Perception is reality in this case. A&M gave up 27 second half points to OSU, 25 to Arkansas, 21 to Mizzou, 28 to OU, etc. Granted, in most of those games the offense disappeared and had mistakes that led to those points, but people just see the huge numbers and blame defense. Statistically, the defense was middle of the road at #66 in total defense. More telling to me is that A&M was in the bottom 20 in the country in turnover margin.
Like I said, the defense was not good but there were some good things. We led the nation in sacks and were 13th in run D. In almost every loss, it was the defense as much as the offense that set up the big leads in the first place, but untimely (as if there's ever a good time) turnovers and an unwillingness by the Sherman offense to grind the ball and kill clock in the second half put the defense in hole after hole.
Go back and look at the stats in the OU game. Yeah the score got completely out of hand in the third quarter, the way it happened was not on the defense at all. OU had TD drives of 31, 28, 69 and 39 yards. A&M, on the other hand, had drives of five plays for 19 yards (punt), three plays for -3 yards (punt), four plays for 15 yards (interception), three plays for 8 yards (punt), one play for 0 yards (interception), ten plays for 56 yards (missed FG) and five plays for 16 yards (punt). Several of those punts were for ~20 yards.
Few defenses will hold up under those circumstances. So like I said, while the D wasn't good this year, a lot of the superficial stats make them look far worse than they actually were. Playing much of the season without half—the best half—of the starting secondary, while not an excuse, also played a huge factor.
OK, don't take this the wrong way, but I have always found A&M fans to be a bit delusional. Not nearly as bad as say, Ole Miss fans, but it's still there. 60% all time winning percentage, 18 conference titles (with the majority of them coming during the Sherrill and Slocum eras), and one national title. While those are all nice, and I would sacrifice body parts for MSU to have those kinds of numbers, it's not on the same level as elite teams (historically) like Michigan, Texas, etc. A 31% winning percentage vs. Texas, and a 40% clip in bowl games indicates a program not on the same level. At a 60% win rate, A&M historically is a 7-8 win team.
I'm not slamming A&M. I love the history, tradition, and school colors of A&M. Hell, we were Mississippi A&M for years, so I feel a kindred spirit there. But I think A&M fans believe they are better than they have historically been in reality.
There is a lot of truth to what you say, but you also have to remember that I grew up watching Aggie football in the 80s and 90s, when we won six conference titles, averaged 9+ wins per year (in a time when playing 11 games was the norm) and almost never lost at home (55-4-1 at Kyle Field in the 90s, including a 31-game winning streak).
So yeah, maybe my expectations are unrealistic, but they were built on what I watched growing up, not what my dad watched when he was a boy (when A&M was a tiny military college that rarely won more than 3-4 games in a season between WWII and the mid-70s).
Richt's 11 seasons at UGA in the SEC
Record = 106-37
Winning percentage =.741
10 win seasons = 7 out of 11
4 SEC East Championships
2 SEC Championships
9 Top 25 finishes
5 Top 10 finishes
2 Top 5 finishes
11 straight bowl games (counting this year)
7-3 bowl record
2 time SEC Coach of the Year
What is Sumlin's resume again?
Richt has never gotten the credit he deserved
He coached in an era of Gator dominance with Tebow
and Miles, Saban, Meyer, Spurrier, Petrino, et. al. are far more colorful and quotable
But you are right, he is not likely to be able to do that at A&M
I don't think anyone will
Playing in the West with LSU, Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas
I would say your 7-5 and 8-4 seasons will be your high point
Welcome to the SEC
Easy! I wasn't taking a shot at Richt's abilities, but like I've said countless times, if he leaves UGA it will be because he's got his feelings hurt and he's looking for a golden parachute somewhere else. Most coaches don't do terribly well in those sorts of situations.
