Texas A&M Can Simply Not Lose This Game Next Season

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Non-conference games matter. Conference games matter. Rivalry games matter.
It’s another season where two schools separated by less than two hours meet in a heated matchup, with the record and bragging rights at stake for the next year, and Texas A&M and Texas will compete once again at Kyle Field in 2026.
Ever since the Longhorns joined the SEC, they have stolen both monumental matchups that had a ton at stake, like a ticket to the SEC Championship. This go-around, it could be exactly the same, as it falls on Thanksgiving weekend, when securing a win could punch a possible ticket to the conference title game or even the College Football Playoff.
Why Defeating Texas Matters

Dating back to 1915, the Aggies do not lead the all-time series against the Longhorns, as it stands at 33 wins and 63 losses. Around this time, there is always a debate about big brother and little brother. Who can have the better recruiting class, and the list goes on. It should really be about who can bring home a win and build off of it, but there is so much more.
In this matchup, two Heisman-caliber quarterbacks are hoping to take their teams to the promised land, and over the last two seasons, it has not favored either.
It is going to be a year where Marcel Reed can finally give head coach Mike Elko his first win over Texas and also secure his first win over their arch rivals. Looking back at the first time these two teams squared off at Kyle Field, both Reed and Arch Manning got reps in a game the entire state was waiting for, and it didn’t work out for A&M, which had high expectations of punching a ticket to its first SEC Championship Game. It didn’t go as planned with a 17-7 loss.
Fast forward to a year later, the Maroon and White were undefeated, heading to Austin to take on the Burnt Orange with another chance to seal the deal for a ticket to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game and a shot at a playoff bye. That was spoiled once again with a 27-17 loss.
That sets the scene for what’s ahead this November. Reed has the pieces once again to bring home to Aggieland something that has never happened before, and it would make the 12th Man exhilarated to finally witness history. It all comes down to whether the offense and defense can execute on the biggest stage. Get this win, and it ends the regular season on a good note and silences the critics about Elko, Reed, and the Aggies.
Kolton Becker is a journalist for Texas A&M Aggies and Houston Cougars On SI from Port Lavaca, Texas. He is a graduate from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural communications and journalism and a minor in sport management. As a former sports reporter with TexAgs and The Battalion, he has covered Texas A&M football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track & field, cross country, swim & dive and equestrian. In his spare time, he loves to hunt, fish, cook, do play-by-play announcing at high school sporting events, spend time with family/friends as well as be involved with his local church.
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