What’s your deal, Matt Hayes?
A blog so bad it needed a response. By: The Hammer
We’ve listened to a lot of ass hattery over the last few weeks from the national talking heads about A&M. It oddly seems like many have an agenda or an ax to grind with our beloved program, for unidentifiable reasons. At every turn, the chirping class seems to be trying to discredit A&M. Many have been boneheaded takes, but none was more egregious than the article written on Monday by Saturday Down South’s Matt Hayes. It’s hard to call the piece anything other than a waste of time, so we decided to correct the record and make it worth your time.
Let’s dissect the dataless, factless, clickbait piece bit by bit. (His words in italics, our responses in bold).
I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …
Great, then don’t and quit while you're ahead.
Don’t blame Ohio State or Notre Dame when you don’t reach the Playoff, Texas A&M.
No Aggie is “blaming” Ohio State or Notre Dame. Obviously, Ohio State wanted to play more games, so it would be dumb to blame them. Blame the committee, media outlets? Maybe. But I’m not mad at Ohio State at all. And I haven’t heard a single A&M fan be upset that 9-0 Notre Dame is ahead in the rankings. Wake up.
Look directly at that safe, bored team you put on the field for the previous 3 games, the one that had College Football Playoff poll position and zeroed in on another team’s misfortune instead of building its case on the field.
After all that whining and complaining since the first CFP poll, Texas A&M is left with this: The Florida loss it so desperately wanted/needed does nothing for its Playoff hopes.
In fact, it might have hurt them.
Florida losing does not hurt A&M. We beat LSU and Florida so their result should have no bearing on the way A&M is viewed. If anything it emphasizes that playing games matters! A 23-point favorite lost at home to a depleted LSU team. So blindly assuming a team like USC or Ohio State would win 9-10 games is ridiculous. Also the committee just ranked Florida at #7 after their LSU loss, so it looks like they still think highly of Florida.
By the end of next week’s championship games, Texas A&M’s best win will be a team that lost 2 straight to end the season, and that fell out of the top 10 after a likely blowout loss to No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
The Aggies needed Florida to play the SEC Championship Game with 1 loss, and lose respectably. That scenario would’ve at least meant Texas A&M’s anchor win would’ve stayed in the top 10 and strengthened its résumé.
Please help me identify the Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame anchor wins. Oh, Notre Dame beat Clemson in overtime at home without Trevor Lawrence and several defensive starters. I think that compares pretty similarly to a victory over Florida. Ohio State beat Indiana by 7 at home. The same Indiana team who has yet to beat a team with a winning record? WOW! Huge win. And Clemson….crickets. Their “anchor” win to this point was Miami who was clearly a fraud as UNC just took them behind the woodshed.
And now? Well, now the Aggies need a miracle (more on that later).
If you think being #5 in the CFP rankings needs a miracle to get in then you need your brain examined. A few scenarios can happen where A&M gets in, but only one has to: A&M beats Tennessee and Notre Dame beats Clemson. Period.
Because it’s not just the Florida loss that has Texas A&M on the outside of the Playoff with its face pressed against the window. It’s not just the CFP selection committee even considering an Ohio State team that played half a season.
It’s 2 ugly wins over Auburn and LSU when the Aggies had an opportunity to make a statement.
That was the biggest sin of all.
Through all of those controversial BCS years and the previous 6 CFP seasons, the overwhelming reality was the safest, surest way to reach the game(s) that matters is winning big. Not stumbling to the finish.
This is so dumb you clearly know nothing about football or just have it out for Texas A&M. If winning 6 straight games, including the last 5 by double digits “ugly” and “limping to the finish,” then every champion in the history of college football wins a hell of a lot of “ugly” games. But just to compare, lets see what the other teams have done that you say are so far ahead of A&M. Ohio State beat Penn State (3-5) by 13, how ugly! They beat Indiana by 7, ugly! Meanwhile Notre Dame, who has a larger sample size has even more “ugly” wins. I’m assuming 14 point wins are ugly using your logic. Notre Dame beat Duke (2-9) by 14, ugly! Beat Louisville (4-7) by 5, ugly! Beat Boston College (6-4) by 14, ugly! Beat UNC by 14, ugly! Clemson beat Boston College (6-4) 32-28, ugly! You get the picture. Furthermore, if you actually watched the LSU or Auburn game and aren’t a complete imbecile, you saw A&M control both games and win handily. LSU scored their touchdown with less than a minute left in garbage time with backups in. The game was done. Against Auburn, A&M ran for over 300 yards, dominated time of possession, and dominated all statistics before winning by 11. If you want to call those wins ugly, fine that’s your opinion. But at least apply that same logic to other teams competing for CFP spots, rather than only going after A&M because you have an ax to grind.
The college football postseason has forever been as much a beauty pageant as a demolition derby. For 3 weeks the Aggies were dinged and dented while playing it safe in wins over Auburn and LSU – and as damaging, by not playing games because of COVID protocols.
The more Texas A&M didn’t play games – no matter which team failed to reach protocol minimums – the more they were out of sight and mind from the CFP committee. Again, it’s a beauty pageant and a demolition derby, and you must be present to be accounted for in a committee poll that is essentially an eye test.
Interesting that you are saying the more A&M didn't play, the more it hurt their chances. I actually agree...but why doesn’t that same logic apply to Ohio State or USC who have played just 5 games? If you need to be “present and accounted for” where was the Big Ten and PAC-12 in the first month of the season? AWOL.
Photo: Butch Dill, AP Photo
You’re not winning votes with the committee when you beat a bad LSU team 20-7, and your quarterback completes 30% of his passes and averages 3.1 yards per attempt.
