Texas A&M vs. Arkansas Kickoff Time Announced

The Texas A&M Aggies are the No. 5 team in the country amidst an outstanding 5-0 start, and as such, it seems pretty likely that they'll be in the spotlight for the rest of the year.

Case in point, even their game against arguably the worst team in the SEC earned a coveted time slot. On Monday, the SEC announced that the Aggies' road game against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Oct. 18 will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and air on ESPN.

The Aggies and Razorbacks are very familiar with each other, as they've played 81 times dating back to 1903 (Arkansas leads the all-time series 42-36-3). However, this game will be a bit different than others in the series.

Texas A&M-Arkansas Back on Campus

Sep 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back Le'Veon Moss (8) reacts during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Since 2014, the Aggies and Razorbacks have played annually at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in what's known as the "Southwest Classic." This actually started back in 2009, when Texas A&M was still in the Big 12. The only exceptions came in 2012 and 2013, when they had a home-and-home in the Aggies' first two years in the SEC, and in 2020, when the game was instead held in College Station due to COVID.

Starting this year, though, the series will move back to being on-campus, with this game being at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. As such, the rivalry is now back to the setup it had back when both teams were in the Southwest Conference before Arkansas left for the SEC in 1992.

Unfortunately, the rivalry will no longer be played on an annual basis as the Aggies and Razorbacks are not among each other's protected opponents. They'll meet in College Station in 2026 and Fayetteville in 2028, but they won't meet in 2027 or 2029.

Back to this year's game, however, Texas A&M should enter this game as heavy favorites. While the Aggies are off to their best start in years and near the top of the SEC, the Razorbacks are 2-3 and have yet to defeat a Power Four opponent. Their last game was a 56-13 blowout loss at home against Notre Dame (which Texas A&M beat in South Bend earlier this season) that cost head coach Sam Pittman his job and forced Bobby Petrino of all people into the interim role.

The Aggies have also won 12 of 13 meetings since joining the SEC, with the lone loss coming in 2021.

That said, Mike Elko and co. know better than to take any opponent lightly.