As Earl Campbell strolled down the tunnel at Kyle Field, the roar of the 57,000 fans echoed off the walls around him. As he approached the field, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he found head coach Fred Akers standing beside him. Akers said something Campbell would never forget.

“Earl,” Akers told him. “We do not need to leave this stadium today without people knowing who the best running back in the country is.”

That game was the 84th installment in the rivalry between the University of Texas and Texas A&M University. The Longhorns would go on to win in dominant fashion 57-28, thanks to a standout performance from Campbell.

“A&M must have heard that pep talk because they let me run for 200 something yards and I won the Heisman,” Campbell said.

However, it was not his play on the field that made the rivalry special for Campbell. It was playing the game on the same holiday each year. “What I think makes it so special is the Thanksgiving holiday, and when I was around that game was played on Thanksgiving,” Campbell said. “I never lost to A&M so I don’t know how it feels to lose to them. I only know about winning. I just think that rivalry brings the two schools together, and I think it helps the state of Texas as well.”

Rivalry Renewed

Come this Thanksgiving weekend, on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, the Longhorns will travel northeast to face their oldest rivals for the first time since 2011. It will be the 119th meeting between the two schools and the first time they will meet as members of the Southeastern Conference.

Jorvorskie Lane, Aggies fullback from 2005-2008 and former NFL player, described what it is like when the two predominant and powerful schools in the state go head to head. “It’s really simple man. That line is drawn in the dirt,” Lane said. “Either you’re an Aggie or you’re a Longhorn.”

Divided Households

The return of the rivalry also means divided households throughout the state of Texas. Family members who attended UT will be pitted against their Aggie relatives. One side of the house will don the burnt orange of the Longhorns while the other will be wearing maroon in support of the Aggies.

Brett Robin, UT running back from 1999-2003, remembers growing up in a divided household. His dad is a Texas A&M alum, but during his recruitment process Mack Brown, the Longhorns head coach at the time, convinced Robin to represent the burnt orange and white. Robin said the expectations were always high when playing the Aggies. “We beat A&M pretty handily every year with the exception of the year I redshirted. That was the year the bonfire collapsed,” Robin said. “But to us, we felt like it was an expectation to win because it should be done. We’re the older brother.”

An Atmosphere Unlike Any Other

No matter what the two teams’ records are heading into the game, a sell out crowd is expected at Kyle Field. This unwavering enthusiasm surrounding the matchup is what retired Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Hamilton, former cadet in the A&M Corps of Cadets, recalled about his time at A&M. Despite the lopsided game results, Hamilton said the hype surrounding the games never diminished.

“The first three or four years that I was at A&M, we did not beat Texas. But it didn’t diminish the preparation and the hype around the game for us, with the bonfire and our Corps trips to Austin,” Hamilton said. “It’s hard to describe. It was exhilarating as we got ready for the game each year.”

Bragging Rights

This game holds special significance for both schools as a matchup between two big in-state rivals. With bragging rights at stake, Chris Taylor, Aggie wide receiver from 1997-2001 and former NFL player, anticipates nothing less than an exciting showdown. “It’s all about bragging rights. For 365 days you get to hold that over your rival’s head,” Taylor said. “But also, the universities are so close together that they know so much about each other, and there’s going to be a lot of trash talking coming from both sides.”

A Game to Remember

Taylor also recalls this being the game he had circled on his calendar every year. No matter how their season had gone up until that point, the game against Texas was always the most important one, he said. “I know what this game meant to me as a player. It was the one you had circled on your calendar, even in summer workouts,” Taylor said. “If somebody ever says ‘We’re not worried about Texas or we’re not worried about Texas A&M’ they’re lying. If you’ve ever played in it, you understand what the meaning of this game is and how important it is to each program.”

A win against your biggest rival is a memory that will last a lifetime, especially for the players. “My favorite moment was when I was a sophomore,” said Lane, as he reminisced about his days playing fullback for A&M. “We were walking off the field and had just beat Texas in 2007. I just remember throwing the horns down and the picture that they took. We still use it today in 2024.”

A Fire Rekindled

As the kickoff draws near Robin said he believes the hype will only continue to grow. It will be a spectacle that people will be talking about for months leading up to it and there will be a new found excitement surrounding the reinstated rivalry.

“It’s like this fire where the coals have just been smoldering,” former Longhorn Robin said. “Now we’re going to pour some gas on it and get it going again.”

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Cover photo courtesy Johntex.

Jackson Baird graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2024 where he majored in journalism. Born and raised in Austin, he is a lifetime Longhorn fan. However, he comes from a house divided as his sister is a 2022 graduate of Texas A&M University. He is excited for the renewed rivalry between the two schools.