Thanksgiving football deserves a different Lone Star State rivalry

What is more American than a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal surrounded by all your family? Tearing each other apart later that evening over deeply embedded football rivalries, of course. Whenever that one agriculture school in College Station thought there were better opportunities in the Southeastern Conference (haha) it left a substantial hole in the Big-12.

Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images

The Texas - Texas A&M rivalry was always a game fans of football eagerly anticipated and it never seemed to disappoint. Part of its fame came from the intense in-state rivalry (think Oklahoma/Oklahoma State, but better) and the other part of its fame came from its relative centrality to a very American tradition. Think about it. Whenever everyone is in a turkey coma or eating their turkey sandwiches the next day, people inevitably end up in front of the television. Because of A&M’s departure, the Red Raiders are slowly sliding into that coveted Thanksgiving slot of conference play with Texas.

Photo by John Weast/Getty Images

American holiday. American food. American football. If Texas Tech and Texas keep meeting up on or around Thanksgiving, I would bet that we could establish a respectable rivalry that is national recognized. The state of Texas needs TTU vs UT, the United States needs TTU vs UT, and gosh darn it Thanksgiving needs TTU vs UT.