Kevin Sumlin believes Texas A&M-Texas game will eventually happen

Kevin Sumlin is optimistic that the series between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Texas Longhorns will eventually be rekindled, according to ESPN’s Brett McMurphy.

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The former Big 12 rivals saw their rivalry that spanned 118 meetings and 117 years went by the wayside when Texas A&M left the conference to join the Southeastern Conference two years ago.

In the time since the conference realignment, Texas A&M has seen a meteoric rise to national prominence under Sumlin and 2012 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel who was essentially the face of college football the last two years.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns have struggled under Mack Brown who resigned (under pressure) at the end of last year and failed to have a single player taken in the 2014 NFL Draft for the first time since 1938. The Aggies had three first round picks, including two in the top 10, giving the Aggies a top-10 selection in three of the past four seasons.

First-year head coach of the Longhorns, Charlie Strong Charlie Strong endorsed its renewal in March so with Sumlin and Strong both in favor of renewing the rivalry, it should a question of “when” and not “if” the Lone Star State programs are competing against each other, especially with the SEC mandating each program schedule a game against another “Power 5” conference, right?

Well, not so fast as both the A&M and Texas administrations are focusing on other ventures and are in no rush to renew the rivalry that was an integral part of the Thanksgiving holiday in the country with the game being played the day after the holiday for the better part of the last century.

Heck, both schools reference each other in their fight songs (“and it’s goodbye to A&M” in Texas Fight; the whole second verse of the Aggie War Hymn is about Texas) and this was the third longest running rivalry in college football with the first game played on Oct. 19, 1894.

Texas leads the rivalry, 76–37–5.

For college football fans across the country and for the diehard fans from College Station and Austin, let’s get this great rivalry back on the schedule. It may be a Lloyd Chrismas-like longshot, but if you’re telling me there’s a chance, we can cling to that and hope Sumlin’s “eventually” means in the next two-three years.

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