"You put a team together, you watch them develop, work with them every day, get 'em ready – and you still don't know what's gonna happen," he chuckled Thursday. "There's always going to be a surprise or two, good or bad. "

One of Fisher's primary goals for this season is to have a team that is steady enough that the surprises are bumps in the road and not major obstacles. That may be easier said than done with the likes of Clemson, Georgia, Alabama and LSU on the schedule, but it remains the objective. Reaching that goal is not contingent on what those teams and others on the 2019 schedule do; it is purely on the Aggies themselves. After not knowing what he really had going into last year's schedule, Fisher seems to be much more comfortable with this team's approach.

"They've worked very hard in the offseason. Not just in camp, but from last January, after the bowl game. Our spring practice went well, our summer practices, they put in a lot of hard work," he said. "They're starting to understand the mentality with which we want to play with, the demeanor we want to play with, the disposition we want to play with, and I think they've done that."

When discussing the mentality he wants his teams to have, Fisher has frequently described A&M's opponents as "faceless", something his players now echo. The idea, they say, is that the Aggies have to worry about themselves first. If they do things the way they're supposed to, the reasoning goes, they can compete with whoever is on the schedule.

"They've established how they want to play. It's not about our opponents. It's no disrespect; we have a tremendous schedule … but we have to understand ourselves before we understand our opponents," Fisher said.

The Aggies appear to have an understanding of what they're capable of. They also understand they have a schedule allowing very little margin for error. Part of the challenge, then, is to be as disciplined as possible every week.

"You should be preparing like you're playing an NFL team," quarterback Kellen Mond said. "I told our team we can go up against any team in the country."

The Aggies understand what they did at the end of last year, beating LSU and crushing N.C. State in the Gator Bowl. They understand they're one of the top 15 teams in the nation going into 2019 and expectations are high, tough schedule or not. But part of the approach Fisher is implementing in College Station has his team eager for the challenges ahead.

""We're starting to learn the culture change that (Fisher) wants to bring to Texas A&M," left tackle Dan Moore said. "It's a winning style of football. It's a style of football a lot of us haven't seen before, and this university hasn't seen before."

If the Aggies have truly embraced the mentality, demeanor and disposition Fisher wants them to have, the program can become one of the nation's elite.

"It's in our hands," Mond said.

Right tackle Carson Green agreed, saying, "Why not us? Why can't we beat everybody ... we believe in ourselves."

We'll find out why, or why not, starting Thursday night.