Texas A&M Hopes to Mimic, Exceed Auburn's Rise in SEC West

If an entire college football program could look in a mirror, one has to wonder if Texas A&M would see hints of blue and orange. 

Recently there have been growing similarities and parallels between it and Auburn, and not just because their head coaches are known for having uptempo spread offenses.

Both know a thing or two about being overshadowed by an in-state rival.

Auburn had Cam Newton; Texas A&M came back with Johnny Manziel.

Outside of LSU, they’re the only Southeastern Conference programs to beat Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium since Nick Saban arrived in 2007.

Even last year’s numbers were somewhat similar. Both went 8-5, and in total points Auburn finished with just three more scored, 461 to 458. That’s despite the Tigers having a 3-4 record against ranked teams while the Aggies were 2-3.

However, that one was at Auburn, 41-38, which essentially ended the Tigers’ chances of making the inaugural playoffs. Twice they appeared to be going in for a late touchdown to take the lead only to lose a fumble, including once at the 2-yard line with 2:37 remaining.

Although how they moved the ball was different that day, as Aggies quarterback Kyle Allen had four touchdown passes in the first half and Tigers running back Cameron Artis-Payne totaled 221 rushing yards on 30 carries, both defenses were pretty inept. The offenses combined for 1,035 yards.

Consequently, both coaches decided they needed to make a big move and opened the coffers to land defensive coordinators who were already proven in the league. While Auburn brought back Will Muschamp after he was let go as Florida’s head coach, Texas A&M hired John Chavis from LSU.

“Their defense didn’t do anything exactly, they didn’t have the greatest players in the world, but they always had the right answers for what you were doing,” Texas A&M tackle Germain Ifedi said about facing Chavis’ defense at LSU. “When I heard he was coming to A&M I was excited. It’s a big deal.

“He’s proven he can do more with less, and even more with more.”

Specific to this season, the comparisons only continue.

Both teams have highly touted quarterbacks who had to wait their chance.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Both teams have had recent success in recruiting and boast some big-time offensive threats.

Yet Auburn was picked to win the conference title during SEC media days last week, while A&M was slated for sixth in the Western Division—leading many to wonder how two teams so similar could be expected to finish at opposite ends of the standings.

In addition to respect for the West’s other teams, it boiled down to three things: A little more success as Auburn played for the 2013 national championship, the Tigers have a more favorable schedule compared to last season and the Aggies are a little younger on paper.

For example, prize defensive lineman Myles Garrett set an SEC freshman record with 11.5 sacks in 2014. He, like Allen, is obviously only a sophomore.

Speedy Noil is a tremendous deep threat and terrific special teams player. He, along with returning starter Ricky Seals-Jones, is also a sophomore.

Linebacker Otaro Alaka was named the Defensive MVP of the Liberty Bowl. Again, he’s a sophomore, along with a pair of key players in the secondary: cornerback Victor Davis and safety Armani Watts, who both saw a lot of playing time in 2014.

“When you have that many young guys that are playing, I think what we learned as coaches and hopefully as players is what it takes to go through the grind of this league,” Coach Kevin Sumlin said. “Our first year here, we had a group of seniors who were physically and mentally tough. Last year I think guys like Armani Watts, who started off the year great playing free safety for us, had a great game against South Carolina, Week 6, 7, 8, 9, he just was worn down. So mentally it's different.

“The maturity level of this team in another year—as they say, the best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores, and for us, that's a good thing because there is no one-and-done in college football.”

Thus, even though the majority of college football players improve the most between their first and second years, Auburn is getting the benefit of doubt because juniors and seniors will fill most of those same key positions.

In terms of measuring sticks for the Auburn and Texas A&M comparison, we’ll get two of them before they play Nov. 7, as the Mississippi schools will first face both on back-to-back Saturdays.

The Bulldogs go first, at Auburn on Sept. 26 and at College Station on Oct. 3, and then the Rebels host the Aggies on Oct. 24 before visiting Auburn on Oct. 31.

Oddly enough, in both cases the non-Mississippi team will be coming off a game against Arkansas, which plays an exact opposite style of play, grind-it-out, and aims to be the most physical team in the league.

“Yeah, Arkansas is a really good team,” said Texas A&M center Mike Mathews, one of the few offensive starters who is a senior. “We’re really excited for that game. Last season was nail-bitter. Thankfully, we were able to pull it out. They’re a great team with a lot of style.”

That was also when the Aggies’ 2014 season turned south. At 5-0, Texas A&M then lost three straight games, including 59-0 to Alabama. The win against No. 3 Auburn and 45-37 over West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl salvaged the season somewhat.

“Our guys left the season feeling a heck of a lot better about themselves than they did during the middle of the year,” Sumlin said.

How well the sophomores develop will go a long way in determining Texas A&M’s success this fall, and who’s to say if things come together that the Aggies won’t end up being better than even Auburn. After all, there was a reason why Sumlin was told by a passing Steve Spurrier during media days: “You guys had the same record as Auburn last year right? You should tell (the media) that.”

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer.

Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.