative contract with Texas A&M.

The Aggies host No. 15 Ole Miss (7-1, 3-1) for a 6:30 p.m. CT SEC encounter at Kyle Field. It’s the team’s first home game in 6 weeks. They have won 3 of the past 4 games against the Rebels and lead the all-time series, 9-4. But trends don’t always continue in the same direction, as Texas A&M found out in a 30-24 loss at South Carolina, its first loss to the Gamecocks.

Ole Miss is also coming off a disappointing 45-20 setback at LSU on Saturday and look to rebound against the reeling Aggies.

Any salvaging of the season may have circled the drain when it was announced this week that 3 offensive linemen will miss the rest of the season with injuries, and at least 3 freshmen from that historic 2022 recruiting class have been suspended indefinitely.

Bryce Foster, Aki Ogunbiyi and Jordan Spasojevic-Moko will miss the remainder of the 2022 season. Foster, a center voted to the Freshman All-America team last year, and starting left guard Ogunbiyi are out with knee injuries, while Spasojevic-Moko is sidelined with an ankle injury.

An overwhelmingly young offensive line may be the norm in the final 5 games for a sputtering offense that ranks last in the SEC in scoring (22.3 points a game) and 13th in the conference in total offense (342.7 yards a game).

The hits just keep on coming. It was reported on Monday that at least 3 freshmen have been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.

On Tuesday morning, Yahoo Sports reported the 3 freshmen suspended include offensive tackle PJ Williams, cornerback Denver Harris, and wide receiver Chris Marshall. The suspensions for Marshall and Harris are their 2nd of the season. Both missed the Miami game, along with DB Smoke Bouie and WR Evan Stewart, for violation of team rules.

And injuries continue to jumble the situation at quarterback. Opening Day starter Haynes King left the game on Saturday with an injured shoulder. He was filling in for Max Johnson, who took over the QB duties until a hand injury put him on the sideline.

Freshman 5-star recruit Conner Weigman, who many believe is the future for the Aggies at that position, saw his first action on Saturday at the college level. But Fisher said early this week that King will be ready Saturday against Ole Miss.

There’s more drama in Aggieland right now than a TV reality series, and Fisher’s future there will depend on whether or not he can smooth it all out. Having to face an angry Rebels team coming off their first loss of the season only complicates matters.

Ole Miss is a 3-point favorite to win at Kyle Field, where Texas A&M holds a 23-5 record since 2018. The Aggies have won 2 of 3 home games this season.

They’ll look to snap a 3-game skid, tied for the longest losing streak in one season since the Aggies dropped 4 in a row to end the 2005 campaign. That year, Texas A&M finished 5-6 for head coach Dennis Franchione.

It’s bad enough that Fisher is being compared, and with good reason, to former head coach Kevin Sumlin. But a loss on Saturday and watch the “Fisher = Coach Fran” memes pop up on the internet. In his 5 seasons as head coach at Texas A&M, Franchione compiled a 32-29 record, which included a best record of 9-4 (2006) and a worst record of 4-8 in his first season at College Station (2003).

Yeah, I’d say it’s a must-win on Saturday for Fisher and the Aggies.