Jimbo Fisher does not call UMass a 'reset' game

In the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, Texas A&M was ranked sixth. Now, the Aggies have lost six games in a row and already know they’re going to finish with a losing record. To say it’s been a huge disappointment for head coach Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M would be an understatement.

This week, Texas A&M is expected to get a win and break the team’s losing streak. UMass is traveling to College Station with a record of 1-9 and a fraction of the resources or talent of Texas A&M. However, Jimbo Fisher resisted calling this a reset game for the Aggies.

“Any game is a good time to reset,” Jimbo Fisher said. “Say a ‘reset,’ this is a game. They cause a lot of problems.”

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“Don Brown on defense–I played, I’ve coached–matter of fact, he was Steve’s [Addazio] coordinator at Boston College. He was really good when he was at Maryland with Ralph Friedgen. He was at Michigan. We played him anyway, he was the coordinator at Michigan in the Orange Bowl when I played him in the Orange Bowl. He is a pain to go against. I mean, a lot of different fronts, blitzes, stems, and things. Offensively, I think they do the same thing,” Jimbo Fisher explained.

Brown came up as a defensive coordinator at various stops in New England, eventually becoming the UMass defensive coordinator in 1998, where he won an FCS national championship as a coordinator. He later was named the head coach, taking the Minutemen to another national championship game appearance. However, he chose to move up to be an FBS defensive coordinator in 2009.

“So, they’re a very tough team to prepare for and we need to prepare very well.”

Jimbo Fisher doesn’t want to call this game against UMass a chance to reset because the Aggies should be able to reset after every game and UMass will have a tough scheme. At the same time, UMass has beaten just two FBS teams since the 2019 season. The talent gap between these two teams is undeniable.

Jimbo Fisher says UMass will be a challenge for Conner Weigman

It might be easy to assume that Texas A&M’s offense will be able to name its score against UMass. At the same time, Jimbo Fisher is concerned about the problems that a Don Brown-coached defense can give to a young quarterback like Conner Weigman.

“These guys cause you all kinds of problems on defense,” Jimbo Fisher said.

“It’ll be extremely challenging for him because of how they blitz and the fronts they do and the scheme. They’re a very challenging team. It’s gonna be just like he’s in a conference game and playing anybody else in America.”