Hate on the $75m contract all you want, but the Aggies at Texas A&M are trying to solve the exact problem to which Bryan is referring by giving Jimbo that guaranteed 10 year contract. It’s a valid concern for a university that probably has somewhat inflated expectations and isn’t as well-equipped to win a championship as they think (tons of universities THINK they are only the right coach away from a natty, but very few are). I remember the A&M AD at the time (now at LSU I think) basically saying it was so the university wouldn’t get impatient and try to buy out Jimbo 3-4 years in, right when he starts getting his own recruits experienced in his system. For a team that a LOT of people want to see stay in the middle of the SEC with 8-9 win seasons max, the Aggies are trying desperately to change that narrative and throwing everything they can at it. It’ll be interesting to see if the taste of success they are seeing (so far) this season will only further inflate expectations and speed up timelines - making the Aggie fans more impatient than ever - or if they will actually see it as “ahead of schedule” (has any CFB fan base ever been content with exceeding expectations? Just look at Razorback fans this season...). If the Aggies can somehow turn out some consistent success (maybe 2 New Years 6 bowls in the next 3 years, or a playoff appearance), you might see some other teams trying the “long term investment” approach with head coaches. It sounds like the University of Texas is already considering following little brother’s lead with Urban...

Sorry to tell ya Florida fans, but you have very little chance of taking part in the CFB Playoffs - much less of a chance than A&M. If the SEC championship game is your consolation prize, then good for you!! Florida’s defense is trash and their entire offense revolves around a mismatched TE who will probably be a WR in the NFL. Shut him down and make someone else beat you, it’s and easy recipe, and Trask/Toney weren’t even able to beat A&M - soooo good luck with the Tide. We’ll see ya in Atlanta bud.

This is...new...

I’m pretty sure 10 days is only for those who actually tested POSITIVE. Only 2 A&M players actually tested positive and like 20+ are out for 14 days because they were within 6 feet of someone who tested positive for more than 15 minutes. So the kids who DONT test positive have to wait longer to return than those who do apparently. So pretty much everyone who is out for the Tennessee game for A&M will be out for Ole Miss as well, only the two actual positive cases could possibly be eligible.

Where has Daniels been this whole time?!

Scratch that - I’m going to start coming up with hilarious ways to criticize Gary each week to see if I can get published in this weekly recurring article! Carry on...

Bro did you know Trevor Lawrence and a BUNCH of starters were out for that game though?? I mean, it really shouldn’t matter with all of the 5 stars they get recruiting each year, but STILL. Gotta keep that in mind...

Seriously - does this site have a personal vendetta against this dude?! Lots of people are criticized every week on Twitter, especially in college football. Dedicating a piece of “journalism” to compiling the random hate-musings of a bunch of aging, pathetic CFB-loving trolls trying to out-do each other with witty insults is just shameful. Get some self respect and have some pride in your work.

Arkansas had Catalon ejected for a questionable targeting call last week. Texas A&M lost a DB to a ghost targeting call that was shoulder to shoulder contact against Arkansas - so yeah it is happening everywhere. Two trends this season coming into play - 1) SEC Officiating is terrible, the worst of all CFB; and 2) the targeting rule is messed up and being unevenly enforced, especially with replays.

Awwwww - Aggies and Gators each other’s biggest fans - so cute!

And A&M is clearly the better team by most metrics, that’s the point. Just because you imagine something doesn’t make it true - whoever would be at home would be favored in a rematch right now.

I’m not sure how you put anyone other than Texas A&M at #2, given the OBVIOUS - the Aggie defeat of Florida very recently. A&M is definitely the more complete team, Florida is feast or famine.

Florida over Georgia by at least a touchdown next week. Then they get to lose to Alabama in the title game and we can have 2 SEC West teams in the playoffs!

Late hits happen all the time, that hit was only BARELY late - it doesn’t even look malicious! Flags get thrown or not thrown incorrectly all the time, especially in the SEC this season. Man up and act like the GD adult.

