Longhorns "Not On Our Radar," Says Aggies Jimbo Fisher

The rivalry between Texas and Texas A&M seems farther apart than ever, despite changes at both institutions

Matt Galatzan | May 14, 2021

The Texas Longhorns and The Texas A&M Aggies have met on the field since November of 2011 when now-NFL All-Pro kicker Justin Tucker kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Longhorns a 27-25 win at Kyle Field in College Station.

Since then, the rivalry has fallen to pieces, and despite new decision-makers at the top for both universities with Ross Bjork and Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M, and Chris Del Conte and Steve Sarkisian at Texas, it seems farther apart than ever before.

And as Fisher explained when asked about the possibility of renewing the rivalry, the Longhorns are not even on the Aggies' radar.

"Naw," Fisher told Austin radio host Jason Dick of KLBJ. "If they're not on our schedule, they're not on our radar."

To Fisher's point, college football schedules are planned out well in advance, so adding another matchup, particularly one that is both another Power 5 matchup and an out-of-conference matchup, would be difficult to achieve.

After all, the contractual agreements in place for the Longhorns future schedules span as far as 2033 and already consist of home and home tilts with other Power 5 opponents such as Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, and Arizona State.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M will also have their hands full with the likes of Notre Dame, Miami, Arizona State, and Louisville, outside of their already notoriously difficult SEC West schedule.

Combine that with the pride and stubbornness on both campuses, and it seems unlikely that either school will blink first in renewing the rivalry, despite the fans of both longing to see it happen.

"Right now, that decision was made a long time ago and we have no control over it. There were some things done there that are water under the bridge and I don't know what all of that was but I know right now there's no way that's going to happen for ten years or so. In that time, if that's what is best for A&M we'll do it. We'll do what's best for A&M."

That said, Fisher did not completely rule out the idea. In fact, it was quite the opposite, with the coach even stating that he would be happy for the two programs to face off once again.

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Well, as long as that is what is best for the Aggies, that is.

"If it's what's best for Texas A&M, I do," said Fisher. "We're playing in the SEC and we're playing in a great league. It's a great rivalry and there's a lot of history there and if that's what's best for Texas A&M we'll do it."

As for Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, the answer was a little bit more simple.

“I’d love to play that game," Sarkisian said on the Dan Patrick shortly after his hiring. "Let’s see what happens."

Do you think the rivalry should be renewed? Comment and join in on the discussion below!

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Published May 14, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.