Jimbo Fisher makes a bold claim about whether Texas A&M is a championship contender

Texas A&M head football coach Jimbo Fisher is no stranger when it comes to making bold claims about his team. And on Wednesday, as a guest on the Paul Finebaum Show, Fisher made a bold statement on Texas A&M and the College Football Playoff.

Finebaum is a well-renowned SEC analyst known for getting the most out of his interviews. So it came as no surprise when he asked Fisher about the Aggies’ chances at a national championship, Texas A&M headman said this.

“I think we will be, I think we were a year ago. I really thought we should be in the playoffs, but we’re not,” Fisher said. “We finished fourth (in the SEC West), but I think we’re in that area. At the end of the year, Alabama had a tremendous team, but I think we were the second-best team in the country when you get down to it. This year, we had an opportunity, we had some injuries early, and we had an opportunity, came back with the big wins at Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, but we didn’t finish at the end of the season like we needed to.

“We’ve got to learn that. That’s a learned behavior. You’ve got to learn how to win when you’re supposed to win and in some big situations on the road, and we’ve got to learn that and grow up. But I do think that from a talent standpoint we’re there, I think from an organizational standpoint we’re there. Now we just have to finish it off. … I think we’re right there, now we just have to go do it.”

Texas A&M and Jimbo Fisher secured a New Year’s Eve bowl game this season after finishing 8-4. Aggies will play runners-up from the ACC, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the Gator Bowl. You can catch the game on Dec. 31 at 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. 

Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada enters NCAA transfer portal

Texas A&M Aggies starting quarterback Zach Calzada is back on the market after opting to enter the NCAA transfer portal on Monday, according to InsideTexas.

Calzada, a redshirt sophomore, started 10 games this season in the place of Haynes King who suffered a season-ending leg injury in the first game. He’ll have immediate eligibility at his next program as this will be his first time transferring. King, a redshirt freshman, is likely to regain his starting job for the Aggies come 2022.

The Buford, Georgia, native threw for 2,185 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions this year for Jimbo Fisher’s 8-4 squad. Calzada’s season completion percentage at 56.1% ranked 13 out of the SEC’s 14 starting quarterbacks.

Coming out of Lanier High School, Calzada was a top-500 prospect with 25 Division-I offers.