Longhorns Country

'We'll Be Ready': Texas Longhorns Won't Lack Motivation For Texas A&M Rivalry

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is ready to reignite the Lone Star Showdown
Matt Galatzan|
Nov 24, 2011; College Station, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Case McCoy (6) scrambles from
Nov 24, 2011; College Station, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Case McCoy (6) scrambles from | Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

After more than a decade apart, the Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies are set to reignite the Lone Star Showdown.

On November 30, the Horns will travel to College Station for their first meeting with the Aggies since 2011 - a game that Texas won 27-25 in dramatic fashion on a game-winning field goal from Justin Tucker as the clocks hit zero.

It's a game that many Longhorns and Aggies fans alike have been clamoring to see return. Not only for the bragging rights within their families or respective work places, but the pageantry and drama that surrounds each and every snap every time the two teams took the field against one another, dating back to 1894.

Now with the Longhorns heading to the SEC in 2024, arguably the best rivalry in college sports can finally return.

Nov 24, 2011; College Station, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Case McCoy (6) runs the ball
Nov 24, 2011; College Station, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Case McCoy (6) runs the ball | Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

But after the matchup being idle for nearly 13 years, there are also questions as to whether or not the game will carry the same weight for either the fans or the players.

But according to Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, it won't be hard for his side to get motivated for the rivalry at all.

"The question is about with all of the changes happening in college football like NIL, transfer portal, conference realignment, you name it — we've got a lot going on right now," Sarkisian said at the Houston Touchdown Club. "But with that change what's coming is renewing the rivalry with A&M and how to get our players that we recruit back into the vigor of that rivalry that I think y'all have enjoyed for decades and decades. It's not hard at all. We'll be ready."

Heading into the newly rekindled rivalry, the Longhorns are poised to compete for an SEC title, College Football Playoff berth, and a national title - something that the Aggies would certainly love to spoil when their arch rivals march into Kyle Field on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Published
Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writers’ Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014, covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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