Lol you were right about the offensive line - just the wrong team. Key matchup here was definitely A&M’s offensive line vs the Florida front 7. I did make a little money on the outright win, but didn’t trust myself enough to put serious money down on the upset. :(

...the SEC DOES already let the schools set their own fan size limits - most schools are limited by state or city regulations. Soooo I don’t really think there is a problem here, most teams and head coaches are going to want the stadiums as full as possible for home games.

A&M had capacity limited to 25% - so definitely not 50,000 fans behind him. But I’m sure they do place the fans in the most impactful spots as much as possible...but claiming another state has an advantage because they allow 100% or even 50% of their fans in the stadium when they don’t is a dirty way to try to push your political agenda or get an advantage...

*Marks it down* Hmmmm...it was definitely a ‘statement win’ for someone!

I was wayyyy off about Florida being more talented than A&M obviously. There was definitely a difference between the lines of these two teams, but even the skill positions were advantage A&M. Pretty great back-and-forth game though from an SEC observer though, both offenses looked able to compete - but both defenses looked horrible.

Not with nearly as much success as they had against Alabama and Florida. But again, your inability to watch (or comprehend?) the tape of your opponents before trying to give “insightful” commentary on the game shows clearly. A&M’s O-Line made Florida’s D-Line look like high school kids, and your predictions look about as accurate as my sister-in-law’s...

It’s even more interesting that the entire point of my post was that you can easily manipulate specific data points to prove almost any reasonable point, and yet you ironically ask for data to support the position. Another major point was that drawing broad conclusions with extremely limited, unequal sample sizes is a dangerous way of establishing your assumptions. I think we can all see why...

Man your comments have so much benefit-of-the-doubt and best case scenario for Florida, and WORST case scenario/worst intentions from their opponents. You must get disappointed a lot. Statistics these days are like political “facts” - you can find support in the numbers validate almost any reasonable theory, all depending on how you slice/dice and present the data. Like Florida, other teams are also “playing themselves into shape” right now. You are basing your assumptions on a very small, unequal data set. You seem to have a great grasp of Florida and a hopeful outlook for how much they can progress, but doesn’t seem like you have watched the actual tape from A&M’s two games to give a real objective take on that side of the ball. I only watched part of the Vanderbilt game before the Bama game but it seemed like A&M did just about everything they could to lose that game. And the final score of the Bama game may look like it was completely 1-sided, but A&M confirmed that Bama’s defense isn’t up to the level it has been in years past right now. Are they bad? No. But are they elite right now? Also no. Is Florida’s defense even close? Unlikely. Both the offensive and defensive lines are going to need to step up big for Florida this game.

Really, both the offensive/defensive line matchups should be key matchups in this game. A&M has a line full of grown men on both sides of the ball, I think it’ll be a pretty big difference from Ole Miss and SC. Florida should have the advantage when it comes to skill players. If they can contain #0 from A&M (Alabama couldnt) and make Kellen Mond try to pass downfield, Gators should be able to stay at least a score ahead. But I think the score in this game is frustratingly low...27-20 Florida

I think assuming Florida will perform as well as Alabama is generous (not really you but the comment before). I don’t think Florida has really shown enough, especially on defense against their first 2 opponents, to get the respect of a top 5 ranking. But at this point in the season it’s a lot of projecting on small sample sizes and hopeful thinking. I think the overall variance in games and upsets will continue to be high for another week or two as things continue to settle in, and bookmakers know better than to over-inflate or deflate expectations for a team based on a limited snapshot. A touchdown favorite on the road seems about right, even without a crowd - especially against Jekyll and Hyde A&M.

Because Bo Nix sucks and Auburn doesn’t have the talent?

...quality of wins* but their wind quality is great as well

Lol Vols14 living in a fantasy world. You've clearly convinced yourself that Tennessee is on par with Alabama, and no losses are going to change your mind this year. Honestly even if Tennessee were to beat Alabama this week I wouldn't consider them to be on par with Alabama because anything can happen on any given Saturday. Tennessee's poor play against inferior opponents and significant lack of consistency will keep them 2 steps behind Alabama until they can prove those issues are fixed. Texas a&m definitely has the more impressive resume, both in qualities of wind and how they won the games. They aren't perfect either, but as of the midpoint of the season they are definitely closer to Bama than UT