GBH Roundtable: Aggie Football 2015 Season Predictions

"You want a prediction about the weather? It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you the rest of your life." We're all just so many Phil Connors here; wandering around within the boundless confines of August, spouting off whatever comes to mind because ultimately, no one knows what's really going to happen. And besides that, we're even less credible than a local meteorologist when it comes to football and knowing things, so there really are no consequences in this void of inactivity.

So here are our predictions for 2015. Remember, these have no foundation in any sort of rooted logic other than our own fanciful dreams. If you like comparisons, here are our 2014 predictions. (Several of us were in the 8-win ballpark, although there were outliers.)

Enjoy, and tell us why we are wrong and stupid!

Predictions

GBHer	Record Prediction	Bowl Prediction	Bowl Opponent
Lucas Jackson	11-2	Sugar Bowl (W)	Baylor
rcb05	10-3	New Year’s 6
stringsays	10-3	New Years 6 (W)
Ranger222	10-3	BWW Citrus Bowl
whoopy	10-3	Chick Fil A Peach Bowl (W)
spadilly	10-3	Chick Fil A Peach Bowl (W)	Clemson
thacktor	10-3	Cotton Bowl (W)	Texas
oscarwildecat	10-3	Belk Bowl (W)	Georgia Tech
jac2013	10-3	TaxSlayer (W)	Notre Dame
gigthem08	9-4	Music City (W)	Louisville
Chuck_GBH	9-4	Belk (W)	Notre Dame
Dr. Norris Camacho	8-5	Outback (L)	Nebraska
jimmygards	8-5	Texas (L)	Oklahoma
cuppycup	6-7	The one in Shreveport (L)	Wake Forest

Justifications

Rampant Optimism

Hope you've got plenty of UV gear on because this guy is pumping serious sunshine all over the place.

Lucas Jackson

I predict Thunderdome. A&M loses to Bama and Ole Miss but finishes tied with Bama, and Auburn at 6-2 in conference play.  Bama advances to title game because they only 1 division loss, which comes to Auburn at season's end sending everything into utter chaos. Still, Auburn and A&M both get screwed out of a playoff as Bama wins the SEC champ game in a rematch against UGA in Atlanta.   A&M does get a Big Six bid however, ending up in the Sugar Bowl vs. Big 12 rep Baylor.  Whom the Aggies rip limb from limb and finish #3 in the nation, regretting a late INT on the road in Oxford.

Yeah, We're OK

"Cautiousoptimism" is the safe word around here.

spadilly

It goes without saying, but the SEC West is going to beat up on each other this year. Defense will keep us in every game this season, but we get outscored by Mississippi State, Auburn, and LSU. At 9-3, the media talks about how we overachieved this season, but we all know better. "What if's" bounce around in our heads heading into December.

thacktor

Noil and RSJ have big years. We run the damn ball. Kyle(r) has a good year. Chavis proves what we all know, the Aggies have been craving the D for years.

gigthem08

We'll win the big neutral-site game against ASU, and we'll handle our solid-but-unspectacular home games (SC; MSU)... but we'll run out of time in our two biggest home games (Auburn; Bama) and in our annual tilt against LSU. In an unrelated note, I also see our Oxford magic finally running dry.  The season will once again end on a Bowl Season uptick, but it will all feel a bit shallow after a schedule that friendly. We'll get 'em next year.

rcb05

The Ags will lose their opening game versus Arizona State and also lose a hard-fought game against Arkansas, starting the season 2-2 and proving they should never play a neutral site game ever again. They’ll then win seven games in a row before somehow losing to LSU to close out the regular season. Luckily, the cannibalization of the SEC West will lead to a two-loss team winning the division, and A&M will hold the necessary tiebreakers to advance to and win the SEC Championship game.

whoopy

In 2015, the defense will improve significantly in year one under John Chavis, and will successfully defend a wheel route for the first time this millennium.   Add in an improved running game, and the Aggies finally beat LSU since joining the SEC.  Linebacker depth and the kicking game leave the Aggies short in a few games, but the outlook for 2016 is scorching hot.

stringsays

I have no idea what to make of this year. On paper we should be pretty solid. Yes we have depth issues at LB and CB, but I believe that our overall systemic improvement on defense should make up for those. I feel good about this year and it's very disconcerting. No major losses from an 8-5 team last year, and we found the best possible fix at defensive coordinator. Why shouldn't we feel good about this year?

Ranger222

After close losses to Alabama and Ole Miss during the first 11 games of the season, the SEC West title will come down to a Saturday afternoon game in Baton Rouge on November 28th between a 9-2 LSU and 9-2 Texas A&M. The Aggies will come up short and fall into a 3-way tie for second in the West along with Alabama and Ole Miss. Enraged, the Aggies blow out Wisconsin in Orlando on New Year’s Day to finish the season 10-3.

jac2013

Losses at home with Alabama and USC, road loss at Ole Miss. Venturing out of Texas the first time leaves the Aggies wobbly and making mistakes they have managed to avoid up until this point against Ole Miss.  Spurrier gets the win because he's not messing around with fancy uniforms and the game ends up being a 1:30 PM kick off so that #AggieNights becomes extra dumb.

oscarwildecat

In a year that sees a constant quarterback carousel played to perfection by Kevin Sumlin,  the Aggies claw their way to 9 wins on the strength of their surprisingly stout defensive front 7. Despite starting a Gatorade canister at boundary cornerback for most of the conference season ("Is the Gatorade cooler injured?? WE DON'T TALK ABOUT INJURIES," snarls Coach Sumlin mere minutes after a last minute victory against Auburn), the A&M defense finishes a surprising #43 in total yardage allowed.  The Aggies flock en masse to Charlotte for the Belk Bowl, and Jake Spavital briefly engages in a war of words with @belkbowl, causing Paul Johnson to ask reporters, "What is internet?"

End Times are Near

Dr. Norris Camacho

Danny Kanell angers Aggies. Paul Finebaum says Kyle Allen is "next Peyton Manning." Kenny Chesney finally comes out as Texas A&M fan on November 21.

jimmygards

The season begins and ends in Houston. The Bayou City is a flat circle. There are rumblings of a QB transfer and chatter that 2016 is make-or-break.

Hypnotoad

After a wake-up call to start the season in Houston, the Ags rattle off a series of increasingly impressive wins, hitting 4-1 before dropping 3 out of the next 4. They rally to win out the season, finishing with a cathartic upset of LSU in Baton Rouge ensuring an off season full of inexplicably smug Aggie fans given a finish of 5th in their division. A Belk Bowl win over reeling Notre Dame allows even more lame transitive property nonsense over Texas. Kyle Allen violates all rules by declaring for NFL draft but does not get selected. Kyler Murray transfers. 6 more years of winter.

cuppycup*

*I made cuppycup's up, but he's usually the most contrarian so I think he'll be fine with it.