Jimbo Fisher shares his thoughts on the offseason momentum that can be gained by Texas A&M in the upcoming Texas Bowl
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Losing five games this season wasn’t something many Texas A&M fans envisioned heading into Year 2 of the Jimbo Fisher era but that’s where the Aggie program stands after playing a brutal league schedule, which included a trip to Georgia this season, and finishing up a home-and-home series with a trip to Clemson.
The 12th Man will be expecting better in 2020 and some momentum can certainly be gained heading into the offseason with a strong close to the season by beating Oklahoma State in the upcoming 2019 Texas Bowl.
How much momentum can be gained by the Aggies Friday night is debatable, but here’s what Coach Fisher had to say when asked about it during his Texas Bowl press conference.
“It’s a great feeling because it sends you off in the offseason with a positive note, and you want to win the bowl game, and you want to play well, but it’s still two different football teams. That group, this is the last time this group of guys will ever play on a football field together,” Fisher said. “When you put that in perspective, you don’t think about that. This is the exact group of guys, this is the last time they’ll ever play together. That dynamic on that team is right now. You want to end it great for them.
“It’s a great, positive experience for your guys learning how to prepare for your bowl game, how to mentally get ready, how to have the preparations because that’s an art.”
While it sounds like Fisher is downplaying how much momentum can truly be gained in a postseason bowl, he isn’t ready to dismiss the fact that many of the players on his young roster will likely gain some experience by participating in the postseason that could pay off down the line.
“So for your young guys, the ability to understand how to prepare for a bowl game, I think that’s very good. It carries on, and it’s a great feeling going into the offseason that you had success in the games. It’s great for your program,” Fisher added. “There’s no doubt, you want to win the game, but as far as going into the next season, that team has to develop its own identity and its own culture because the guys on the team previously aren’t there anymore.
“There’s some guys that are going to change. You bring in a whole new group of guys that you guys have all spoiled and told them how great they are and they’re all superstars in the recruiting world and they’re all going to start at freshmen. So I’ve got to deal with that when they get back.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
