Lone Star Showdown revival pits Aggies vs. Longhorns as SEC rivals

A first trip to the SEC Championship Game, possibly a first SEC championship and a first berth in the College Football Playoff are all within reach for Texas A&M.

But first things first.

The 20th-ranked Aggies (8-3, 5-2) must first get by No. 3 Texas (10-1, 6-1) in the first clash in 13 years between the long-time arch-enemies. They face each other for the first time as SEC rivals at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Kyle Field.

A&M looks to first-year starting quarterback Marcel Reed to lead them against a Texas defense that is ranked No. 2 in the nation.

That alone is sufficient for some to doubt the Aggies, who are in their first year under coach Mike Elko.

“We’re aware a lot of people don’t have faith and didn’t have faith in us just because it’s the first year with a new head coach, a new OC, new DC. A lot of players in the (transfer) portal. All those things,” Reed said earlier this week. “This is kind of a rebuilt season for us if you want to say.

“We’re here now. Got a chance to go make this opportunity what we want it to be. We’re real excited, and everybody has talked about it.”

Actually, everybody at A&M, Texas and across the country has been talking about the renewal of the intense rivalry that was suspended when A&M left the Big 12 Conference to join the SEC in 2012.

Now that Texas has followed A&M to the SEC, the rivalry is restored.

The bitterness and hatred might not be the same (not yet, anyway), but the intensity should be as high as ever because so much is at stake, especially for the Aggies.

Texas can lose and still likely be chosen for the 12-team College Football Playoff. A&M doesn’t have that luxury.

"The mindset for me and the team is just that we’re in the playoffs now,” Reed said. “A lot of people are waiting until the 12-team bracket to drop and all that stuff. We’re in it now. It’s win or go home at this point. We know we’ve got to win if we want to advance. It’s win or go home.”

Being at home is a big reason the Aggies might win.

A&M is 5-1 at Kyle Field this season. That includes impressive victories over Missouri and LSU.

Meanwhile, Texas hasn’t faced a hostile environment since visiting Arkansas in 2021. This season, in true road games, the Longhorns faced Michigan and Arkansas at 11 a.m. and Vanderbilt at 3:15 p.m. They struggled to defeat the Commodores, 27-24.

SEC road games at night are a different animal. A boisterous crowd in excess of 100,000 will be on hand at Kyle Field.

“You get a prime-time TV game against your rival in a game that’s for the SEC Championship (Game). I would imagine that would break the rafters a little bit,” Elko said. “Attendance will be really large. There will be a lot of excitement. There will be a lot of electricity Saturday night.”

Of course, a noisy stadium doesn’t make tackles, pressure quarterbacks or cover receivers.

The Aggie defense struggled with missed tackles, a failure to apply consistent pressure and getting beat over the top in recent losses at South Carolina and Auburn.

That won’t inspire a lot of confidence against Texas. Longhorn quarterback Quinn Ewers directs an offense that averages 36.6 points and is ranked among the nation’s top 20 in passing.

Andrew Kilzer, TexAgs

Texas A&M and Texas last met on Nov. 24, 2011. The Longhorns won on a field goal as time expired, 27-25.

Ewers has thrown for 2,089 yards in nine games. Tight end Gunnar Helm has 544 receiving yards. Receivers Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond also have more than 500.

“They present a lot of different challenges,” Elko said. “They do a really good job scheming up matchups and leverage, and they can attack you in every phase of it with a lot of really talented players.”

The Longhorns' defense is even more heralded.

Texas is ranked second in the nation in total defense, though that may be a byproduct of facing five offenses that are among the weakest in the nation, including Kentucky (115th), Vanderbilt (116th), Oklahoma (118th), Louisana Monroe (127th) and Michigan (128th).

A&M has the second-highest-scoring offense Texas has faced. The Aggies, who average 32.5 points, are behind only Georgia, which defeated the Longhorns 30-15.

The Aggies offense has been most productive with Reed at the helm. They may also get a boost with the possible return from injuries of guard Chase Bisontis and running back Rueben Owens.

Regardless of who plays or doesn’t play, Reed is well aware that the Aggies face a difficult task.

“This is not going to be a walk-in-the-park easy game,” Reed said. “It’s going to take some fighting and clawing, blood, sweat and tears.

“Everybody on the team knows that. We know the stakes and what it’s going to take to get that W.”