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There are numerous goals laid out for Jimbo Fisher and this A&M team in the years ahead. Become a top tier team in the SEC. Win the SEC West. Win an SEC conference title. Secure an invite into the Four Team Playoff. Win a National Title. But in order to take the first step towards any of those, Jimbo needs to do something Kevin Sumlin never could do in six years at A&M. Win at Kyle Field.
How bad have we been at Kyle Field since joining the SEC? Once I dug into the numbers, it was actually worse than I expected, and my expectations were pretty low.
Kyle Field Record at Home: 27-14 (66% winning percentage)
Kyle Field Record vs Non-Power 5 Teams: 18-0
Kyle Field Record vs SEC: 8-14
Kyle Field Record vs SEC West: 3-12
Kyle Field Record vs Ranked Teams: 3-9
Of the three ranked teams that Kevin Sumlin beat at home, only one of them finished the year ranked (Tennessee finished 9-4 and ranked #24 in 2016). Our three wins at home versus the SEC West? They include a win against Arkansas in 2012, and two wins against Mississippi State in 2013 and 2015. So yes, starting this season, it’s been almost three years since we won an SEC West game at Kyle Field. We have yet to beat Auburn, Alabama, LSU, or Ole Miss at Kyle Field. That flat out sucks.
Wins at Kyle Field are critical for a variety of reasons. It’s great for the fans. I know that sounds simple, but when fans fork over lots of time and money to attend a game at Kyle Field, it’s nice if they can leave the stadium feeling happy more often than not. Consistently winning at home will fuel the “Hate Barn”. Kyle Field is shiny and new and has a great set of tits, but all of our enemies are having their way with her. There’s not a single team in the SEC right now that feels like they can’t win here. If Jimbo and the Ags can start notching big wins at home, the atmosphere that Kyle Field used to be known for will return. Loud. I’m talking about you can’t hear the person next to you screaming at the top of their lungs loud. Typically A&M will bring in their most important recruiting targets for the big games at Kyle Field. Those games versus ranked opponents. Coaches want to show off that atmosphere. I have to believe actually winning some of those big games versus ranked teams would help the ‘croots leave with a little better feeling about A&M. Seeing our team get shit stomped in front of 100,000 pissed off fans isn’t the best way to convince guys to come to College Station.
So let’s take a quick look at the opportunities A&M has at Kyle Field this season:
The Must Wins
August 30th: Northwestern State - Jimbo can’t pull a Shermy Sherm and drop his home opener to a shit team
September 15th: UL Monroe - Sandwiched between Clemson and Alabama, as a gambler I highly advise you to take whatever points ULM is getting in this one.
October 6th: Kentucky - A&M has more talent, and if Jimbo is a top 5 coach, you don’t lose home games versus Kentucky.
November 17th: UAB - Our little slice of SEC November Cupcake
The Games We Need to Start Winning
November 10th: Ole Miss - There’s no need to worry about competing with the likes of Alabama and Auburn if you can’t handle Ole Miss at Kyle Field.
November 24th: LSU - I consider this the biggest game at Kyle Field this season. We have yet to beat them since joining the SEC. I realize it’s harder for some of the younger Ags to understand what this rivalry can become. But trust me, the hatred is bubbling under the surface. We just need to release it. RELEASE THE LSU HATRED JIMBO!!!!!
Win This One and We’re All Getting Laid
September 8th: Clemson - It’s a total long shot and I have little hope of us keeping this one competitive for four quarters, much less seeing a win. But oh man. You want the fan base to lose it’s shit completely? Take down Goliath in Week 2.
I would honestly consider anything less than 5-2 at home this season a disappointment. We have three very winnable games, and three conference games versus teams with similar talent that will no doubt have issues of their own. We need to take at least two of those three conference games at Kyle. And if we get waxed by Clemson but find a way to win the other six, the Aggie faithful will be frothing at the mouth for the 2019 season.
And Jimbo, if you really want to instill that Kyle Field magic back into the Hate Barn, rip out the urinals and throw in some piss troughs.