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JIMBO FISHER

New Texas coach Sarkisian defends ‘The Eyes of Texas’

(AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)AUSTIN, Texas – Fresh off a national title with Alabama, Steve Sarkisian plans big changes to Texas’ football program. Sarkisian said that while discussion about “The Eyes of Texas” and other issues are welcome, “‘The Eyes of Texas’ is our school song. Texas, without a conference championship since 2009, is itching to see if Sarkisian can produce similar results in Austin. Texas expects quick results from Sarkisian, recent winner of the Broyles Award given to college football’s top assistant coach. Asked about scheduling A&M again, Sarkisian said “I would love to play that game.”Sarkisian is Texas’ fourth head coach since 2009.

Aggies finish 4th in final AP football poll of the season

4 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the season. It marks A&M’s second-highest finish in the AP Poll and highest since 1939 when the Aggies won the national championship. 4 rank is Texas A&M’s second top-five finish since joining the SEC in 2012 and marks the third time in his career that head coach Jimbo Fisher has finished inside the top-five. In the regular season, the Aggies went 9-1 against an all-SEC slate as they compiled the most victories against conference foes since joining the SEC for the 2012 season. It was A&M’s fourth top-five AP finish along with the No.

Texas A&M runs past North Carolina in Orange Bowl, 41-27

Texas A&M head coach Jumbo Fisher raises his hands during the trophy presentation at the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Texas A&M defeated North Carolina 41-27. 14 North Carolina 41-27 on Saturday night — capping a winless bowl season for the Atlantic Coast Conference. North Carolina: The Tar Heels gave up 24 points in the fourth quarter, after allowing just 17 points in the first 45 minutes. North Carolina still could finish ranked for only the fourth time in the last 27 seasons. North Carolina: An ACC opponent likely awaits in Week 1 next season.

Texas A&M, North Carolina look forward, await Orange Bowl

13 CFP) in the 87th edition of the Orange Bowl. “I always say this: The Orange Bowl is as good as it gets,” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said Friday. Thing is, neither of those running backs — Michael Carter and Javonte Williams — chose to play in the Orange Bowl. “That’s 4,000 yards worth of offense and our leading tackler on defense and two captains,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. With them gone, it means even more pressure will be on North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell.

Snubbed by committee, Texas A&M will face UNC in Orange Bowl

An Orange Bowl spot against North Carolina will be its consolation prize. It will be North Carolina’s first time in the Orange Bowl, and the first meeting between the schools. This will be just the seventh January bowl game for North Carolina. BOWL WINNERSThe Orange Bowl coaches certainly know how to end seasons with victories. WELCOME BACKFor Fisher, it’s a return to a stadium where he’s gone 6-0 — including a pair of Orange Bowl victories.

Aggies come in at No. 5 in final CFP ranks, fall short of playoffs

4 Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinal originally scheduled to serve as the 107th Rose Bowl, the playoff committee announced Sunday. In the end, those two teams were assigned to the Sugar Bowl semifinal, while the other playoff game will feature the national championship favorites against the final addition to the four-team playoff. But instead of a week amid the pomp and pageantry of the Rose Bowl, the teams will spend their semifinal week in Arlington, Texas. Oregon State beat Duke in Durham, North Carolina, in that version of the Rose Bowl. The festive week of genteel celebrations around the Rose Bowl game had already been mostly canceled.

CFP: Alabama-Notre Dame, Clemson-Ohio St as Aggies left out

Notre Dame was picked Sunday over Texas A&M for the final spot, ending what little drama there had been. Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State have also held the first four spots in the AP Top 25 since Oct. 25. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the second league to have two teams in the playoff, joining the SEC in 2017. After sitting second in the CFP rankings for a month, Notre Dame was blown out 34-10 by Clemson in the ACC championship. Barta said the disparate number of games played by contenders — along with far fewer cross-conference games than usual —- was a challenge for the committee all season.

No. 5 Texas A&M makes last CFP case in 34-13 win over Vols

5 Texas A&M to close its case for a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 34-13 victory over Tennessee. 5 CFP) finished their regular season and hoped for an upset or two within the CFP’s top four. Texas A&M's advantage went to 17-7 when the Aggies turned a Bailey fumble into a 23-yard field goal by Seth Small. Tennessee: After the second game of the season, the Vols were tied with Notre Dame for the longest winning streak among FBS teams. A victory over winless Vanderbilt ended the skid, but the loss to Texas A&M ended the regular season on a sour note.

