Aggies accept return visit to Gator Bowl
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M will face Wake Forest in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., on the morning of Dec. 31, and the Aggies likely will be without their top defender.
A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said he does not expect defensive lineman Demarvin Leal to play in the bowl after the junior Leal already declared for the NFL draft earlier this month, but did not address playing in the postseason. Leal projects as a first-round selection and perhaps top five pick overall.
“I don’t believe he will,” Fisher said Sunday when asked if Leal might still play in the bowl. “I’m sure he’ll go train and do the things he’ll do to get ready for the draft.”
While A&M’S second appearance in the Gator Bowl in four seasons disappointed plenty of fans hoping for a fresher destination, the Aggies get the chance to avenge their last bowl loss — 55-52 to Wake Forest in the Belk Bowl following the 2017 regular season. A&M had just fired coach Kevin Sumlin and Jeff Banks served as interim coach.
The Aggies are 20-22 in bowls, and 3-0 under coach Jimbo Fisher. A&M has defeated North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl following the 2018 regular season, Oklahoma State in the Texas
Bowl following the 2019 regular season and North Carolina in the Orange Bowl following the 2020 regular season under Fisher.
Fisher won a national title as Florida State’s coach in 2013 and was 7-1 overall against Wake Forest from 2010-2017 in ACC competition as FSU coach. Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson arrived in 2014 and Fisher was 4-0 against Clawson.
“Jimbo says we had some great matchups when he was with Florida State,” Clawson said with a grin. “They weren’t so great for us — they won all of those games. His memory of those is probably a little bit more enjoyable than mine.”
Before 2018, A&M hadn’t played in the Gator Bowl since 1957. The Aggies (8-4, 4-4 SEC) hoped to contend for their first SEC West title, but dropped four games they were favored to win against Arkansas, Mississippi State, Mississippi and LSU to finish fifth in the division, based on tiebreakers. A&M likely will have more players opt out of the bowl that has little overall significance to the season. Fisher also said he does not expect quarterback Haynes King to play in the bowl game after he broke his tibia in Week 2 against Colorado in Denver and has been recovering since.
Fisher said while King can begin lightly taking part in practices this month, it wouldn’t be worth it to try and get him any late-season game action leading into 2022.
The Aggies are 25th in the final College Football Playoff rankings after finishing fifth last year in the CFP and just out of the fourteam playoff, while Wake Forest (10-3, 7-1 ACC) is No. 17.
“This is one of only three bowls outside of (the CFP) and the New Year’s Six to host a top 25 matchup,” Gator Bowl chairman John Duce said.
Two of Clawson’s former staff members are with the Aggies: defensive coordinator Mike Elko and linebackers coach Tyler Santucci.
“I hired Mike when he was 23 years old at Fordham,” Clawson said of the Aggies’ well-regarded coordinator who’s also considered a head-coaching candidate this offseason. “He’s been the one coach with me at every one my (head) coaching stops.”
A&M’S highlight of the Fisher era occurred on Oct. 9 when the Aggies toppled No. 1 Alabama 41-38 at Kyle Field. That marked the 12-1 Crimson Tide’s lone loss of the season, and the SEC champions are ranked No. 1 in the final CFP rankings. They’ll face No. 4 Cincinnati in the CFP semifinals in Arlington on New Year’s Eve — with A&M and Wake Forest playing earlier to crank up that day’s plentiful action.
“They beat the No. 1 team in the country,” Clawson said of the up-and-down Aggies. “This is a team that can play with anybody.”