Texas A&M pays a visit to The Valley on Saturday afternoon for one of the seasons most eagerly anticipated matchups. The Tigers come in as a sizable favorite, which seems to have put quite the chip on the shoulders of Aggie players. That chip seems to have made some a little mouthy in the lead up to the game.
Over the years many Tiger fans seem to have developed a heavy dose of disdain for Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher. The dislike stems from the 8 year stint he had as the head man down in Tallahassee coaching the Florida State Seminoles. While many fans may dislike him, most seem to have a healthy respect for his abilities as a coach and play caller, and he has basically gone out of his way this week being complimentary of Dabo Swinney, Clemson, and its fan base.
Some of his players on the other hand, not so much. It started on Tuesday when Aggies offensive lineman Jared Hocker guaranteed a Texas A&M victory.
It is one thing to be confident, but there is a fine line between being confident and cocky, and it did not end there. Wide receiver Kendrick Rogers decided to get in on the fun today when talking to the media, saying he has no doubt they are the better team. He also took a small shot at the Tiger secondary.
“After the game (national championship), we created a group chat and we were like last year we were this close. We had a little doubt last year but this year we have no doubt. I feel like it (secondary) is a weakness. I’m no coach but as a player, I feel like any secondary is susceptible to us.”
He was then asked about the crowd noise in Death Valley.
“I don’t know how loud it is. We play in Kyle Field and it’s the loudest stadium so I’m pretty sure we can handle anything.”
What’s that they say about poking the bear? Far more often than not, when we see opposing players or coaches dismissing the crowd noise in Death Valley it usually comes back and bites them. It takes me back to Brian Kelly and some of his players comments prior to Notre Dame’s 2016 visit to Clemson about crowd noise not being a factor. It also reminds me of this,
That my friends, is what happens when you poke the bear known as Tiger Nation, which will be 85,000 strong on Saturday. Be careful what you wish for….. sometimes it is exactly what you end up getting.
I’m curious to see how both teams attack the middle of the field since both units have new starters at LB and neither has a proven TE. I suspect we have a couple of plays to give Laye the chance to prove himself.
Very good point about attacking the middle of the field