Texas A&M Football: 5 New Thanksgiving Day Rival Candidates

As far as rivalries go, the Texas A&M Aggies facing off against the Texas Longhorns in the Lonestar Showdown is one of the most storied in college football. This game has been occurring for over 100 years and is a signature clash of the two best football universities in the state.

There isn't an Aggie or a Longhorn alive who was there when this whole thing began. Thousands of fans swarm to either Austin or College Station late November each year to watch this game in person, while millions more view it from home.

Since 1915, the Aggies and Longhorns have been in the same conference, ending each year with this classic rivalry. Having survived the fall of the Southwest Conference together as well as the uncertainty in the Big 12 that came with conference realignment last year, A&M is finally packing their bags to leave their traditional rival behind.

There are many reasons the Aggies left, one of which was UT's new ESPN based Longhorn Network, which provided unfair recruiting advantages. Another might have been that A&M football wanted to finally get out from under Texas' shadow. A huge one was that the SEC is a better cultural fit, and that's not even considering the additional revenue A&M will receive. 

No matter the reason, this move is happening. However, even with the opportunity to keep the rivalry alive, UT turned their backs on the Aggies, claiming they had their non-conference slate filled through 2018. Personally, I think the Longhorns are trying to get back at A&M for leaving, but that's neither here nor there. 

Traditional rivals have survived splitting up conferences many times over the years. Florida still plays Florida State. Georgia takes on Georgia Tech. Clemson and South Carolina still face off every year. It's not like the two universities can't do it; it's just that one is refusing. 

If that refusal continues through next season, UT is looking at playing the Red Raiders for their Thanksgiving Day game. As ridiculous as that looks for the Longhorns, perhaps the Aggies need to start looking for a new Thanksgiving Day rival to match Texas'.

Here are the top five candidates A&M should consider, ranked from least to most likely.  

LSU

Back before 1991, LSU was a loner in the SEC West. Their other four division mates were rivals of each other, Mississippi State and Ole Miss playing in the Egg Bowl and Alabama and Auburn competing in the Iron Bowl.

The Tigers had no in-state rivals, and everyone in the East had some sort of rival already. They were stuck with no one special to play in late November. Then, in 1991, they were sent a gift.

Another university to the north joined their conference, and they were also a lone power in their own state. The Tigers had found their Thanksgiving weekend rival in the Arkansas Razorbacks. Since then, the two have slugged out many big games in their season finale.

However, as A&M comes in to join the SEC, LSU presents itself as an ideal target for a Thanksgiving weekend rival. Now, I don't want to give anyone false hope because this is a long shot, and when I say long shot, I pretty much mean that if this happens, insanity will ensue.

The Aggies and the Tigers were former conference mates back in the late 1800's and early 1900's, playing each other in the old Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. A&M has played LSU more times than any other non-conference opponent over the years, matching up against them in both the Orange and Cotton Bowls.

LSU is the closest SEC university to College Station, and the game would be an interesting matchup every year, but honestly, as long as the Arkansas-LSU rivalry continues, this is an extremely unlikely Thanksgiving Day solution for A&M.   

Arkansas

I realize I just conferred LSU as an unlikely candidate to fix A&M's problem, but Arkansas is slightly more of a possibility. Again, don't go and get your hopes up, Aggie fans; this is still way out there.

One big reason the Razorbacks and Aggies would enjoy playing this rivalry a little later in the season would be that it would create more meaning for a game that has recently become important. After the Hogs left for the SEC in 1991, they didn't match up again with A&M until just recently, when they created the Southwest Classic, played each year in Dallas.

Arkansas and Texas A&M used to be big Southwest Conference rivals, playing each other from 1934 to 1991. Now, their somewhat new Southwest Classic transforms from a non-conference matchup to an interdivisional rivalry. 

Their old rivalry is restored with A&M's move to the SEC, and requesting to move the game from early October to late November would just create more importance on the game. The only problem would be that the Razorbacks would be forced to give up their Thanksgiving weekend rivalry with LSU.

As great as moving the A&M-Arkansas game to Thanksgiving would be, the Razorbacks most likely won't be willing to give up their somewhat new LSU matchup. 

Basically, A&M shouldn't count on Arkansas to drop such a big time game with LSU just for their new conference member. 

Make Thanksgiving Weekend a Bye Week

If UT doesn't change its mind and no one else wants to give up their own Thanksgiving Day rivalry, the Aggies will be stuck with a gap on that weekend. That would be completely fine. 

Changing that weekend to a bye week would give all Aggies a chance to go home and relax while their team rests. The big weekend would just scale down on importance as A&M possibly waits UT out for continuing the rivalry later on. 

A&M officials have already said they have set aside the Thanksgiving Day game next season for UT if they do change their mind, and the Aggies might continue to do that for the next couple years as a sign of good faith.

As far as a bye week goes, it won't hurt the team at all. In fact, holding off playing in cold weather would only help A&M football. Given a chance to rest so late in the season before a bowl game would only be in the team's best interest.  

For fans, as I mentioned before, they won't have to worry about spending Thanksgiving in College Station or Austin for a game in freezing temperatures. As one myself, staying nice and warm at home does seem ideal compared to freezing somewhere in Austin or College Station.    

TCU

Back in the day, the Horned Frogs and the Aggies were Southwest Conference mates. The two enjoyed each other's company until Baylor screwed them, Rice and SMU out of a spot in the Big 12. 

Since the break-up, both teams have gone their separate ways. TCU has become quite successful, attending some BCS Bowls and winning a few MWC Championships. Now that they have finally settled into a new conference, just as A&M is about to do, they will need someone to play in their season finale.

Considering TCU is "replacing" A&M in the schedule, this might cause TCU to be wary of playing A&M. Most of the other Big 12 members, particularly Baylor and Texas, are a bit sore on the whole "Aggies to the SEC" deal. 

The game, though, would be a great matchup. TCU is a strong team that has demonstrated that in recent years. If A&M could convince TCU to use one of their non-conference games on this Thanksgiving Day showdown, it could become a signature Big 12-SEC matchup every year.

Additionally, it would restore a classic rivalry that goes back to the Southwest Conference. Who wouldn't like to see two old friends slug it out every year on Thanksgiving?  

Missouri

Missouri just recently decided that coming with the Aggies to the SEC was their best move for the future. As they enter the SEC East with A&M in West, these two will become "locked" conference rivals for years to come.

For those of you who don't know what that means, basically it's part of the SEC scheduling system. Since their are two divisions in the SEC, teams have to play interdivisional games each year. Of the three that each team plays, only two of those "rotate" on an annual basis. 

This means that the other is "locked." Each school in each division has a set rival from the other. These locked rivals play every year no matter what. For example, when Arkansas and South Carolina entered the SEC in the early 1990's, they became each other's locked rivals.

The same will happen for the Aggies and the Tigers. Considering that A&M must play them every year and that Kansas may try to pull the same stunt as the Longhorns now that their traditional Thanksgiving weekend rival is gone, Mizzou will also be missing a game near the end of the year. 

If this happens, the Tigers and the Aggies would be a perfect fit to play each other in late November. It keeps the game in the conference so neither team has to use valuable non-conference games on their season finale and, as demonstrated this year, will be an excellent matchup.