Part of a continuing series examining the Power 5 and top Group of 5 teams for the 2019 college football season.



Eighty years ago this fall, Texas A&M, led by star running back John Kimbrough and a suffocating defense, outscored its 10 regular-season opponents 198-18 to finish undefeated and No. 1 in the final AP poll. The Aggies have yet to pull off the feat again.



When the school handed national championship coach Jimbo Fisher an unprecedented fully-guaranteed $75 million contract in December 2017, it came with a clear mandate to lead Texas A&M back to that lofty perch that’s eluded it these past eight decades. His 9-4 debut season provided just enough highlights — a near-upset of eventual champ Clemson, a thrilling seven-overtime defeat of seventh-ranked LSU and a Gator Bowl rout of then-9-3 N.C. State — to give Aggies faithful hope that their dream can, in fact, become reality.



“We’re looking to take another...