The latest swing of conference realignment sent the Texas Longhorns to the Southeastern Conference. Of course, by proxy, that means that Texas and the Texas A&M Aggies are conference bedfellows again.
For several decades, the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry went on in the Lone Star State. The agitation between the Aggies and Longhorns has sometimes swelled to absurd heights. That animosity only worsened after bitterness emerged when A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012. After that, the two sides refused to play each other for over a decade.
That annual game against A&M is back on the schedule now that Texas is in the SEC. Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers, a Texas native, knows all about the rivalry even if he hasn’t experienced it. At SEC Media Days this week, the Longhorn star spoke highly about the rivalry and what it means to have it back.
Texas QB Quinn Ewers on renewing the rivalry with Texas A&M:
“My dad thinks the A&M game was bigger than the Red River Rivalry. I’m excited to have that game back” #SECMediaDays pic.twitter.com/YrbufDJ1EG
— Tyler Shaw (@TylerShawSports) July 17, 2024
“They stopped playing back in 2011 if I’m correct. I was pretty young. I think I was eight,” Ewers recalled.
“My dad actually said he thinks that, growing up, he believed the A&M game was bigger than the Red River Rivalry game,” he said. “So I’m excited to have that game back. It’ll be a cool experience, especially going to Kyle Field Thanksgiving weekend, and I know that place is gonna be rocking, so we’re all pretty fired up for it.”
For better or worse, and no matter what side you’re on, when Texas and Texas A&M renew their rivalry, we’ll likely all be better for it. There’s nothing like sports hate, and there’s definitely nothing like college football hate.
