Texas has won the first two chapters of the rebooted rivalry. Texas A&M gets its shot at revenge in front of its own crowd on Black Friday.
Bush’s Picks
TEXTA&M
TEXTA&M
OverUnder
Best BetTexas
Texas brings the more proven quarterback and the deeper skill-position room into this one, and Arch Manning enters as a Heisman betting favorite for a reason. The Longhorns have also won the last two meetings since this rivalry came back, which matters when neither team has released a depth chart yet to change the calculus. Until A&M shows its retooled roster can hang, Texas is the side to trust to win outright.
Texas
+Arch Manning enters as a Heisman betting favorite
+Won last two meetings since rivalry renewal
+Added Cam Coleman, Raleek Brown among transfer haul
−Playing on the road in college football's toughest environments
−New transfers still need time to gel
−A&M has extra motivation after two straight losses
Texas A&M
+Coming off 11 wins and first-ever CFP berth
+Marcel Reed earned most captain votes on roster
+Home crowd at Kyle Field on a marquee stage
−Lost 13 starters off last year's CFP roster
−New offensive coordinator in Holmon Wiggins untested
−Elko himself flagged consistency as last year's flaw
This one's got a Heisman-caliber quarterback walking into the loudest building in the sport with a two-game winning streak in the series on the line. Arch Manning closed last season on an absolute tear, and Steve Sarkisian has spent the offseason building around him instead of hoping he carries it alone. Across the field, Marcel Reed isn't a game manager anymore, he's the guy his own locker room voted to lead the program.
Texas A&M isn't just playing for a rivalry trophy here, it's playing to prove last year's 11-win, first-ever CFP season was a floor, not a ceiling. That's a real threat to a Texas roster that leaned hard into the transfer portal to reload at receiver and running back. Both sides bring real questions into Kyle Field: can the Aggies replace 13 departed starters fast enough, and can Texas's new pieces gel by the time Black Friday rolls around.
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6:30 PM CT
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TEX Texas
TA&M Texas A&M
Neither side has released depth charts or injury news yet since we're still months out, so treat any name beyond the two quarterbacks as speculation. What's not speculation is the stage: ABC primetime, Kyle Field, and a rivalry that Texas has controlled since the SEC reunion in 2024.
Texas Longhorns
Nov 20?vs Arkansas—
Nov 13?@ LSU—
Nov 6?@ Missouri—
Oct 30?vs Mississippi State—
Oct 16?vs Florida—
Oct 10?@ Oklahoma—
Sep 26?@ Tennessee—
Sep 19?vs UTSA—
Sep 12?vs Ohio State—
Sep 5?vs Texas State—
Texas A&M Aggies
Nov 20?@ Oklahoma—
Nov 13?vs Tennessee—
Nov 6?@ South Carolina—
Oct 17?vs The Citadel—
Oct 9?@ Missouri—
Oct 2?vs Arkansas—
Sep 25?@ LSU—
Sep 19?vs Kentucky—
Sep 12?vs Arizona State—
Sep 5?vs Missouri State—
Recent form.
Elko has been blunt that consistency, not talent, was what separated last year's Aggies from a true title run, and a home rivalry game against the team that's owned them the last two meetings is exactly the kind of spot that exposes whether that lesson stuck. For Texas, the equation is almost the opposite problem: a loaded roster with proven pieces walking into the most hostile road environment on the schedule.
Both programs enter with something to prove, which is usually the recipe for the version of this rivalry everyone remembers. Kyle Field hasn't forgotten the last two losses, and Texas hasn't forgotten it's still the better team on paper. Whoever handles that tension better probably walks out with the trophy.
