Trev Alberts pushes back on moving game vs. Texas to Thanksgiving Day

For the first time as fellow SEC programs, Texas and Texas A&M will square off on Nov. 30. It will be the first time the two programs have met since 2011 when the Longhorns handed the Aggies a 27-25 loss.

The Lonestar Showdown traditionally occurred on Thanksgiving or the next day. However, Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts is not interested in resuming the holiday tradition. Per TexAgs.com’s Olin Buchanan, Alberts “said A&M would not want to play future games against Texas on Thanksgiving Day.”

Buchanan did not provide Alberts’ reasoning. The Nov. 30 matchup will be both teams’ final game of the regular season. Texas A&M and Texas first met in 1894 and the two teams played each other every year between 1915 and 2011.

Texas boasts a 76-37-5 all-time record over the in-state rival and has won 12 of the programs’ last 17 meetings. However, the Aggies have not always been on the losing end of the rivalry’s history. From 1984 to 1994, Texas A&M posted a 10-1 record against the Longhorns.

While both teams are undoubtedly hopeful to make a statement in their reunion in the 2024 campaign, they also respect each other.

“I’ve got a ton of respect for Coach Elko,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Tuesday. “We competed against one another when he was a defensive coordinator at A&M and I was an offensive coordinator at Alabama. He’s got really good schemes, really good players, and I think he’s going to do a great job.

First-year Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko returned the compliment.

“They were really talented, I remember that,” Elko said. “He was there at a time when they had a lot of really talented players. He obviously does a great job schematically. I think you’ve seen that over the years with him.

“A lot of respect for the job he does on offense. He’s always done a really good job of finding ways to create explosives for his players and put them in great situations. That’ll be a big challenge for sure.”

Texas A&M will have home-field advantage on its side. If the Longhorns want to keep its win streak alive against the Aggies, they will have to steal a win from over 100,000 cheering fans in Kyle Field. Sarkisian knows it will be an excellent challenge for his team.

“We get A&M back,” Sarkisian said. “You’re talking about with the game with A&M houses divided, decades of tremendous games, Thanksgiving weekend. To get that game back, I know we’re looking forward to it. I’m sure A&M is too.”