Sunday Synopsis: Fightin' Texas Aggies (Week 10)

Ouch. 

This was one of the most disheartening games I have ever watched. I have sat through some really, really bad ones, including the era of Dennis Franchione. It just never fails. Every year we start hot, I get my spirits up. "This is the year", I tell myself. Every single year they manage to shatter my heart into a million pieces. Is this what is was like for Cubs fans for 108 years? 

Usually, I give a short recap of the game so here it goes:

First half was terrible, but we went into the locker room with momentum after Christian Kirk's 93 yard punt return for a touchdown. 

Trevor Knight got hurt. I hate to say it like it was the end all be all because Jake Hubenak really did the best he could, but Knight is a much stronger leader at the position.

Second half was terrible again. We still clawed our way back into it giving us a prayer at winning, but like Kevin Sumlin always says, "We just ran out of time."

So, where do we go from here? We head into Ole Miss, ranked number 10, and to what should be a win at home. Yesterday we moved to 7-2. If you had told me we'd be 7-2 at the beginning of the season, I'd be ecstatic. As for our playoff hopes, barring something insane happen, yes I'm afraid they're gone. If we finish strong, it looks like we could meet up with Oklahoma in a New Year's Six Bowl, something to be very proud of. 

After a loss like that, you have to wonder what went wrong. Every year we sprint to the top of the polls and then just nose dive right when we get national attention. This week, we received the most media attention the program has ever received. I've been doing some thinking and at first you go to the obvious. The players looked asleep, they thought it would be a blowout, they got cocky, etc. But after three years of the same story, with different players each year I do begin to question the coaching staff. Are they building a program that can compete into November, December, January and actually put a team in contention, or is it just about being better than average and making a bowl? I'm not calling for Sumlin to be fired. I really like Kevin Sumlin and he brought back a program that was dead and has put us back where a school of our size should be. It's like when you get in trouble with your parents and they say, "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed." I am not mad, I have come to expect that this would happen at some point. I am disappointed. This year's team is something different and all year looked like a team that wouldn't take a game like this lightly, especially after the Playoff Committee's endorsement. All the controversy surrounding us being in the top 4, we just proved them all right. We had a chance to prove a large portion of sports pundits, and fans all across the nation that we finally belong, and we shit the bed. 

But now, we move on and pray we can win out. I'm going back to bed to lay down and cry myself to sleep. Beat the Hell Outta Ole Miss...