Joel Klatt took a swing at Texas A&M, but this one landed nowhere near the mark.
The Fox Sports analyst has long been willing to needle Aggie fans, and he did it again while talking about Auburn. In trying to frame expectations around the Tigers, Klatt dragged Texas A&M into the conversation and drew a comparison that doesn’t hold up.
“Auburn reminds me a lot of Texas A&M in that there's not a ton of consistency, but the expectations are always that they're going to be great... They're a popcorn program just like A&M. They're an average program that pops up every once in a while.” - @joelklatt pic.twitter.com/df4OMnLOtC
- The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) August 31, 2026
The problem is that the comparison misses what Texas A&M fans actually believe about their program. The expectation in College Station isn’t that the Aggies should magically be great no matter what. It’s that the right coach, backed by the resources Texas A&M has available, ought to be able to recruit and develop at a high level and turn that into results on the field.
If that doesn’t happen, Aggie fans see that as a breakdown in the process. The fix, in their eyes, is to change the coach. That’s the logic that played out with both Sumlin and Fisher, when Texas A&M had enough in place to settle into the “good, not great” tier with some consistency.
Auburn is a different story. Since moving on from Gus Malzahn, the Tigers have been far more erratic, with the occasional high point but plenty of stretches where just getting to a bowl game has been a struggle.
The numbers back that up. Since Texas A&M joined the SEC, the Aggies have had 7 or more losses only once.
Auburn has done it six times in the same span. Texas A&M has also posted three seasons with 2 or fewer losses; Auburn has only one.
Auburn certainly pours plenty into football, and its commitment to the sport is stronger than most programs in the country. But that still doesn’t make it comparable to Texas A&M in the way Klatt suggested. On this one, he was reaching, and it made him look out of touch.
In Other News...
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The omission stands out even more when stacked against the way some outside evaluators have viewed A&M this offseason. ESPNs top 100 list included only one Aggie, with Mario Craver landing at No. 86, and that split between media rankings and preseason perception has left Texas A&M with a familiar gripe. Whether the Aggies are being overlooked or simply judged differently than some of their SEC peers, it is the kind of slight fans in College Station will not let slide quietly. [Read more 🡒]
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At Kyle Field against Missouri State, that approach will get its first real test, with the Aggies trying to establish the tone they want for the rest of the season. Craver also stressed the importance of taking things game by game, a simple message that usually sounds routine in August but carries more weight when a team believes it has bigger goals ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Fans Need To Watch This SEC Eligibility Fight
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Lane Kiffin has been outspoken about the SECs attempts to block those players, while critics have also taken aim at LSUs administration for the way it has handled the situation. The SEC is now preparing to challenge the court ruling, so the issue is far from settled, and the next move could shape how this case plays out across the league. [Read more 🡒]