The Way Back: For the Birds

By Ben Wright in Nov | Dec 2018, TXEX on November 1, 2018 at 8:00 am | 1 Comment

The University of Texas’ Thanksgiving record against Texas A&M is 46-20-3. But over the last decade, the holiday fixture has disappeared.

Thanksgiving football first came to UT in 1900, when the Longhorns ran riot over the Aggies by a colossal 11 points to zero. In 1916, Bevo made his first appearance on Thanksgiving as the Longhorns trounced the Aggies 21-7. On Thanksgiving Day in 1924, UT soundly beat A&M in the newly opened Texas Memorial Stadium.

As the stadium grew, so did the fanfare. In 1962, a gigantic Texas flag was unveiled. It had been given to Gov. Price Daniel at the Cotton Bowl the year prior, a gift from the state of Mississippi. The late ’50s-’60s also saw the Longhorns’ longest winning streak—10 games— though Texas hasn’t always come out on top. Between 1984 and 1994, A&M won all bar one.

In 2011, A&M left the Big 12. That ended not just holiday games but the prospect of any tiff between the two ancient rivals, but not before Texas kicker Justin Tucker could end the series with a walkoff field goal in College Station. Alas, there are no immediate plans in the works to bring the fixture back—both teams are booked up over Thanksgiving until the mid 2020s. It will be quite some time before the Longhorns can provide A&M with festive stuffing once more.