Texas A&M Football Preview: The Offense Will Need to Step Up

The Texas A&M schedule could be the biggest factor in a winning season in 2009.

The past two years have been brutal, with the Aggies only managing to go 11-14 in that span.

This year could be different for the Aggies. With a top 25 recruiting class and a decent amount of returning starters on offense, the Ags could hold their own on the road this season with a high powered offense.

The defense lost a significant amount of starters, including both ends and half their secondary, so they could suffer if the team isn't ready to step up.

This year there is a different aspect to the schedule: a respectable non-conference opponent.

The Aggies will renew their old rivalry with Arkansas by beginning a 10-year series with the SEC foes. Arkansas will not be a pushover despite the current state of their program; SEC opponents are always tough.

October could be a season changer for the boys in maroon and white. They play Arkansas, Oklahoma State at home, at Kansas State, and at Texas Tech.

They should be 3-0 entering this stretch, but if they want to have any hope of competing with Texas and OU, they need to be 7-0 entering November, at the very least go 3-1 in those four games and hope the powerhouses plunder at some point.

The Aggies did luck out in not having to play Nebraska, Missouri, or Kansas this year and only have to contend with Colorado and Iowa State before playing OU.

Playing those two weak Big 12 North foes could help build confidence when taking on the Sooners, but it would be unwise of me to predict a victory.

Any way you look at the schedule, it would not surprise me in the least bit if the Aggies go 10-2, with the losses coming at OU and vs. UT.

Baylor is a potential season breaker, seeing as how they are sandwiched between the Texas and OU games. Not to mention the fact that Guy Morris really has them on the rise, the Big 12 South is not far away from having six legitimate programs.

I don't see the Aggies losing to the Bears, however, seeing as how they handed the Ags their worse loss to Baylor in a very long time. Retribution is in order.

A realistic expectation has to be 9-3 and a decent bowl game. Anything less would be a disappointment. There has not been this much excitement in Aggieland since 2006, when the Aggies finished a brilliant regular season with a 12-7 win in Austin.

Pass it back, uncover, and hump it Ags; be there to witness Texas A&M's return to relevance.