HOUSTON -- The Texas Bowl provided Texas A&M the one thing its schedule couldn’t provide all season long: a peer. 

The Aggies had games against some of the best teams in college football, including a pair of College Football Playoff teams. After those games, it was clear Texas A&M was not on that level in year two of Jimbo Fisher’s reconstruction of the program. On the flip side, Mississippi State and South Carolina weren’t exactly significant tests either. 

No. 25 Oklahoma State was – finally – a worthy measuring stick. Per ESPN’s SP+ analytic system, the Cowboys were the first team Texas A&M played this season that projected to be less than a one-score game – in any direction. And despite some miscues in a 24-21 victory over the Cowboys, Texas A&M passed perhaps its most revealing test. 

“I said this early and I’ll say it again: They lost to No. 1, No. 1, No. 1, No. 4 and No. 12,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “So they’re definitely a top-20 team in my opinion.” 

If there’s anything that the Aggies learned from five battles against College Football Playoff contenders, it’s how to fight through adversity. Texas A&M allowed two early touchdowns to Oklahoma State and went into the half trailing 14-7 and in desperate need of some momentum.

Luckily, the defense was prepared. The Aggies, led by strong efforts from underclassmen Demani Richardson and Tyree Johnson, held the Cowboys to just 16 total yards in the third quarter. The frustration from the nightmare schedule came out. 

“To be honest, I was planning to have a more productive season,” defensive end Tyree Johnson said. “Things don’t always go as you plan. I just started focusing on how to help the team win.” 

Then, in the fourth quarter, Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond dug deep. The junior struggled to one of his worst passing games since his freshman season. He responded with a huge 67-yard rushing touchdown to give the Aggies a narrow lead. On the next drive, Mond rushed for 30 yards into the red zone to help set up an Aggie field goal. 

“When you play quarterback, a lot of times when things don’t go your way perfectly, it’s easy to get frustrated,” Fisher said. “It’s a great sign of maturity when you don’t and you go back and do the things each and every play to give yourself and your team a chance to win.” 

After a nine-win campaign to open the Jimbo Fisher era, getting to eight wins instead of seven feels vastly different. Doing it against a ranked opponent – and former conference foe – makes the payoff especially sweet. 

“It just shows how resilient this team is,” Mond said. “To come out in the second half and be able to kickstart the run and the pass game. It’s a big-time win for us.” 

And now, the specter of the monstrous 2019 schedule is gone. All focus shifts to a surprisingly manageable 2020.

“We haven’t reached all our goals,” Fisher said. “A lot of kids in today’s times when things don’t go their way would give up. These kids kept practicing and we got better and better every week.”

Instead of Clemson, the Aggies play Colorado and North Texas in the nonconference slate. Instead of Georgia, Texas A&M faces off against Vanderbilt. The two best teams in the SEC – Alabama and LSU – are both replacing historic quarterbacks. 

And now, with contributors like Mond (117 rushing yards), Isaiah Spiller (77 rushing yards), Richardson (eight tackles, two TFLs) and Johnson (two sacks) returning to College Station next year, the payoff could be right around the corner.