Aggies, Sooners meet in Cotton Bowl tonight
A pair of teams very familiar with each other hit the field in Dallas tonight for the Cotton Bowl. Texas A&M faces Oklahoma in a matchup that features two former members of the Big 12 conference.
A&M left the conference for the Southeastern Conference as part of college football’s realignment while Oklahoma stayed put after turning down opportunities to move to a different league.
Many experts thought the Aggies would struggle in their first year as a member of the SEC. And not many around Texas A&M were thinking that the Aggies would go 10-2 before the season started. Even fewer thought that redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel would wind up becoming the hottest thing in college football, winning the Heisman Trophy in his first season as the Aggies starting quarterback
But the Aggies did collect ten victories this season, including an upset of then top-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa in November. And ‘Johnny Football’ did win the Heisman Trophy. Charles Davis of FOX Sports will be on the television call tonight and says Manziel deserves all the accolades he’s been getting, but don’t forget about first year coach Kevin Sumlin.
“I knew he was terrific, but I thought 10-2 was a lot to ask for given that he had an unproven quarterback,” Davis said.
Greg Koch of Sports Talk 790 was surprised by how the Aggies have performed this year as well.
“Did I think they would do what they’ve done? I never envisioned it, and I don’t think many A&M fans did, either” Koch explained.
And even though the Aggies surprised almost everyone in the college football world, there are still people who think they will struggle against the Sooners tonight.
“I think Oklahoma should win this game. But then again with A&M this year, you can’t predict anything,” Koch said.
Davis thinks Oklahoma will play this game with something to prove.
“Oklahoma feels like for the first time in a long time that they are the team people are overlooking,” Davis said.
The Cotton Bowl is set for a 7pm kickoff.
