UT vs. A&M logo

COLLEGE STATION — The Texas Longhorns and Texas Aggies renew their football rivalry at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in College Station with winner earning a spot in the SEC title game against Georgia.

A few things to know:

How can I watch

The game will be televised on ABC and streamed on the ESPN family of apps. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will be in the booth and Holly Rowe on the sideline.

For an early start, ESPN’s College GameDay is on campus and will air from 8-11 a.m. on ESPN. If you’re without a TV or phone or other streaming device, the game will be on the radio. For the Longhorn version, it is on KTBB 97.5-FM, 600-AM. For the Aggie broadcast, it is on The Team 92.1-FM.

How about a ticket

If you don’t already have one, get your wallet out. Prices on the secondary market are averaging about $1,100.

What’s at stake

In addition to the normal pride and state bragging rights, the winner gets a spot in the SEC title game against Georgia. As for the College Football Playoff, A&M must win this game and likely beat Georgia to get one of the 12 spots because the Aggies already have three losses. For Texas, a win would essentially clinch a CFP shot. A loss would leave the Longhorns at 10-2 and in decent shape for an at-large bid but nothing is guaranteed.

Who are the coaches

Mike Elko is in his first season as the Texas A&M head coach. He had previously been with the Aggies as defensive coordinator under Jimbo Fisher from 2018-21 before going to Duke as head coach. He hasn’t faced the Longhorns in any of his coaching stops.

Steve Sarkisian is in his fourth season as the Longhorns head coach. He was on the Alabama staff in 2016 and 2019-20 when the Crimson Tide won three times against the Aggies, once in College Station.

Who are the key players

We might as well start with the quarterbacks.

Marcel Reed stepped in for Conner Weigman who injured his shoulder against Notre Dame. Weigman returned but Reed essentially won the starting job against LSU when he relieved Wiegman again. He will be one of the more mobile QBs the Longhorns have faced.

Quinn Ewers is the man for the Longhorns although he suffered an ankle injury against Kentucky. He’s led Texas to some big road wins in his career — at Alabama last season and at Michigan this year — but can’t shake the desire of some Texas fans to see Arch Manning.

Both teams lost their top running backs to preseason injuries.

Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue have led the Longhorns although both have had troubles with fumbles.

The Aggies have turned to Amari Daniels after Le’Veon Moss was injured against South Carolina.

Defense has been the constant for the Longhorns who have been led by Jahdae Barron in the secondary and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and a rotating defensive line feature Alfred Collins and Colin Simmons.

Nic Scourton, a transfer from Purdue, leads the Aggies with 14 tackles for loss and five sacks.

If it comes down to a field goal, and both sides remember Justin Tucker from 2011, the Aggies will count on Randy Bond (19 of 22 on field goals this year) and the Longhorns have Bert Auburn, who has slipped to nine of 13 on field goals.

History of the rivalry

The teams started playing in 1894 and Texas leads the series 76-37-5 but it’s much closer in College Station where Texas has a 25-22-2 edge.

Why did they stop playing

Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC after the 2011 season and neither school really wanted to find a way to play after that separation although basketball, baseball and other sports managed to do it.

When Texas joined the SEC this season, the football rivalry was renewed. Although it’s still up in the air if it will be every year as the SEC is still weighing an 8-game conference schedule model vs. a 9-game model. In a 9-game, the teams would play every year.