The Lone Star Showdown is the biggest and longest running in-state rivalry game in Texas. The clash between the Longhorns and Aggies has been played a total of 118 times and the Texas Longhorns control the all-time series record 76-37-5. It’s also a game synonymous with the Thanksgiving holiday — out of the 118 matchups, 64 have been played on the fourth Thursday in November.

It’s a game that first kicked off in 1894, just one year after The University of Texas first fielded a football team. The game took place before the Texas Longhorns became the Longhorns. For the first match up, the now-prestigious football program was called “Varsity.”  

The first-ever game would see the University of Texas shutout Texas A&M for a score of 38-0. Texas would continue to shut out its rival for the first seven encounters until their game in October of 1902, where the result was a 0-0 tie. A month later in November, Texas A&M scored its first victory over Texas with a narrow win of 11-0.

The longest run of success for the Longhorns was between 1940 and 1983, where, between these 40 years, Texas held a record of 36–7–1 over the Aggies. However, after 1983 the Aggies went on their longest winning streak in the rivalry, holding a record of 10–1 over the Longhorns between 1984 and 1994.

The last ever encounter between the two biggest pillars of college football in the state of Texas was played in 2011, as the next season the Aggies left the Big 12 and joined the Southeastern Conference. The ending of the rivalry, at least for a little over a decade, ended the same way it began with a victory for the team in burnt orange and white.

Then-senior kicker Justin Tucker nailed a walk-off 40-yard field goal to give the Longhorns the victory 27-25. With as dramatic of an ending as can be expected in the world of college football, the Longhorns could say they sent their biggest rival packing across conferences with a loss.

The renewal of the Lone Star Showdown has been long awaited by both Longhorn and Aggie fans. And with the Longhorns’ official move to the SEC over the summer alongside rival Oklahoma, this iconic game will make its long-anticipated comeback. 

On Nov. 30, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, for the first time in 13 years, burnt orange and white will clash with maroon and white. Facing one of the rowdiest arenas of college football, Kyle Field, Steve Sarkisian and his Texas Longhorns will travel into College Station and take on Mike Elko and the Texas A&M Aggies in the 119th edition of the Lone Star Showdown. The first game in over a decade could influence standings in the SEC, with possible championship game implications, but will also revive old interstate tensions and bragging rights.