Aggies game against Ole Miss postponed due to coronavirus

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies will have to wait to take on Ole Miss if they even get the chance. The school issued a statement Monday evening announcing the game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues. “The opportunity to reschedule the game will be contingent on any cancellation of games currently scheduled for December 19 due to COVID-19, otherwise the game will not be played and would be declared a no-contest,” the statement read.

Mond, No. 5 Texas A&M finish strong in 31-20 win over Auburn

Kellen Mond passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third and the fifth-ranked Aggies scored 17 points in the fourth quarter of a come-from-behind 31-20 victory over Auburn on Saturday. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher wasn't interested in speculating on how the win might affect his team's playoff chances. He completed 18 of 23 for 196 yards, highlighted by two TDs to Jalen Wydermyer, and ran for 60 yards. The Aggies ran for a season-high 313 yards and held a 16-minute advantage in time of possession. Auburn: Was outgained 168-21 in the fourth quarter.

Miami has 3 games PPD by virus; A&M on pause for 2nd week

So we can complain about this and this and that but, listen, we’re still getting to play football,” Fisher said. Last week, 15 FBS games were called off because of COVID-19, the most yet this season. Major college football conferences have been tweaking policies to provide their schools flexibility to schedule games on short notice. That probably won't work for LSU-Alabama, which was among four SEC games postponed last week. __Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Virus postponements hit SEC, Big Ten; 8 games across FBS

Among the three SEC games still on for this Saturday, Arkansas will visit No. Orgeron said he expects most of his players in quarantine due to contact tracing back next week. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said his team only had two positive cases as of Wednesday afternoon, but contact tracing had taken a toll. “Candidly, the numbers around contact tracing have emerged as one of our biggest challenges to playing. “The contact tracing has the potential to magnify even one positive test,” Sankey said.

Postponement, outbreaks: SEC takes a hit from COVID-19

The conference on Monday postponed Saturday’s game between No. 20 Auburn and Mississippi State because of positive COVID-19 cases and quarantining within the Bulldogs’ program. 5 Texas A&M paused in-person activities after a player and a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a win at South Carolina. LSU is battling an outbreak that could put Saturday's game against No. ___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25.

Mond leads No. 8 Texas A&M to 42-31 win over Arkansas

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Kellen Mond threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns as eighth-ranked Texas A&M built a big lead and held on for a 42-31 victory over Arkansas on Saturday night, extending its winning streak over the Razorbacks to nine games. Mond faced some criticism after A&M's 52-24 loss to the Crimson Tide, but Fisher said he never doubted his quarterback. Franks threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 91 yards for Arkansas. Reed made a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter to cut the Aggies' lead to 28-17 after missing two longer tries in the first half. Mond’s second TD pass was on a 6-yard reception by Wydermyer, which extended the lead to 21-7 about seven minutes before halftime.

Spiller helps No. 21 A&M top No. 4 Florida 41-38

“Now I want to see what do you follow up with?”Isaiah Spiller rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 21 Texas A&M beat fourth-ranked Florida 41-38 on Seth Small’s 26-yard field goal as time expired Saturday. Spiller helped get the Aggies get into position for Small’s decisive kick, sending A&M to its first win over a top-five team since a 41-38 victory over No. Florida led 28-24 early in the fourth when Spiller struck again, running 19 yards for a touchdown on a fourth-and-2 play. Spiller bounced off several defenders before waltzing into the end zone and then hitting the Florida fan section with a Gator chomp.

Lone Star Sadness: Horns, Aggies form Axis of Underachievers

At the top of USA Today's most recent revenue rankings for college athletic departments are Texas and Texas A&M. Texas and Texas A&M have everything you need to put out a national championship-level football program. The Aggies and Longhorns refuse to play each other, but combine to form an Axis of Underachievers in the Lone Star State. In three games against Alabama under Fisher, the Aggies are 0-3 by a combined 144-75. For now, though, Texas and Texas A&M continue to prove the old adage that money can't buy happiness.

Week 5 Preview: Top-25 matchups in SEC; ACC title rematch

including the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, highlights the fifth week of the college football season. 4 Georgia on Saturday night as the second month of the season starts, but only the second week of SEC play. The first of three games that decide the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy might have sneaked up on college football fans. The Falcons will play six conference games to go along with Navy and Army. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Aggies football program put on probation by NCAA

HOUSTON – When rules are broken the NCAA steps in and investigates and now they have ruled on the missteps inside of the Texas A&M Football program led by Head Coach Jimbo Fisher. According to the report, the Aggies program violated NCAA recruiting and what they deem "countable athletically related activities rules during the period from January of 2018 through February of 2019. The NCAA ruled those missteps were unintentional. Coach Fisher will also serve a six month “show cause” order which will limit his off campus recruiting activity this fall. “As Texas A&M’s Head Football Coach, I am responsible for promoting and monitoring for NCAA compliance in our program.

