Cookin’ Up the Competition: Is It Done Yet?

Only four games left guys, the end is in sight. This week Chuck, from fellow SB Nation blog Good Bull Hunting, was kind enough to answer a few questions I had for him ahead of our much anticipated game against the Fighting Aggies of Texas A&M. Chuck also had a few questions for me on their site, you can check that out here.

1) A lot of people are talking about the CFP Rankings Committee placing A&M at #4 just to stir the pot. Can you justify the Aggie's ranking using less than 100 words?

That depends - if I write "hahahaha" does that count as one word or four?

Was A&M's top 4 ranking a troll move / ratings grab? Probably so. It gives the talking heads something to talk about, gives the Twitter eggs something to be angry about, and otherwise means less than a wet fart in a mason jar. Coach Sumlin's thoughts mirror my own in that the rank itself is meaningless at this point in the season, but it is nice to have concrete evidence that we are still relevant in November.

2) Myles Garrett is a freak athlete that makes me nervous for the well-being of our QB on Friday. Who else should I be looking out for on Saturday to wreck our offense?

Lots of offenses have used the old adage "four hands are better than two" when it comes to holding (ahem) Garrett in check. Those double teams have let Daeshon Hall on the other end of the line enjoy some barely contested looks at the QB. Also keep an eye out for Justin Evans hurling his body at people. The Chief thinks he's pretty good, and he would know.

3) The next four games on the Aggie's schedule (State, Ole Miss, UTSA, LSU) are all looking to be extremely winnable games. What do you think the chances are for A&M to win out?

This is not an easy road. OK, UTSA is easy. But not the rest.

I think a lot of people at A&M and in the college football world are writing off Mississippi State a little too quickly and not accounting for the fact that three of the Bulldogs' losses were by 3 points or less and another went to double OT. That, combined with an explosive, volatile, and confusing Ole Miss team means that our two games against the reps from the Magnolia State are dangerous. Then there's the fact that we haven't beaten LSU in over 20 years [trails off, stares into middle distance...]

If the Ags stand a whisper of a prayer of actually making the CFP they'll need to win out, and while I think that top to bottom this is as solid a team as we have had in the SEC I put our odds of winning out at even.

4) Would you rather that A&M be guaranteed the #1 recruit in the state of Texas every year for the next 5 years OR sign a deal for a home-an-home with the Longhorns in 2017-18?

who never heard of them must be some former non rival from the big dumpster fire lololulz we would never help them and do them a favor weve moved on our brand is bigger on the national scene let them rot on the vine while we play the best of the best hurr hurr hurrrrrrrrrr

Now that we've gotten that nonsense out of the way, let me say that football is fun. Playing your rival is fun. Recruiting, branding, TV deals, TV ratings, athletic department revenue, merchandising, stadium size, attendance, etc. are all important ancillary activities to football, but they are not football and they are not fun. Playing the Longhorns again soon is the hill that I will die upon.

Also we have had some recent unpleasantness with our 5 star recruits which you may have read about.

5) Prediction time: will the Dawgs beat the 13.5 point spread on Saturday?

I believe the MSU offense is a bit underrated this season, but I also believe in my Aggie defense. Ags win and cover 38-20

BONUS: Is Texas A&M a cult?

Why whatever do you mean, friend? Here, please enjoy some of our free literature.