Saturday’s meeting between Texas A&M football and LSU will represent a break in a recent trend between the two SEC opponents.
For the first time since the 2013 college football season, the No. 14 Aggies (6-1, 4-0 SEC) and No. 7 Tigers (6-1, 3-0) will not play during Thanksgiving week, instead facing off much earlier during the regular season.
Ironically, what first brought about the annual series between the Aggies and the Tigers in 2012 also drove apart their recent tradition of playing during Rivalry Week: conference realignment. With in-state rival Texas joining the SEC this season, the conference opted to move the Aggies’ annual game with LSU up on the calendar, instead pitting Texas A&M vs. Texas in late November.
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Saturday’s matchup from College Station will pit the Aggies and Tigers in a matchup between the last two remaining undefeated teams in SEC play. Meanwhile, Texas A&M is scheduled to play rival Texas on Nov. 30 to close out the regular season, while LSU will play another SEC newcomer in Oklahoma.
The Thanksgiving week matchup between the Aggies and Longhorns will end a 12-year hiatus between the rivals. Before Texas A&M’s jump to the SEC ahead of the 2012 season, the two teams traditionally faced off on Thanksgiving weekend to end the regular season.
Here’s what you need to know about why Texas A&M and LSU are playing earlier than usual this season:
Why is Texas A&M playing LSU in October?
When the Texas A&M 2024 SEC football schedule was released in December, “the return of Texas series on Thanksgiving weekend” was also announced. For much of its history, the Lone Star Showdown was played during Thanksgiving week.
With Texas A&M and Texas resuming their rivalry as newly minted conference opponents in 2024, that meant the annual Texas A&M-LSU game needed a new date. The Oct. 26 meeting will be the earliest the Aggies play the Tigers since Texas A&M’s first year in the SEC, when it played LSU on Oct. 12.
From 2013 through 2023, the teams met during Rivalry Week in lieu of the Lone Star Showdown.
In 2014, LSU moved its end-of-season game vs. Arkansas to earlier in November, pushing the Texas A&M game to the end of the season. From then on, the teams played on Thanksgiving day or the Saturday after Thanksgiving every year. In 2014 and 2016, the teams played on Thanksgiving in College Station.
Saturday’s meeting will be the 58th meeting between the programs.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How Texas changed Texas A&M-LSU football game date in 2024
