Miami QB refuses to play after half time to what-ever for the future......

ORLANDO, FL - In a stunning move, one which will be discussed and debated for a long time, Miami's record-setting quarterback Cam Ward opted out of the Pop-Tarts Bowl at halftime. As a result, he stood by and witnessed his team go down in defeat. Ward exited the game 12-of-19 for 190 yards and three touchdowns.

Hard enough to have players opt out who are going into the portal or going pro, but opt out during the game leaving your teammates to lose......

Have to wonder where college football will be in a few years........

Worst record in the SEC is 10-3. Currently watching UT vs Arkie.

Both teams have great talent, but UT is damn good.

Shemar Stewart, Shemar Turner and Nic Scourton will all skip the bowl game. No shock there. DJ Hicks, Cashius Howell and Rylan Kennedy will start in their places.
In case you were wondering, USC is down three starting offensive linemen, their two top backs and two top receivers (at least).

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Pavia rule changes portal entirely

Last week, a federal court issued an injunction giving Vandy QB Diego Pavia an extra year of eligibility, agreeing with his argument that his JUCO season should not count against his service time at the major college level. The NCAA, as they normally do, caved and gave seniors who had been JUCOs at one point another season. That opened the floodgates for former JUCOs who might be marginal draft prospects at this point, as they will have an extra year. Right now, this rule applies only to former JUCOs that were seniors this past season.
The Aggies quickly jumped in, offering former FSU receiver Malik Benson (25 catches, 311 yards, 1 TD), who was the number one JUCO receiver in the nation two years ago. They also offered former Louisiana Tech wideout Tru Edwards (77 catches, 897 yards, 6 TDs), who received a flood of offers when the change was announced and he went in the portal.
Benson will visit A&M shortly after the dead period ends, or after the first of the year. No word on Edwards yet. I expect A&M will also be after some defensive linemen who have more eligibility left.

Concepcion seems to be down to two

KC Concepcion visited A&M last week and, from what I've heard, seems to be looking hardest at the Aggies and Colorado at this point (unless, of course, someone makes a better offer). He has not disclosed a timetable, but he doesn't have any visits scheduled. There was talk of him taking a look at UNC, but that doesn't seem to have come to fruition. A&M's pursuit of Benson and/or Edwards has no effect on their interest in Concepcion. They'd like to take at least one, but more likely two, more receivers.

Sure looks like Owens will play tonight

I've seen some concern on here about whether Rueben Owens will be ready to play tonight in the Las Vegas Bowl. The answer is yes, he's going to play. He's gone through practice without issue and has looked good. He probably won't get the full load of carries that an RB1 would get, but on the other hand, he may get more work than most expect.

There are injury concerns
OL Ar'maj Reed-Adams showed up at yesterday's luncheon with his left arm in a sling. That, of course, is not good news. If he can't play tonight, then true freshman Blake Ivy will likely take his place. Originally recruited as a tackle, the former 4-star has been at right guard much of the year.
I've also heard rumblings that Amari Daniels may not be a go tonight. I don't know if that's definitely the case, but that would clearly be a big loss and a real bummer, because he has been a team guy for the last couple of years and deserves his time in the spotlight. If he can't go, that of course means more Owens and EJ Smith.

Opt-outs or key transfers out for tonight's game
A&M: Shemar Turner, Shemar Stewart, Nic Scourton
USC: RBs Woody Marks and Quinten Joyner (Marks opted out, Joyner transferred to Texas Tech)
WRs Zachariah Branch, Kyron Hudson, Duce Williams (all transferred)
RT Mason Murphy (transferred to Auburn)
CB Jaylin Smith (opted out)
S Zion Branch (transferred)
DE Sam Greene (transferred)

Juggling the desire to win with 2025 prep

Clearly, the Aggies are going to look different tonight. Cashius Howell and Rylan Kennedy will start at defensive end and DJ Hicks will start next to Albert Regis at defensive tackle (and that's big pair of dudes). Ernest Campbell, Ashton Bethel-Roman and Izaiah Williams are looking at real playing time at receiver, and expect them to get some playing time. DE Solomon Williams will play as well. Coach Elko said that they're treating the game as a start to 2025, but they also want to win to finish off 2024 in a good way.

