Longhorns Country

Steve Sarkisian Reacts to Texas Longhorns Schedule News

The Texas Longhorns recently dropped some important scheduling news.
Zach Dimmitt|
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns announced some notable scheduling news for the 2025 football season on Thursday.

The program said in a statement that next season's home matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies will go back to the traditional kickoff date of Black Friday with a start time of 6:30 p.m. CT, meaning the two rivals will meet on Friday, Nov. 28 from Austin.

This marks the first time since 2007 that the Lone Star Showdown will be played on Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian made it clear that he likes the news.

Texas Longhorns
Nov 30, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko, left, shakes hands with Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian after the game. The Longhorns defeated the Aggies 17-7. at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Sarkisian reacted to the news on social media, writing on X "Love this!" shortly after the announcement was made.

Take a look:

Sarkisian led Texas to a 17-7 win over Texas A&M in College Station this past November in the first meeting between the two rivals since 2011.

The Longhorns got an early rushing touchdown from Arch Manning and a Houdini-like scoring grab from running back Jaydon Blue before adding a field goal to take a 17-0 lead at halftime. Texas A&M responded with a 93-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter to make things interesting but Texas' defense shut down Texas A&M's offense in the closing stages.

Leading up to that game, Sarkisian acknowledged the importance of the rivalry but added that it's important to not make any game bigger than it is.

"I definitely acknowledge it, and rivalries are great because of the build-up, right, and because of the excitement and all that,'" Sarkisian said last season. "But at the end of the day, winning football games comes down to execution, comes down to playing with the right physicality, comes down to how you play in the critical moments, the special situations, as they present themselves, and I think you perform well in those situations through really good preparation. So as much as we'll acknowledge the rivalry ... we're going to come right back to today and do we need to do today to put forth a positive performance, and that's not new for us."

Texas will open up the 2025 regular season in Columbus against Ohio State on Aug. 30.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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