Fisher, players confident as Texas A&M enters second bye week

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M football team enters its second bye week of the season with a 6-3 record, sitting in fourth place in the SEC West. Hopefully weve got great confidence in what were doing, head coach Jimbo Fisher said. Madubuike, who leads the defensive line with 33 tackles and leads the team with 3.5 sacks, said this bye week is about doing the little things right. With that in mind, Fisher said his team cannot relax but instead must reload. Were going to have to keep getting better and better, knowing that were going to have three great SEC opponents coming in, Fisher said.

Florida State fires head football coach after less than two seasons

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) - Florida State University fired head football coach Willie Taggart on Sunday, one day after the struggling Seminoles lost 27-10 to its in-state rival, the University of Miami. "I spoke to Coach Taggart this afternoon to let him know of our decision," said Florida State athletics director David Coburn. He was head coach there from 2010-2012 after serving as an assistant from 1999-2006. Florida State had only two full-time coaches from 1976 to 2017 -- Fisher from 2010 to 2019, and legendary coach Bobby Bowden, who served 37 years as head coach. Defensive line coach Odell Haggins, a 26-year veteran of the FSU coaching staff, will serve as the interim head coach for the rest of 2019.

5 things to know about Texas A&M's matchup with UTSA

"Different things they do on offense and special teams, they'll have some tricks and things there. UTSA ranks 116th in the nation in total offense, and ranks last in Conference-USA in yards per game with 142. In their last two games against Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the Aggies gave up 239 yards and 250 yards, respectively. UTSA has a respectable rushing offense that ranks fourth in Conference-USA, averaging 180 yards per game. The Roadrunners have allowed an average of 393 yards in each game, including 210 yards on the ground.

Katy product Seth Small kicks his way through Texas A&M

Kicker Seth Small during the game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Texas A&M Aggies in Arlington, TX. Texas A&M kicker Seth Small has seen both sides of playing the position since arriving in Aggieland last year. In 2017, Katy ISD opened a $70 million, 12,000-seat stadium, and Small said it was like playing at a mini college. Texas A&M punter Braden Mann, who is close friends with Small, knew what the kick meant for Small's confidence. "I live for that moment as a kicker," Small said.

Ausbon, Mond look to lead Aggies offense back from underwhelming start

23 Texas A&M (2-2) has stumbled out of the gates this season, mostly due to struggles on offense. Despite the early troubles, team leaders like quarterback Kellen Mond and wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon are focused on keeping the teams mindset positive. The Aggies have scored limited points early in their two biggest games this season against No. Ausbon agreed, saying the team leaders ultimately set the mindset for the entire team. Its very important that we dont let [doubt] creep in as leaders, Ausbon said.

Ausbon, Mond look to lead Aggies offence back from underwhelming start

Despite the early troubles, team leaders like quarterback Kellen Mond and wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon are focused on keeping the teams mindset positive. The Aggies have scored limited points early in their two biggest games this season against No. Mond said the teams initial tempo and energy is not where it needs to be. Ausbon agreed, saying the team leaders ultimately set the mindset for the entire team. Its very important that we dont let [doubt] creep in as leaders, Ausbon said.

MONDAY HUDDLE: Texas A&M offense slow to get going again

Head coach Jimbo Fisher of the Texas A&M Aggies argues with officials during the first quarter against the Auburn Tigers. Too little, too late for Texas A&M offense againFor the second time this season against a top-10 opponent, the Texas A&M offense didnt score its first touchdown of the game until the fourth quarter. A lethargic first three quarters on offense once again doomed the Aggies, whose fourth quarter uprising came way too late. Texas State gets first win in thrilling fashionGeorgia State made a name for itself in the opening week of the season when it won at Tennessee, but it was a different story against Texas State. Josh Rowland was the hero, kicking a 35-yard field goal to lift Texas State to the upset in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both.

Cagan Baldree finds new home in Texas A&M backfield

Fullback Cagan Baldree #43 of the Texas A&M Aggies during the game between the Texas State Bobcats and the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field in College Station, TX. The Texas A&M junior walked-on to the football team as an offensive lineman, but he transitioned to fullback in January. Baldree spoke with the coaching staff, and when the opportunity to transition to fullback arose, he said the choice was easy. It is totally different the way things match up and kind of [move] around more." He's really helped us."

