Reporting Live from a Gas Station of Sadness Just Outside of Grumpytown

When I posted my report from Grumpytown on Saturday immediately after the Aggies' ignominious loss to Arkansas State, I anticipated that I would get up the next day and feel more optimistic. That didn't happen.

I am of two minds about the outlook for the rest of A&M's season, but it's not optimism vs. pessism. No; on the one hand there's gloom and on the other there's doom.

Gloom: It's possible that this game was a fluke. You know, last year Alabama went 6-6 (which I would be fine with for the Ags) but they dropped a game to Louisiana-Monroe in the middle of the season. Maybe this is like that, but at the beginning of the season?

Doom: This is unlikely. It's far more plausible that we dropped the second-easiest game on our schedule because we're worse than 11 of the teams that we're going to play.

Gloom: But Ark State did scare Texas last year. They were within a touchdown, and that was with some sort of questionable call giving the 'sips a break.

Doom: And yet, they're still the second-worst team we're going to play.

Gloom: Well, a lot of the problem was just Aggies making (tons of) mistakes, so maybe those can be fixed?

Doom: Or we're just bad at playing football.

Gloom: It is just one game.

Doom: Which might be comforting, was this basketball.

Gloom: In any event, you don't give up on a coach after one game. . . . Even if you don't see a reason not to give up on the current season.

Doom: Yeah, but remember the athletic department giving Fran all that time to prove he was good? And how well that worked out?

Gloom: Don't be silly. Sherman is not Fran.

Doom: What if Sherman is worse than Fran?!? Fran managed to beat Arkansas State!

Gloom: He's not. Surely . . . surely he's not.

Doom: Maybe you're right.

Gloom: You know, it's always possible that the boys will work out the kinks; they'll get more used to the real system; those freshmen on the O-line will have a fast learning curve; and Jorvorskie will get healthy and boost our offense. And in that case . . . we'll probably scrape together four or five wins, right?

Doom: Or none of those will happen. In that case, we beat Army. And nobody else. Even Baylor.