Since 2012, when Texas A&M started playing football in the SEC, each season arrived with much fanfare and anticipation. It didn’t hurt that a future Heisman Trophy winner was laying the groundwork for his historic redshirt freshman run.

But there’s something a little different about the 2017 season, you can feel it.

The same infectious enthusiasm that washed over the masses year in and year out playing in the greatest conference in the country appears to be missing.

Back-to-back-to-back 8-5 seasons, an upcoming campaign with no reliable quarterback (and potentially another new one), and the departure of one of college football’s most prolific sack bookends, have all but emptied Aggie Nation’s tank.

Fact is, there isn’t a lot to be excited about for the upcoming season if you’re a Texas A&M football fan, unless of course you’re in the “When does Kevin Sumlin get the axe?” office pool.

Good news: taking my girlfriend to see Wilco Bad news: I have to go to a Texas A&M football game the day before — travis goldston (@travisgoldston) July 18, 2017

Now, I haven’t actually seen the Fire Kevin Sumlin website up and running, but to read some Aggies fans posts on various message boards, it’s a wonder it isn’t. For the first time since they joined the SEC, there is no anticipation for Texas A&M to challenge for the SEC title.

In fact, at the recent SEC Media Days, media predicted Texas A&M would finish fifth in the West, ahead of only the two Mississippi schools.

Not one member of the media voted Texas A&M as division champions. Even Arkansas got one vote. Even our own John Crist sees gloom and doom for the Aggies this season, predicting the team to suffer through a dismal 4-8 season and last-place finish in the SEC West.

No, this is really the first season in the SEC in which Texas A&M fans are not afforded a reason for optimism. Just making it to a bowl game and finishing with a winning record are as good as expectations seem to get in College Station these days.

A&M football is that really bad boyfriend you can't break up with that you just keep giving chances. But you always end up hurt. — Cullen Roy Boutwell (@CullenBoutwell) December 29, 2016

And with good reason.

Who is going to play quarterback? Jake Hubenak, while somewhat serviceable, certainly hasn’t set the college football world on fire with the limited chances he’s gotten. And neither Kellen Mond nor Nick Starkel have taken a live snap in a college game.

The Aggies’ biggest question mark is at the most critical position.

That’s to say nothing of sack-master bookend DEs Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall, whose talents will be on display on Sundays in the NFL. Replacing those imposing figures is impossible, and John Chavis’ defense took a step backward last season even with those two studs up front.

Those are the bigger questions confronting the Aggies as the 2017 football season approaches. Getting over three consecutive seasons of high expectations and nose-dive finishes are among the obstacles Aggies fans are still trying to hurdle.

“Old Sarge” said it best with a recent post on the SEC Rant; “I’m normally the guy that shows up with a yeti full of koolaid but not this year. That 5-0 collapse broke my football soul.”

That speaks for many Aggies fans as they face the upcoming season with much guarded optimism for the first time as members of the SEC.