Kevin Sumlin Tweets CCM - Aggie Fans Respond Six Months Later

Last summer (On July 17th) I wrote this post about the top ten most overrated programs in college football. In that article I tabbed the Aggies as the top most overrated program, and here's what I said.

1. Texas A&M - Ahhhh...and we've finally arrived at our most overrated program in college football. SEC fans, once you really get to know the Aggies and your buyer's remorse sets in please understand that the Big XII doesn't want them back. A&M is going to compare themselves to Alabama, LSU, and Florida with one exception, they've never won anything! At least Bama, LSU and Florida fans have teams that can back up the overall thoughts of the fanbase on the field while the Aggies are mired in mediocrity and yet trying to portray the lavish life on a true champion.

Raise your hand if you can remember the last time Texas A&M won a national championship. If your hand is in the air then congratulations on being around over 70 years ago and still in good health today. True to their new SEC form the Aggies are now claiming retroactive championships from 1917, 1919 and 1927. Look out Bama, you've got some competition!

In 16 years as a member of the Big XII conference A&M appeared in one BCS bowl game, a 24-14 loss to Ohio State, and had an overall 2-9 bowl record. Not exactly the stamp of pride you want representing your conference. What's even better is that they have a 65-85 record against current SEC teams.

Could someone please tell me what is false about the above statement? Apparently Kevin Sumlin decided to use it as a bit of motivation and tweeted a link to the post and the words, "Thank You!" on July 20th.

Thank you! mobile.crimsonandcreammachine.com/2012/7/17/3163…

— Kevin Sumlin (@CoachSumlin) July 20, 2012

The important thing to note here are the dates. The post went up on July 17th and the Tweet from Sumlin went out on July 20th. I know I'm being redundant here but those dates are extremely important because I had heard squat from A&M fans until this last week when someone dug up that Tweet and posted it to a message board. Boy has it been a fun week of Aggie articulation, grammar and limited vocabulary. Here's a sample.

I'm confident there would be a new #1.. Let's say we share it, hmmmm, KSU and OU, THERE'S A GOOD START.

42-13.

Robert

You #1 most overrated CF team just kick some serious sooner butt at cotton bowl! The SEC 5th best regular season team just toyed with bevo10 co-champs! Not too shabby for such overrated squad! Enjoy you continued servitude of master bevo and having the pokes attached to your sorry hides!
Ha ha...enjoy that crow in the wasteland that is that waste of a state you call home!

Nice article back in July about Texas A&M being the most overrated team in the nation. Man were you way off! Anything you regret saying in that article?

I think when you are assessing "overrated" programs you should look at those programs that under-perform based on expectations. Wasn't OU rated #1 before the season began in 2012? If so, then they were the team that was most "overrated" this year. Also, a list of "overrated" programs that doesn't include UT, would seem to be totally suspect. By the same token, few predicted the Aggies would do as good as they did this year. So how could they be "overrated"? But, honestly, A&M has had good talent in place for years w/out the coaching to move them into position to win championships. I think Sumlin is doing just that.

In my view, it is misinformed fans like you and your smack talk that continue the animosity that caused Nebraska, Colorado, and A&M to exit the Big 12. To say that A&M wasn't a huge loss for the B12 may be what you want to believe, but it is just not correct -- as an academic institution and as a sports program (look at recent Directors' Cup standings) A&M is among the very best!

Ha! This person thinks that OU was ranked #1 to start the season and then calls me misinformed. You just can't make this stuff up, folks. Sometimes Aggies can just be so...Aggie.

Unfortunately the Aggie vocabulary is so limited that I can't post very many more of the emails that I received but I did save my favorite for last. Remember those dates from earlier as you read this amazing email.

You are entitled to your opinion. But, your article about the 10 most overrated programs is stupid and WRONG.

You are just jealous that A&M dominated OU in the Cotton Bowl 41-13.

Let me just share with you a recent article from the Waco Tribune Herald.
http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/baylor/185741682.html
The most important line of this article is:
"But if you're incapable of at least giving Manziel and the Aggies their deserved due now, you're not worthy of that same respect yourself." I don't have any respect for your opinion, since you have no basis for this.

Look at how many players in the top rounds of the NFL draft the Aggies have had lately and tell me how overrated they are. Von Miller and Ryan Tannehill were top 10 picks in 2011 and 2012, and A&M will likely have 2 first round picks in 2013 -- Damontre Moore and Luke Joeckel.

What's funny is we will see how overrated the Aggies are in 2013. I would be willing to bet that we do better in 2013 than OU does. Just saying...

Lisa

Oh man, she got me on that one. She got me really good. You see, she figured it out that my magic crystal ball told me on July 12th of 2012 that A&M was going to beat Oklahoma on January 4th of 2013 and that I wrote that entire post out of hatred, jealousy and just flat out sour grapes. Do you know how hard it was to keep it a secret that OU's season was going to end that way? Man, now that everyone knows my shame, I feel like this gigantic weight has been lifted.

She also figured out that I had no basis for my rankings. When you consider that I used A&M's 4-13 bowl record, with six seasons of no bowl eligibility since 1990, their lack of a BCS bowl win and no national championships in nearly three quarters of a century as the basis for my list, you can clearly see that I overreacted...like the 22-year-old Aggie who just realized that their team has only won four bowl games during his lifetime and some had the gall to call them overrated.

The truth is, what I said on July 12th was spot on. No one did less with more in the Big 12 than Texas A&M. With their fanbase, facilities and resources they should have been much more of a factor in the conference and national picture. Winning the Cotton Bowl doesn't erase that. I congratulate A&M on the Cotton Bowl win and the step in the right direction that Sumlin (a former Oklahoma assistant) is taking the program.

I question why it took me six months to hear from any fans regarding that article, but I also know the answer as well. A&M far exceeded my expectations this season and the same can be true for many people around the nation, including the people in College Station. They didn't want to respond to my article in July because they knew that I was right.

At the end of the day Oklahoma was disappointed to be there. The expectations are always higher than that in Norman, and that is the difference between a program near the top and one that is still working on getting there.

For all the hoopla that has surrounded this post and tweet this week I feel like it should be mentioned that its the Cotton Bowl that A&M fans are excited about. When your only bowl win since the turn of the century are the Galleryfurniture.com and Meineke Car Car Bowl of Texas then I can understand the elation. But you also have to consider that in itself means your program has been nowhere for a long time.

Finally, I know that they (A&M fans) are going to say its all sour grapes but you really can't appreciate where you're going until you embrace where you've been. It makes the ride all the more special. Face it Aggies, up until this season, you were pretty overrated.