Paul Finebaum assesses the pulse of Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher after Miami win

Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher took Paul Finebaum’s advice last week and bounced back from the upset loss to Appalachian State. Starting quarterback Max Johnson instead of Haynes King spurred the Aggies to a 17-9 victory over No. 13 Miami on Saturday.

After the win, Finebaum discussed the pulse in College Station following the win and the quarterback switch for Jimbo Fisher’s squad. Next week, the Aggies must host the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks who boast a 3-0 record so far this season.

“I think you have to breathe easier but their schedule speaks for itself,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. “(Fisher) had to win that game just to stop the bleeding, and the bleeding was profuse after the App State game. I think fans are naturally fired up. And they should be.

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“This week was very exciting, the win over Miami stopped all the nonsensical talk that Miami is back and temporarily stopped this ‘Jimbo Fisher is a clueless coach’ nonsense as well. He deserved criticism for the quarterback selection but, to his credit, he made the change.”

Despite the Aggies “stopping the bleeding,” Finebaum is concerned for Fisher’s squad as they dive into their SEC slate.

“Now, it becomes a gauntlet… Where does he end up?” Finebaum concluded. “I don’t know. The Aggies do not look like an elite team, but they did win, and that’s all that matters.”

Jimbo Fisher goes in-depth on decision to start Max Johnson

Head coach Jimbo Fisher discussed what ultimately led to the decision of switching quarterbacks and giving Johnson the nod after the game on Saturday.

“It’s very difficult because quarterbacks take all the glory and all the blame, and I’m telling you right now, by far,” Fisher explained. “And Haynes had some things he could’ve done better and played better, and I’ve said that before, but it was not all him what was going on. And the guys around him could’ve made some plays at times and blocked and did things too so, and we still gotta get a heck of a lot better on offense.”

Johnson completed 50% of his passes versus Miami for 140 yards and a touchdown in another low-scoring affair for the Aggies. The Aggie’s offense as a whole hasn’t looked very explosive so far this season, and Fisher mentioned that King could still potentially be a part of it moving forward.

“I thought that was what was best for us to win the game and that’s what we did,” Fisher said. “But Haynes is still very much in our thinking and what’s going on, practiced very well and so did Max, and so did Conner [Weigman].”

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this report.