Jimbo Fisher identifies what he is looking for in first game

Texas A&M will be looking to bounce back this season following a disappointing 5-7 finish last year, their worst under head coach Jimbo Fisher.

As the Aggies head into their season opener versus New Mexico, Fisher was asked what he wants to see out of his team in their first game of the season. And he delivered, giving a laundry list of things he’d like to see from his team as they take on the Lobos in Week 1.

“I think it’s the same you’d be at any time,” Fisher said. “Can you communicate, can you line up, can you get calls, can the guys make adjustments on the field, can you not have a lot of self-inflicted wounds, do you take care of the football? Taking care of the football and creating turnovers on defense. Each individual thing that makes success and that’s what you’ve got to have.”

Fisher wants to see his team master the basics, taking care of their business before the snap and not beating themselves after. Of the Aggies’ seven losses last season, five were by a touchdown or less, and extra attention to detail this season could be the difference between a narrow loss and a victory for Fisher’s team.

“There’s a list of things in which we talk about that affect the outcomes of games that are the most important things, that we emphasize daily. On a daily basis. And those things have to be personified in the game and we got to perfect them,” Fisher said.

Hopefully, the Aggies’ daily emphasis on the keys to success can show in their Week 1 matchup, as they’re currently 38-point home favorites over a New Mexico team that tied for last place in the Mountain West a season ago finishing with a 2-10 record.

The Lobos haven’t won a game since last September, and Texas A&M will likely handle business, the question will be how efficiently and effectively can they do so? And how will their new offense look?

The Aggies changed things up on offense this season following their worst scoring season of the Jimbo Fisher era, averaging just 22.8 points per game which ranked only in front of Kentucky in the SEC last season.

This offseason the team added Bobby Petrino to their staff as the new offensive coordinator, also recently naming Connor Weigman as their starting quarterback. And hopefully, the duo can turn things around of the offensive side of the ball starting this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET when they face New Mexico on ESPN.