Even with a 52-0 lead over Northwestern State heading into fourth quarter, the Texas A&M student section continued to chant for Aggieland’s $75-million-dollar man, A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher.
The nine-month build-up of seeing Fisher — who is one of the four active coaches to win a national championship — debut as the Aggies head coach pulsed throughout College Station as game day approached.
With the 59-7 victory over the Demons, Fisher became the first A&M head coach to win his coaching debut in College Station since Dennis Franchione did in 2003.
However for Fisher the start of a new season and era at A&M meant that there was a little more preparation — and even a little nerves — heading into the opener.
“When you go out, you want to make sure [you prepared enough],” Fisher said. “You’re breaking new ground in new places. You have to go out there and still play and coach and do the things you have to do. I have butterflies no matter how long [I’ve been coaching].”
The chants began once the A&M faithful saw the changes to the offense. The use of a tight-end proved to be fruitful for the Aggies after junior transfer Jace Sternberger had two receiving touchdowns on five total receptions. 
Following the game, Fisher said he saw the promise of using tight-end and was looking forward to using more of the tight-end position throughout the season. 
“I though Jace did a nice job in the game,” Fisher said. “He made plays. You saw the athleticism with the ability to get vertical.” 
Despite the lopsided win, Fisher said there were still parts of the offense that he would have liked to explore but was overall happy with the way the offense ran.
“Theres still a lot more that we’ve got to do,” Fisher said. “For the first game it was a pretty nice night.”
Another noticeable change to the offense that Fisher implemented was the use of fifth year senior Cullen Gillaspia, who lined up between quarterback Kellen Mond and running back Trayveon Williams. Gillaspia led the way for Williams as the lead blocker creating more gaps through the line. Williams said having that extra blocker ahead of him made a difference in his rushing attack.
“Having a full back in front of me is a big difference maker,” Williams said. “Having an extra guy to go in there and kind of clearing and paving the way for me [was great].”
With his debut behind him, Fisher is looking toward next week when A&M plays host to No. 2 Clemson.
“I’m very proud of our guys,” Fisher said. “Now we just have to heal up and get ready to go play Clemson next week.”