Longhorns Fired Up Over Renewed Texas A&M Rivalry

DALLAS — Texas and Texas A&M last played football in 2011, 13 years and what feels like several iterations of college football ago. The Longhorns knocked off the Aggies 27-25 at Kyle Field in that game, sending the Aggies off to the SEC, a league in which the Longhorns officially joined them this month. The game may have taken a hiatus, but the rivalry never did, especially for the many Longhorns players who were recruited by Texas A&M and share friendships and personal rivalries with players who would go on to become Aggies.

“Our players are probably way more excited for this game than most fans would probably think, because we haven’t played the game in a while,” Sarkisian said at SEC media days Wednesday. “The majority of the players on our two rosters probably went on visits together at if not one school, both schools, and one guy chose Texas and one guy chose A&M.”

Sarkisian echoed SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who pointed out that the additions of Texas and Oklahoma bring historic rivals back together at a time when other rivalries are ending because of conference realignment. The Longhorns and Sooners will once again face Texas A&M, of course, but also former Big 12 foe Missouri and Southwest Conference rival Arkansas, with whom Texas shares a long history.

Quarterback Quinn Ewers, Athlon’s preseason fourth-team All-American selection , grew up a Longhorns fan in Southlake, Texas. He was just 8 years old when Texas last played the Aggies but says his family has made it clear just how much the rivalry means.

“My dad said when he was growing up, that game was bigger than the Red [River] Rivalry game,” Ewers said. “There’s obviously a lot of history and tradition there, so I’m super excited and glad it’s coming back for both universities.”

Offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr., an Athlon preseason first-team All-American, grew up in the Houston area, just 90 minutes from A&M. He’s highly motivated to play against some old friends on Nov. 30 when the series resumes in College Station.

“It means a lot, especially because I have a couple of guys from the team that I know from back home,” he said. “Just having bragging rights over them [would be] pretty good.”

Blake Gideon, Texas’ safeties coach, was a member of the Longhorns secondary in that memorable win over A&M in 2011. Jahdae Barron, an Athlon preseason first-team All-SEC defensive back , said Gideon told him not to take a rivalry like that “for granted.”

Even so, Barron repeated that he’s focused on keeping “the main thing the main thing,” and for Texas, the main thing is getting through the summer and facing Colorado State in Week 1.

“The fans and [the media] have waited for a game like this to be around, so just me going in that stadium in Texas A&M and College Station, I won’t take none of it for granted,” Barron said. “But at the end of the day, that game is a long way down the road.”

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