As I write this, A&M is getting massacred by #2 LSU, 31-0, so it is safe to conclude the Aggies will finish their season at 7-5. What a coincidence! The Longhorns also finished 7-5.
A&M flirted with the Top 25 at times. All 5 losses were to Top 15 teams but their biggest win was over 6-6 Mississippi State. So, are they a good team that lost from a killer schedule or are they an overrated team that can pretend to be better thanks to their opponents? Jumbo Fisher's team still has something to prove.
Meanwhile, the Longhorns lost to Top 10 LSU, Oklahoma and Baylor. But they also lost to Iowa State and TCU. Their best wins were to Top 25-ranked Oklahoma State and Kansas State but both were nailbiters at home. More was expected from Tom Herman's ranks, particularly with an alumni that lusts to be relevant again.
So both teams are of relatively equal strength and both feel they have something to prove to salvage their season. Why not a holiday challenge that will make one of their seasons?
The SEC and the Big 12 have three scheduled bowl matchups. The Sugar Bowl would certainly be a prestigious locale and New Orleans would make a great neutral site but the bowl is contractually obligated to take the best two schools from those conferences not in the College Football Playoff. That's shaping up to be Baylor and Georgia.
How about the Liberty Bowl in Memphis? A neutral site, yes, but the folks there think "UT" means the University of Tennessee. I imagine a giant yawn coming from the locals.
But further down the bowl schedule is the appropriately-named Texas Bowl based in Houston and played at the same site that is home to the NFL Houston Texans. They would have no problem selling out the 72,220-seat facility that has hosted a Super Bowl.
What would otherwise be a rather meaningless bowl suddenly becomes the Championship of Texas (with apologies to Baylor) and a must-see ticket with all the pent-up emotion of eight years since anything was settled on the field instead of in bars.
Plus, if the game turns out to be too ugly between the fan bases, there's no commitment to keep the rivalry going. Texas and A&M last played in 2011 with Texas pulling out a 27-25 upset at Kyle Field. Ever since, the Aggies have wanted revenge.
Maybe it is time to put a toe in the water regarding the renewing of this once-great rivalry.
Gig 'em!
Would be fun!
Texas has no need to play A&M.
the Aggies LEFT us... they can be gone, and stay gone. They took MO MONEY, and then blamed UT on the way out. SCREW THEM
BTW, they were offered a chance to be part of a “Texas” network. The original plan was to include all four Texas schools (Including A&M, Tech, and Baylor). They refused.
I hope we NEVER play them again. At least, not while they’re in the SEC.
Looks like both schools may need new coaches.
Jimbo has one more year to prove he can turn A&M around. I think it’s pretty much over for Herman. It’s just not happening with him.
If I was Texas A&M, I'd totally forget the T-sips as a rival. They're in the SEC now, with plenty of schools there to hate.
As an Aggie, I have moved on from even thinking about playing tu, until I see stupid articles like this. Even the Texas legislature thought about demanding regular games between the two former rivals. Let it go, tsips. You made your bed, now lie in it.
Too Bad A&M lied and stabbed the Longhorns in the back.
I don’t care if the Longhorns EVER play the Aggies again.
Thank God, Highway 6 runs both ways!