Texas A&M Can End a Strange Kyle Field Drought Against Arizona State

The Texas A&M Aggies are gearing up for what is their biggest non-conference game of the regular season. Texas A&M will host Arizona State at Kyle Field on Saturday morning looking for its first quality win of the year.

And in the process, Texas A&M will be ending an interesting drought that sheds a light on the program's prior history in the Big 12 Conference.

Arizona State will become the first current Big 12 program to visit Kyle Field since Texas A&M left the conference after the 2011 season.

The Aggies separated themselves from the Big 12, which resulted in breaking away from a historic rivalry with the Texas Longhorns along with other annual matchups. Since then, Texas A&M has built an interesting history against opponents from their former conference.

Texas A&M Has Faced Big 12 Teams 5 Times Since Leaving Conference

Texas A&M Aggies helmet on the sideline prior to the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Kyle Field. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Here's a look at all of the Big 12 matchups Texas A&M has played in since leaving the conference after the 2011 season:

Unsurprisingly, all five matchups -- which the Aggies are 3-2 in -- have come in bowl games, something that will change on Saturday in College Station.

- Oklahoma (Cotton Bowl), 2012: Texas A&M W, 41-13

- West Virginia (Liberty Bowl), 2014: Texas A&M W, 45-37

- Kansas State (Texas Bowl), 2016: Texas A&M L, 33-28

- Oklahoma State (Texas Bowl), 2019: Texas A&M W, 24-21

- Oklahoma State (Texas Bowl), 2023: Texas A&M L, 31-23

It's a shame that Texas A&M and Texas never got a chance to face off in a bowl game after the Aggies left the Big 12, but fortunately the rivalry was renewed when the Longhorns joined the SEC prior to the 2024 season.

Still, the Aggies had some memorable bowl wins in that span, highlighted by the blowout over Oklahoma. Johnny Manziel finished with 500 yards of total offense, which featured 229 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

It's not a surprise that the majority of Texas A&M's non-conference Big 12 matchups have come during postseason play, but the Aggies could have changed that by scheduling a few more series with teams from their former conference over the past 15 years.

Instead, Texas A&M's non-conference schedule left more to be desired up until 2018 when the Aggies played Clemson.

But rather than focusing on past schedules, the Aggies will focus on their current slate. Kickoff against Arizona State on Saturday is set for 11 a.m. CT.

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