Quarterback Stephen McGee and the A&M offense on their own goal-line. Texas A&M won 12-7.
Photo source: Wikimedia.org
This Thanksgiving Americans everywhere will give thanks for a variety of reasons. Many will give thanks for their family and good friends. Others will give thanks to those who serve our country while some may choose to give thanks to the convenience store clerk who is working the holiday so they could replace a forgotten Thanksgiving meal item at the last minute.
But if you are a college football junkie you may choose to give thanks to rivalries. Many households and families will get together to enjoy a good meal together this week, but when it comes time for kickoff those loving ideas of family togetherness will be interrupted for three hours.
With the conclusion of the regular season comes a good handful of rivalry games worth checking out. Ohio State already took care of business against Michigan last week and Cal came out on top against Stanford. Harvard was fortunate to take advantage of a coaching blunder in The Game against Yale. Some of the classic rivalries may be behind us, but this weekend is not short on bitter feuds.
It all starts on Thanksgiving night when #3 Texas takes on Texas A&M in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown and continues through Saturday, ending with UCLA at #20 USC.
Over the next couple of days I will be spotlighting some of the premiere rivalry games to be played this weekend.
State Farm Lone Star Showdown: #3 Texas @ Texas A&M
Texas leads 74-36-5
The third most played rivalry in college football, Texas and Texas A&M will play an important role in the BCS picture this weekend. With the Longhorns gunning for a shot at the BCS Championship it will be up to the Aggies to come up with their third win in four meetings. Texas A&M has upset the Longhorns in 2007 and 2006 while Texas ran away with a victory last year.
There are many reasons that this is a great rivalry. For starters, each school mentions the other in their school fight song. and then there are the pre-game festivities. Texas fans hold Hex rallies prior to the game to curse their rivals, which replaced bonfires that were frowned upon by environmentalists. According to the Texas game notes for the game here is how the Hex Rally got started;
A group of students turned to an Austin fortune-teller named Mrs. August Hipple, who gave them the prescription for victory. “Burn red candles,” Hipple said. She thought the burning of candles would show great support for the team. UT won 23-0 and the red candle legend was born.
On the other campus Texas A&M fans still hold traditional bonfires. The Bonfire was a long standing tradition at Texas A&M for 90 years. They say things are bigger in Texas, and Bonfire was no exception. In 1969 Bonfire set the world record for largest bonfire but in 1999 a tragic collapse during construction of the elaborate bonfire killed twelve people and injured 27 others. Since then the university ceased organized bonfires prior to the Texas game but an unsanctioned student bonfire has taken place since 2002 to keep the spirit of the history and tradition alive.
Texas-Texas A&M has long been a Thanksgiving tradition. The first Thanksgiving day meeting was played in 1901. This year will be the second consecutive Thanksgiving game (for the past 12 years it was played on the Friday after Thanksgiving) and the 62nd to be played on the big turkey day.
Though the two schools have been playing each other for over a century, the corporate sponsorship has taken the rivalry to a new level. The State Farm Lone Star Showdown keeps track of all athletic competitions between the two universities and awards points for victories. Texas will enter this week's football game up 4-1. The benefit of having the sponsorship for the rivalry is the increased revenue and attention the game receives. It was always a big deal, but now it can be marketed in ways possibly unavailable before.
NEXT: The Iron Bowl, Alabama vs. Auburn
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