Up until 30 seconds left in the game, A&M was up by three scores. The Aggies dominated this game from start to finish. Sorry it wasn’t pretty enough for you - but often football isn’t a pretty sport if you’d care to actually watch it.
You’re not winning votes when you beat unranked Auburn 31-20 and have to score 17 points in the 4th quarter to make it happen.
Criticize the Aggie offense for that LSU game, totally fair. They played poorly that night. The problem with this argument is A&M is 4th in the SEC in total offense, only behind Alabama, Ole Miss and Florida who are having historic seasons offensively. Plus it was pouring rain, Kellen Mond missed two weeks of practice with COVID and the team had not played in three weeks. Without those factors, the Aggie offense has been very good, and they proved that under normal circumstances against Auburn scoring 31 and tallying over 500 yards. Also, A&M has not moved from the #5 spot yet so why do you think they are not “winning votes?” The committee has been consistently ranking the Aggies from the jump.
Because while the Aggies were throwing up all over themselves in those 2 wins, Ohio State was annihilating Michigan State. While the Aggies were sitting out a week because of COVID protocols, Ohio State got its biggest win of the season over 1-loss and top 10 Indiana.
If winning 5 straight SEC games by double digits is “throwing up on themselves” then I really hope the Aggies get used to puking cause I like to win comfortably. Nice 7 point win against Indiana. And Michigan State…really? More on that later.
Ohio State’s Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback Justin Fields was making spectacular plays in big moments to win games. Mond was doing everything he could to not lose games.
Justin Fields vs Indiana: 18/30, 300 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. 15 carries, 78 yards, 1 touchdown. Call me crazy but three turnovers in your biggest game of the year doesn't scream “spectacular” in my book. But I’m not an Ohio State boot licker so what do I know. Yes, Mond was bad against LSU (Trask didn’t look so hot against LSU either and that was without Derek Stingley) but Mond played damn good against Auburn. How about 18/23, 196 yards, 2 touchdowns, no turnovers and 10 carries for 60 yards. Seems pretty comparable to your golden boy Justin Fields against Indiana. Less yardage but far more efficient and no turnovers.
That’s not exactly all gussied up for the CFP selection committee if you know what I mean.
This is a unique season, a rare moment where the CFP selection committee could’ve chosen a Texas A&M team that rolled opponents every week since a 28-point loss – a TWENTY-EIGHT point loss – to No.1 Alabama.
Totally fair criticism here. 28-point loss is very bad. Bama is destroying everyone and Jaylen Waddle was still playing at that time, but a 28-point loss is not competitive and is hard to overcome for any team. Very interested to see if anyone can keep Alabama within single digits.
Instead, the Aggies gave the committee this to chew on following a 41-38 win over Florida:
28-14 over Mississippi State. Fluke pick 6. A&M knelt on the 2-yard line to end the game. The result was never in doubt. Miss St had 217 total yards.
42-31 over Arkansas. Game was 42-17 in the 4th quarter. Hogs scored 2 garbage time TDs on Aggie backups, including one with under a minute remaining. Not a close game.
A blowout of a truly terrible South Carolina team. So this blowout is dismissed but Ohio State blowing out Michigan State is praised? Hmm. A&M actually had a higher margin of victory, but don’t let facts get in the way of your garbage narrative.
Uninspiring wins over LSU and Auburn. Already addressed this nonsense.
The response from the CFP selection committee: So? Actual response: #5 every single week.
It’s a beauty pageant, and you better look good every week when you’re on the runway. Anyone can look good at home in a desperation game after a big loss to the No. 1 team.
So now you are dismissing a Florida win because “Anyone can look good at home in a desperation game after a big loss to the No. 1 team.” What does this even mean? Is there any actual point or data here or is this just some random thing you pulled out of your ass to discredit an A&M victory? Plenty of teams have lost to Alabama and didn’t look good the next week.
Not everyone can grind through the demolition derby of a season. Those that can’t will eventually look just as banged and battered – and here’s the key, unattractive for the eye test – as everyone else chasing all that pretty.
Agree! Not everyone can grind through the demolition derby of a season. Probably why playing games should matter. A Lot easier to get through the half derby by playing 5 games rather than 9, 10 or 11, right?
Because at the end of the show, you can’t point to a car more damaged than yours. If neither are running, who cares?
In conclusion: this guy is a fool and has zero clue what he is talking about. He either doesn't watch the games or he just doesn’t know a damn thing about the game of football. Of course I’m biased but at least I have stats and data on my side. I can back up my opinions with results rather than spewing nonsense without anything to back it up. This dude is just out here making up garbage that isn’t relevant and holding wins against A&M when EVERY team not named Alabama has the exact same kind of results on their record.
I’m done arguing about Ohio State, too. They are a really good team. I don’t think a team playing just 6 games should be considered for the CFP, but it's not up to me. Ohio State’s players and coaches didn't do this, their conference did, so if the committee thinks they are a top 4 team based on the eye test (and they obviously do that’s why they are #4), that’s fine - let them into the CFP. Ohio State is a great program who has competed at the highest level for a long time and they are getting the benefit of the doubt this year. They have probably earned that.
If A&M finished 8-1 and the top 4 doesn’t change, I’m okay with that. I’m just fed up with folks completely dismissing everything A&M has done because all these other teams you are jock sniffing (outside of Alabama) have very similar results, issues, question marks, etc. Ohio State very well could be one of the best 4 teams in the country and if they beat Northwestern, they are going to get in. But stop saying A&M needs a “miracle” to get it because they don’t. And stop trying to discredit A&M at every turn while simultaneously kissing the ass of Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson, and whoever else you want to prop up (USC? Coastal? Get out).
Does A&M need help to get into the playoff? Yes. Do they need a “miracle?” No.
Boom. Roasted.
