The longer Texas A&M's regular-season finale dragged into the night, the more Jerry Schmidt's salary probably felt like a bargain.
The Aggies needed seven overtime periods to beat LSU for the first time since joining the SEC, one of the biggest accomplishments in coach Jimbo Fisher's first season. Schmidt, A&M's strength and conditioning coach, played a key role in that.
In the offseason, Fisher hired Schmidt away from Oklahoma with an annual salary of $575,000, a steep increase of what A&M traditionally paid the men who held that role. But the Aggies' game against LSU showed why Schmidt was worth the investment.