re: Did AtM supplant LSU as the #2 program in the West in only 1 year?

aTM benefitted from joining the SEC in a down year. Auburn and Arkansas were dumpster fires, and Miss State didn't live up to potential. Old Miss played Aggie hard and nearly won that game. LSU was somewhat overlooking Aggie until the second quarter when they shut it down. Bama did pretty much the exact same thing, but unfortunately were not playing at their normal level this year and let Manziel score one time too many before making the necessary adjustments to stop the offense.

I reserve judgment on Aggie until they have to run the gauntlet for real. My gut says they'll be competitive, but they're still Aggie and will be a middle of the pack team with the occasional good run.