TEXAS A&M VS. UMASS

Aggies look to end historic skid as UMASS comes to town

Jimbo Fisher
The Aggies have lost six straight games. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
Jimbo Fisher

The downhill slide continued last Saturday night for Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies as they lost their sixth straight game to the lowly Auburn Tigers 13-10. It was an abysmal game on both sides of the ball for both squads. In all honesty, it was a very hard game to watch. Even with an interim coach, the battle of the 3-6 SEC West teams favored Auburn, and Aggieland fell even deeper into the abyss.

How did they get here? I seem to ask that question every week. The loss to App State in week two was a sign of things to come. When the Mountaineers from the Sun Belt came to Kyle Field and defeated the 6th-ranked Texas Aggies, the thought on many Aggie’s minds was, “maybe App State is just that good? The Ags can still win the SEC. It was just a non-conference game!” It turns out that App State was not that good. It turns out that the Aggies could not win the SEC. It turns out that the nightmare season that many Aggie faithful feared had come true.

So here we are, with Texas A&M missing their first bowl game due to their record since 2008. With UMASS and SEC West Champs LSU remaining on the schedule, Aggie fans and Alumni are legitimately questioning if they will finish 3-9. Let that sink in. You cannot confidently say Texas A&M can beat UMASS. The best-case scenario is the Maroon and White somehow win out and finish 5-7. I’m not in the crowd that is worried about UMASS, however. I think the Aggies will be able to finally get that winning feeling again against the Minutemen. But the next challenge comes to close out the season with LSU after thanksgiving. If Jimbo Fisher wants to build ANY momentum going into the offseason, a great place to start would be wrecking LSU’s playoff hopes.

The Aggies will need to take it one step at a time, however. If they focus on UMASS first and handle their business this coming Saturday, I believe they'll be able to end this historic skid for Texas A&M. A&M handles UMASS easily with a 34-10 victory to improve to 4-7.

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The Astros have an important offseason ahead of them! Composite Getty Image.

The World Series is in full swing and as we wait to see which team brings home the hardware, odds have already been released for the 2025 season.

According to Draft Kings and Fan Duel, the Astros have the sixth-best odds to win the championship next season. So while many in the national media are burying the Astros and saying the window is closed, the oddsmakers don't agree.

Of course, these odds have been released before free agency, so things will change based on the moves made this offseason.

For Houston, Alex Bregman's future with the team is up in the air. So that could have a big impact on their chances in 2025. Something else to monitor heading into the offseason is if the club would consider trading either Framber Valdez or Kyle Tucker.

If Breggy leaves, it's hard to imagine Houston moving on from Tucker. They can't afford to lose two of their best bats, and the team clearly has more depth in the rotation than they do in the outfield.

Trading Framber could clear about $18 million off the books and bring some top prospects into the farm system. And if Bregman is off the books as well, perhaps the team could afford to re-sign Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi would be significantly cheaper than signing Valdez to a long-term deal.

This could change the market

Another thing to consider this offseason is super agent Scott Boras, who also happens to represent Bregman. Boras was unable to secure blockbuster contracts for several of his clients last offseason. Many had to settle for shorter prove it deals.

It's fair to wonder if his clients will be more willing to take the first deal they are offered that they view as acceptable. As opposed to rolling the dice on what Boras is promising.

Maybe this could be a good thing for Bregman's chances of returning, if the Astros are willing to give him a reasonable offer.

Finally, Yankee GM Brian Cashman is still blaming the Astros for not being in a World Series over the last 15 years. We thought we were past this, but if he wants to go there again, we're more than happy to put him in his place!

Don't miss the video above for the full conversation!

*The Astros are always in season for discussion. Our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts drop Mondays!

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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.

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