Where A&M stands with the nation's top recruit for 2026

There was an article from a USA Today-affiliated site that indicated A&M is in a strong position with 5-star OT Jackson Cantwell, who is currently Rivals' number one player in the nation for the 2026 class. I'm not nearly that optimistic. He is interested in A&M and he does like Elko and Adam Cushing, but the Missouri native has been looking at a lot of Big 10 schools (Michigan and Ohio State, for instance) and hasn't been down to Aggieland since early this year. If they can get him back down here for one of their elite junior days next month or early February, then you can take them seriously as a contender. But right now, I think anything else is pure conjecture.

Pretty alarming article. While the CDC says the current risk is low, the bird flu virus is learning to adapt to humans. There’s still no human-to-human transmission, but it recently mutated to spread mammal-to-mammal. The incubation period is similar to COVID, 3-5 days, with some cases up to 17 days. I’m not saying to panic (definitely don’t), but it’s worth keeping an eye on. If it evolves further, it could be significantly worse than what we saw in 2020.

Nm

A&M lands Georgia EDGE Samuel M’Pemba.

Haven’t been dominant to say the least.

Less than 24 hours after finishing the season with their worst offensive statistics ever the Browns have fired their OC and his OL coach. In other news the Aggies still have Jay Bateman and all of his minions.

Who is coming?

There are still a number of players on campus or have just concluded their visits.
Mississippi State WR Mario Craver has narrowed his list to four teams and A&M is one, which makes sense considering he was there last night and today. Unclear whether he will visit anywhere else, but you would think he would.
Purdue tight end Max Klare is visiting. He would be the pass-catching tight end type and A&M could sure use one of those.
Florida DE Jack Pyburn visited yesterday and today, and is now off to LSU. It looks like it'll be between those two teams, and the Aggies may have gotten a boost today as Nebraaka's Jimari Butler picked LSU today (over A&M).
Another TE, Nebraska's Nate Boerkircher, was also in town. He was more of a blocker, but over the last three games of the season he started getting passes thrown his way and ended up with 6 catches for 102 yards. I don't think he's a priority at this point, but you never know.
A&M continues to feel very good about landing Micah Hudson. If they can get Hudson, Nic Anderson and Craver, they'd take that and run.
The Aggies will host USC WR/TE Duce Robinson next week. He had 23 catches for 396 yards and 5 TD this past season and is a former 5-star, 25th in the nation. He could be a big slot receiver or possibly an H-Back at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds.
Ball State CB Myles Norwood has A&M in his final four. Norwood, who is 6-foot-1 and 183 pounds, had 38 tackles and broke up 8 passes this season. PFF liked his work, giving him a 70.7 coverage grade for the entire season.

Everyone seems to be talking about OSU as a buzzsaw right now. And it would be great if they just steamrolled tu on Friday. But, does anyone else have this terrible feeling that Ryan Day is going to find a way to shit the bed on this one and let the horns play for the natty?

Reading through the thread about the mystery Cajun gift box that @travster23 got in the mail has me thinking about pepper vinegar. Yesterday, I obviously had collard greens and black eyed peas. They got a good dousing of my homemade pepper vinegar as I am wont to do.

Mine used homegrown pequins that flood my garden twice a year. I add:

1. about a 1/4 cup of fresh, red pequins
2. a cup of apple cider vinegar
3. a crushed garlic clove
4. teaspoon of black peppercorns
5. big pinch of kosher salt
6. a big bay leaf

I give that about a month in a jar, shaking it every few days. After that, I filter it through a paper towel, and transfer it to an old Tabasco bottle. Greens, peas, beans, etc.....pretty happy about it. I usually have to have a few spoonfuls all by itself.

Anybody got any better ideas? Travster, what's your hot sauce recipe again? Weren't you making a sriracha kinda sauce?

It's Mario Craver, and the story is here.