Cessna: bowl win says little about next season

Texas A&M’s victory over Northwestern in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas was a fitting way to end a tough season, giving satisfaction to many. But in regards to what will happen next season, the 33-22 victory matters little.
There was nothing but smiles during the trophy presentation at Reliant Stadium, and rightfully so. The seniors left as winners, led by quarterback Ryan Tannehill, the game’s Most Valuable Player, who will be one of several playing in the NFL next season. Aggies shed tears of satisfaction, but also sadness for senior offensive guard Joey Villavisencio, who was killed in a car accident before Christmas. They wanted to win the game in the worst way for Joey V.
The team also wanted to win for fired head coach Mike Sherman and interim head coach Tim DeRuyter, who opted to finish the season after he was hired as Fresno State’s head coach.
Those were good causes, but the biggest winner, obviously, was the program. It gave A&M (7-6) a winning season and snapped a five-game losing streak in bowl games. It’s a good feeling heading into the offseason under newly hired head coach Kevin Sumlin, but that’s about it. A victory in a second-tier bowl over another 6-6 team isn’t a program-changer.
In the three previous seasons, 15 teams with six losses have won a bowl game. Only one of them made more than a one-game improvement the following season. That was Florida State, which defeated Notre Dame in the 2009 Gator Bowl, then went 10-4 the following season. As for the other 6-6 teams, six had losing records the following season, while six others were again 7-6.
Even the Aggies failed to build on their last bowl triumph, a 28-9 victory over Texas Christian in 2001. That salvaged an 8-4 season that had losses to Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Texas to end the regular season. But instead of things getting better, A&M was 6-6 in 2002, and head coach R.C. Slocum was fired.
So other than the chance for another victory and getting extra practices, minor bowls aren’t that critical to what happens the following season.
A&M made a a three-game improvement last season, coming off a 44-20 loss to Georgia in the Independence Bowl. Would A&M have been better than 9-4 last season had it beaten Georgia? Or did that loss inspire A&M?  Maybe the extra practices helped, but more than likely the Independence Bowl wasn’t a factor.
Last season’s success was because of talent, coaching and chemistry, just as this season’s disappointment was because of players not playing up to their potential — sometimes because of injuries, sometimes coaches didn’t make the right calls, and this team seemed to find bad luck.
But it’s history. Remember the Meineke Bowl, beating Baylor and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, and winning at Texas Tech. Just forget the rest.
Now it’s onto the Sumlin era and the Southeastern Conference. And I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to put this season in the books.
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DeRuyter forgot to take his headset off as he was about to be interviewed afterward by ESPN. He sheepishly smiled. It was a Kodak moment.
DeRuyter will get used to postgame winning interviews, judging by A&M’s effort. DeRuyter did a heck of a job in recent weeks as he pulled together a hurting team to win a bowl game, yet he also was putting together a staff and talking to recruits.
DeRuyter leaves on a high note. His defense held Northwestern to a season-low 278 yards and had eight sacks.
A&M had 51 sacks this year to lead the nation. The Aggies allowed only 101.9 yards rushing per game, which is currently 10th in the country. A&M’s defense ended with four solid games to lower the total yards per game to 378.2, which is 59th. That’s just four spots lower than last season when A&M allowed 364.3 ypg.
Even without All-American Von Miller the defense was supposed to better, but it wasn’t. Losing Miller along with standout Michael Hodges and the decline of Garrick Williams took the linebacking corps from great to average. The defensive line, which lost Jonathan Mathis to a season-ending injury after three games, was average as well. The secondary, a team strength, suffered a huge loss with potential All-America cornerback Coryell Judie missing more than half the season.
The bottom line is there wasn’t enough quality depth to make DeRuyter’s 3-4 attacking defense work consistently, not in just his second year. A&M wasn’t deep enough at linebacker last season to make the switch from a 4-3, but banner years by Miller, Hodges and Williams hid it.
It was a learning process, but DeRuyter leaves behind a solid linebacking group for the incoming coordinator. Junior Jonathan Stewart led the team in tackles with 98. Junior Sean Porter was third in tackles with 79, sophomore Damontre Moore was fourth (72), and junior Steven Jenkins was fifth (61). But the best news is each got better as the season progressed.

Robert Cessna’s email address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com