The Aggies finish the 2023 regular season with a record of 7-5 (4-4 in SEC). Now they await their bowl invite. Most believe it will come from the Texas Bowl, but we’ll find out officially next Sunday.

They also await the arrival of their next head coach. It appeared for a few minutes late Saturday night that Kentucky’s Mark Stoops was on his way. Somebody changed their mind. Stoops is staying at Kentucky, and the Aggies are still searching for Jimbo Fisher’s replacement.

They closed the season with another road loss, their 10th consecutive true road game loss. Texas A&M still hasn’t won on the road since a 35-14 victory at Missouri in mid-October of 2021 and hasn’t beaten a ranked team on the road since defeating No. 3 Auburn in 2014.

It’s been a turbulent season. We take a final look.

Most improved: Edgerrin Cooper

Not that he hasn’t been a vital part of the team in the past, but the Aggies junior linebacker stepped up into a leadership role this season. By far the team leader in tackles, sacks and TFL, where he led the SEC and ranked among the tops nationally, Cooper led a defense this season that held four opponents without an offensive touchdown.

He was recently named a Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist, one of 20 players in the running for the award presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football. Cooper led an Aggies defense that ranked among the top teams nationally in sacks and tackles for loss.

He registered the fourth double-digit tackles game of his career and second of the season when he totaled 11 tackles in the 51-10 victory over Mississippi State. Against South Carolina, Cooper led the Aggies defense with 7 tackles (1.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 4 QBHs, forced fumble) and earned his first SEC Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Cooper posted at least 2.0 TFLs and 1.0 sack in each of the first 3 conference games this season, totaling 8.0 TFL and 6.0 sacks total. The Covington, La., native has come a long way since being named to the 2021 SEC All-Freshman Team.

Biggest surprise: Firing of Jimbo Fisher

It was thought that Fisher’s enormous buyout would buy him at least another year. But with the program “stuck in neutral” as described by Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork, the decision was made to pull the plug in Fisher’s 6th season.

At Florida State, Fisher recorded double-digit victories in 6 of 8 seasons, including a national championship in 2013. It got him the largest contract in college football from Texas A&M, but he never won more than 9 games in any one season with the Aggies. He won 9 games twice (2018, 2020) and got the Aggies as high as No. 4 in the final 2020 AP Poll.

Best win: 30-17 over South Carolina

The Aggies stopped a 2-game skid, scoring 21 unanswered points in the 2nd quarter to take a 21-7 at halftime en route to the 2-possession victory. The Gamecocks closed to within 24-17 on the 1st play of the 4th quarter, but a pair of Randy Bond field goals, including a career-high tying 52-yarder, put the game out of reach.

Cooper (4 QBHs) and Bryce Anderson, who recorded his first 2 career sacks, led the charges with 7 tackles apiece for an Aggies defense that held South Carolina to just 33 yards rushing.

Ainias Smith tallied 118 receiving yards, including a 42-yard TD catch, and along with Evan Stewart each snatched 6 passes from QB Max Johnson, who completed 20 of 30 passes for 249 yards.

Worst loss: 48-33 to Miami

In the 2nd game of the 2023 season, the Aggies had the opportunity to go on the road and win against a good Miami team. It was supposed to be a measuring stick for an Aggies team looking to bounce back from a 5-7 season the previous year.

But the Aggies ran out of gas, getting outscored 17-7 in the 4th quarter and were saddled with their first loss of the new season. It left a bad taste in their mouths that they never fully flushed out and set the team on a rocky road for the remainder of the season.

Play of the Year: Brotherly love

In Texas A&M’s 27-10 victory over Auburn, redshirt sophomore transfer quarterback Max Johnson, playing for the injured Conner Weigman, threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to his brother TE Jake Johnson midway through the third quarter.

It was the tight end’s first TD of his career and at the same time the first in school history that brothers have connected on a TD pass and catch.