Well, it isn’t exactly the season Aggieland had hoped for. But you have to take into consideration that this is going to happen, maybe a lot, when expectations are as high as they are in College Station. It’s to a point now where Alabama isn’t only the standard to which this program will be judged, but it’s the program that Aggieland is expecting to equal or better.

Those are awfully high expectations. No program in America has been able to do that. Not in the Nick Saban era. So, to say that Texas A&M has high expectations would be the understatement of the year.

And because of that, an 8-3 season, with still the distinct possibility of a 10-win season, is disappointing. True, that disappointment is eased dramatically by the heart-pounding 41-38 victory over the Tide. So, maybe head-to-head is a good place to gauge just how close this program is to fulfilling those extraordinarily high hopes.

If we are to believe Jimbo Fisher at his word that he isn’t jumping ship and heading back to Baton Rouge to reunite with AD Scott Woodward and fill the coaching vacancy at LSU, then the program building should continue on schedule. And to be honest, Fisher is right, he would be “the dumbest human being on God’s Earth” to build up this program only to go across the street and try to compete against it.

“We’re going to recruit a heck of a class,” Fisher said in answer to the latest round of questioning concerning the opening at LSU. “We’re going to have special things here. We’re building special things. They’re investing in the program. They’re investing in everything we got. We’re building a culture.”

Fisher is on target with his comments about culture building. He has elevated the level of confidence in the program to a point where no team in the country can intimidate his team. The next step will be for Fisher to build a program that is the intimidator and not the intimidated.

He’s on course to do that as well.

Saban built the program at Alabama through top recruiting classes year after year. That’s the model that Fisher is following. Because let’s face it, no matter how good your coaching skills happen to be, you aren’t going to construct a championship program without the “Jimmys and Joes.”

We were given a tiny glimpse into the future on Saturday when the Aggies dominated Prairie View, 52-3, and Fisher was afforded the opportunity to give some of the younger players extended playing time.

With the plethora of injuries to the receiving corps, it was nice to see freshman Moose Muhammad III pick up the slack. He was outstanding in leading all receivers (5 catches, 77 yards, 2 TDs).

Freshmen Amari Daniels and LJ Johnson Jr. combined for 136 rushing yards and still others saw the field and performed well.

So, the future indeed does look bright for Texas A&M. And now that the Aggies have conquered Alabama on the field, that result could someday fold into the other worldly expectations.

For now, though, attentions turn to Saturday in Tiger Stadium where the Aggies bring the curtain down on the 2021 regular-season schedule. It’s a place where Texas A&M hasn’t had a whole lot of success.

Texas A&M is just 10-26-1 at Tiger Stadium in a rivalry that goes all the way back to 1899. The Aggies have lost the past 4 meetings with LSU in Baton Rouge and haven’t beaten the Tigers on their home field since 1994.

It’s the final game for Ed Orgeron as LSU head coach in Tiger Stadium, so you can be sure that he will have his team as fired up as it’s been all season long. And when the Tigers want to, they can be pretty good. They were one Hail Mary pass away from knocking off Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

So, the Aggies will most assuredly need to bring their “A” game if they hope to finish out 9-3 and given themselves a chance for a 10-win season with a bowl victory.