Rice and Vanderbilt won their bowl games.

SHSU was in the FCS championship game.

Given the strength of the SEC, particularly the West,no game in division play is automatic win.

Just last season, wise pundits were seeing A&M as a 7-5 team at best. Amazing what one season changes on perception of how strong a team is.

Look at the Big Ten for a moment, the Big Ten flirted with a comeback in bowl season as Michigan led South Carolina in the Outback and Nebraska led Georgia in the Capitol One. Then it all fell apart as the Wolverines and Cornhuskers lost their early New Year’s Day games and Wisconsin lost the Rose Bowl. The Big Ten finished 2-5 in the postseason and was swept in the Rose, Capitol One and Outback bowls for a 1-8 record in those games the last three years. Granted, the outcomes may have been different if Ohio State and Penn State were eligible, but that’s not going to reverse the perception of the Big Ten as an inferior league.

Perception matters.

Now if you want to criticize a schedule, I cannot believe how easy Alabama’s
schedule is, and I’m as ardent a supporter of Bama as you can get. A&M is still
getting it’s legs under them in the SEC.

Swope was a great target for Manziel last year. His two catches in the Alabama game were superb. Mike Evans, another red shirt freshman, was one of the reasons that Swope received single coverage. Bama rolled coverage time and time again against Evans, daring Manziel to throw to Swope. He did.

Now Johnny Football has a kid named Jones to go on the other side of the field to compliment Evans. The kid has great genes, his first cousin is Eric Dickerson. With
six more recruits coming in as receivers, DC’s aren’t going to be able to cheat down into the box with eight or nine defenders. Go three wides, which is a trademark of Sumlin’s offensive scheme, add NFL speed and you have a nightmare. You have to have the safeties play pass first, the run second.

You haven’t even begun to discuss A&M ‘s running game and the intangible of Manziel just rolling his protection to one side or the other and wait for coverages to break down.

Damn, I just talked myself into a Maalox moment over the Bama-A&M game, again. This game scares the bejeebers out of me.

I am really looking forward to Johnny being back on the field this season. I remind my colleagues at work, LSU beat Johnny & A&M at Kyle Field, this year it is at Tiger Stadium.

1) The SEC would not want Texas A&M without Texas.
2) There was no real offer from the SEC– they’re just fishing for Texas.
3) The offer had strings attached that the SEC knew made it impossible for A&M to join– they just wanted Texas.
4) A&M could not afford the exit fee.
5) Baylor’s suit would stop A&M.
6) A&M would get mercilessly ass-raped by the SEC and have a losing record every year until the end of time.
7) The Big 12 is a better conference top to bottom than the SEC.
8) Jailbird McHeisman is a disaster. He doesn’t have the moral certitude to win the Heisman. Manti Te’o deserves it more.

He’s anything but complacent.

In a state where Texans can lose two battles(The Alamo, Goliad) and win independence with one victory(San Jacinto), Manziel has already secured his place in Texas A&M history. 11-2 season as a red shirt freshman QB, helped lead his team to defeat the #1 team at the time, Alabama(ARRRRRRGGGHHH, it still pains me to watch the disc.), win a Heisman and utterly defeat an old conference for in their bowl game. It’s a script that only Hollywood could write.

Nope.

His stats may never approach 2012 levels. With his wide receiver corp averaging 6’4″ he won’t need to. He is VERY competitive and should he see the QB mentor that helped him last summer, it sends a chill up my spine that he could BETTER than he was last year.

Enjoy Johnnie Football, a player like him comes along once a generation.