Texas A&M-Texas
Friday, Nov. 28
7:30 p.m. Eastern, 4:30 p.m. Pacific
ABC
Texas A&M-Texas is the headliner in college football and SEC football on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Texas A&M Aggies are 11-0 and are heading to the College Football Playoff for sure. Now we will find out if coach Mike Elko’s team can finish the job and get a first-round bye in the playoff. That’s what A&M is most centrally playing for in this game. The Aggies want to skip the first round and ensure that they will be in the playoff quarterfinals, meaning they would need to win only three games, not four, to claim a national championship in late January. A&M is playing for high stakes in this game, not just Texas. Of course Texas has more on the line, but the Aggies are playing a very big game in real-world terms. All of this aside, winning this game means a ton to everyone associated with the rivalry, so expect Texas A&M to put up a fight.
Texas A&M-Texas is the defining game of Steve Sarkisian’s season
Longhorns are in must-win mode against Texas A&M
Texas A&M-Texas will tell us if Texas at least has a chance to make the College Football Playoff. No one would want to be in Texas’s position right now. The Longhorns are definitely on the outside looking in. However, if they can pull off the win over an 11-win A&M team, they will stay in the playoff conversation through Selection Sunday in early December. It’s true that Texas has three losses, but if the Horns beat the Aggies, they would have multiple high-end wins which would look very attractive to the playoff selection committee. Given that USC has eliminated itself from the playoff conversation, and given that Michigan will be out if it loses to Ohio State, there is still a path for Texas. The Longhorns know that the Big Ten might get only three teams in the playoff, which opens up another spot for the SEC. If Tennessee can beat Vanderbilt and Texas wins, Texas could still sneak into the field. This is not over, and Texas must at least give itself a chance to get in by beating its hated rival from College Station. Steve Sarkisian can still rescue a bumpy 2025 season, but he has to deliver here and get help from other sources.
Texas A&M Aggies-Texas Longhorns Odds
Hear TJ Rives and Jason Powers break down this game on the 3Dog Thursday Podcast by clicking Play below:
Spread: Texas A&M -2.5 (-110), Texas +2.5 (-110)
Total: 52.5 (Over -105, Under -115)
Underdog moneyline: Texas +110
The fact that A&M is a road favorite should not be seen as much of a surprise. In truth, no team was going to be favored by more than a field goal in this game. It was going to be a very tightly-priced game either way. While there is always a chance of a team winning a football game by one or two points — nothing more — the odds of a team winning by that specific range of points is small. Therefore, taking A&M by 2.5 points is not that different from taking A&M on the moneyline. You get more value from taking a team minus 2.5 than on the moneyline, so the thought process is logical.
However, will A&M cover that spread, or will Texas win the game outright? Texas moneyline makes sense at least from the standpoint that the Longhorns are at home and have more at stake. You might see Sark’s best game plan and Arch Manning’s most in-form performance. Our ultimate verdict: Wait for a live play. This game is likely to undergo a lot of twists and turns before it’s all over.