It’s been a tough past few days for Texas A&M faithful, what with losing their up-and-coming basketball coach to Kentucky and all. But at least the Ags have hired former Wichita State head coach Mark Turgeon as their new basketball coach and they have their true second favorite sport (behind football) — spring football practice — to fall back on. With the annual Maroon & White intrasquad game coming up this weekend, a friend passed along the following progression of how a typical Aggie football fan sizes up the upcoming football season as the off-season progresses toward the first game in the fall:

In December, immediately after the conclusion of the last game of the prior season: “We are full of more holes than a block of swiss cheese. In all likelihood, we win 5 games next season.”
In March: “Well, we signed a solid class with some kids that can contribute. Add in the guys that redshirted and we’ll surprise some folks next year. Pencil at least 7 in the win column for 2004.”
In May: “Spring practices went well, and after seeing our squad in action at the Maroon & White Game, we’ve come a long way since the end of last year. I think 9 wins is do-able.”
In August: “Everyone really hit the weightroom hard this summer, and the team stayed polished with the voluntary workouts on the practice fields. We are much bigger and faster across the board, and reports from two-a-days are very, very positive. A BCS bowl game is within this team’s grasp.”
After first game: “Wow, Wyoming will probably win 10 games this year. That was a close one.”