10 takeaways from Texas A&M's media availability before hosting Lamar

16 Texas A&M will look to bounce back against Lamar at Kyle Field on Saturday night after falling to No. Weve got four really good players.The Aggies will still keep a two- or three-man rotation, now focusing around freshman Spiller and junior Kibodi. He is playing really good football right now ... Im really happy for him.His teammates have taken notice too. They set you back They all magnify themselves when you play good teams. We need to play well because its the next game, Mond said.

5 things to watch when No. 12 Texas A&M faces No. 1 Clemson

Kellen Mond warms up before a football game against the Texas State Bobcats at Kyle Field on August 29, 2019, in College Station, Texas. Texas A&Ms defensive front vs. Clemsons rushing attackThe Aggies held Texas State to just eight rushing yards in their season opener last week. Sophomore Lyn-J Dixon, who rushed for 547 yards and five touchdowns in his freshman season, also returns for the Tigers. How Texas A&Ms offensive line protects quarterback Kellen MondThree Clemson defensive lineman were selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The Tigers' defensive line is younger and less experienced than in recent years, as nine of the 12 players listed on the depth chart are freshmen or sophomores.

Mond accounts for 4 TDs at No. 12 A&M routs Texas St. 41-7

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - AUGUST 29: Bryan London II #9 of the Texas State Bobcats celebrates with Justin Madubuike #52 after an interception against the Texas State Bobcats during the first half at Kyle Field on August 29, 2019 in CollegeCOLLEGE STATION, Texas - With Texas A&M's date against No. 1 Clemson looming next week, it would have been easy for the Aggies to take 33-point underdog Texas State lightly. Kellen Mond threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score in just more than three quarters, and Texas A&M had four interceptions in the 41-7 rout. Myles Jones had two of Texas A&M's four interceptions, and the Aggies had three sacks and nine tackles for losses. Mond showed off his scrambling skills in the second quarter on a 5-yard touchdown run where he stiff-armed a defender.

5 things to watch in Texas A&M University's opener on Thursday night in College Station

12 Texas A&M University hosts Texas State at Kyle Field on Thursday night to open their 2019 season. JAKE SPAVITAL REUTRNS TO KYLE FIELDThe Bobcats' first-year head coach returns to College Station for the first time since being a part of Kevin Sumlin's coaching staff. Spavital was a co-offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach in 2013 before taking over play calling duties from 2014-2015. KELLEN MOND BEGINS HIS SECOND SEASON UNDER FISHERIronically, Fisher will be starting a quarterback that Spavital himself recruited and offered during his time at Texas A&M. We will see how that knowledge transfers against a solid, but not great, Texas State defense on Thursday night.

5 things to watch in Texas A&M University's opener on Thursday night in College Station

12 Texas A&M University hosts Texas State at Kyle Field on Thursday night to open their 2019 season. JAKE SPAVITAL REUTRNS TO KYLE FIELDThe Bobcats' first-year head coach returns to College Station for the first time since being a part of Kevin Sumlin's coaching staff. Spavital was a co-offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach in 2013 before taking over play calling duties from 2014-2015. KELLEN MOND BEGINS HIS SECOND SEASON UNDER FISHERIronically, Fisher will be starting a quarterback that Spavital himself recruited and offered during his time at Texas A&M. We will see how that knowledge transfers against a solid, but not great, Texas State defense on Thursday night.

10 things we learned about Texas A&M football this week as Aggies prepare for challenging schedule

The Aggies open their 2019 season against Texas State at Kyle Field on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. 1 has become a student of the game, Fisher said, and it has shown in his football knowledge and preparation. Expect Mond to show signs of improvement on the field as he leads the Aggies through this seasons tough schedule, which includes No. Despite being redshirted in his freshman season, White was named Scout Team Defensive MVP, illustrating his ability on the field. Fisher and the Aggies are not looking past Texas State.

10 things we learned about Texas A&M football this week as Aggies prepare for challenging schedule

The Aggies open their 2019 season against Texas State at Kyle Field on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. 1 has become a student of the game, Fisher said, and it has shown in his football knowledge and preparation. Expect Mond to show signs of improvement on the field as he leads the Aggies through this seasons tough schedule, which includes No. Despite being redshirted in his freshman season, White was named Scout Team Defensive MVP, illustrating his ability on the field. Fisher and the Aggies are not looking past Texas State.