DALLAS — A recent study by the Athletic concluded that the best explanation for a crazy SEC season is there’s no place like home field. A fitting trend for Texas A&M’s hopes of making the league title game. No less an authority than a video game has declared Kyle Field the toughest place to play in all of college football, which should come in handy Saturday when its blood rivalry resumes with Texas.
The 20th-ranked Aggies will need all the built-in advantage they can get because the third-ranked Longhorns hold an edge at quarterback, usually the way to bet. Question is, can Quinn Ewers hold off an avalanche of age-old animosity at Kyle Field? Or will the 12th Man prove to be 100,000 too many? Mike Elko is counting on the latter, and not for the first time. Twice this season — against Missouri and LSU — A&M’s coach called on the faithful to avenge perceived slights against their loud-mouthed reputation.
Not so coincidentally, the Aggies responded with a couple of their best performances. People are also reading..
. Best I can tell, no Longhorn has said anything this week that could be considered a breach of etiquette. Not that this game needs any artificial stimulation.
Doesn’t even need the history, as compelling as it is. It’s been 13 years since the clock counted down Justin Tucker’s 40-yard field goal, Texas’ 27-25 win and the end of the state’s greatest rivalry. Even if it turned out it wasn’t, it was still a long time ago.
Practically prehistoric .
