Paul Finebaum explains why Jimbo Fisher is already in must-win mode

Paul Finebaum believes Jimbo Fisher is already facing a critical point during the 2022 season.

After Texas A&M came into the season with dreams of the College Football Playoff, a loss to Appalachian State had those plans go up in smoke. Now, the Aggies have a matchup with the Miami Hurricanes before getting into their SEC schedule, and Finebaum explained on Get Up why it’s paramount to Fisher to get a victory on Saturday.

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“He is in must-win mode now,” responded Finebaum. “He’s not getting fired. The reason? It would cost $90 million to get rid of him right now. But he is in trouble in terms of perception. He’s got a worse record than the person they fired to make room for him, Kevin Sumlin. His record at A&M outside of the COVID year is actually pretty mediocre, and a lot of people are beginning to wonder if Florida State wasn’t a fluke.

“This is a critical game this week. After that, it actually gets more difficult, with Arkansas and Alabama and Mississippi State and everyone else in the SEC.”

Additionally, Finebaum drove his point home with a graphic comparing Fisher’s first 50 games with the Aggies to his predecessor in Kevin Sumlin’s. According to ESPN, Fisher has one less win than Sumlin, while also possessing a worse record against Top 25 teams and more losses as the favorite than Sumlin had.

Evidently, Texas A&M paid for an elite replacement, but it hasn’t worked out that way for Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies just yet. There’s still plenty of time to turn things around, but the results need to begin to take shape.

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Moreover, Finebaum joined First Take on Tuesday to discuss the near upset game between Alabama and Texas this weekend. However, the SEC Network host couldn’t resist bringing up the actual upset that happened about 100 miles away in College Station Saturday, when No. 6 ranked Texas A&M fell to Appalachian State 17-14.

“Not to change the subject, but the biggest story in Texas Saturday wasn’t in Austin, it was in College Station where Texas A&M, Stephen A you can’t talk about Saban without Jimbo, but Texas A&M laid one of the biggest eggs in modern college football history losing to Appalachian State,” Finebaum said. “And that’s a program that many had winning the National Championship, or being in the final four, or at least contending, and suddenly that game that everybody was showing up for October 8 in Tuscaloosa, including you Stephen A.”

The upset was surely a historic one, and Finebaum believes that the Aggies weren’t just in trouble Saturday, but in the future as well as they face two teams currently ranked in the top 15 of the AP Poll in Miami and Arkansas in back-to-back weeks. 

“Texas A&M is gonna be lucky to get to that game without a couple losses. They have Miami this week, they have Arkansas in a couple weeks, Arkansas looked really good the other day, Miami looks really good they have a great quarterback. So that’s a major concern if you’re following Texas football,” Finebaum said.