It’s time to BTHO bye week, Aggies.
The gap in the Texas A&M football schedule comes with all sorts of benefits. It’s a break from the weekly appointment with anxieties and stress we call Aggie football games. It’s a weekend where we can all enjoy cruising down University Drive on a Saturday afternoon while only being frustrated by the usual amount of traffic.
But it doesn’t have to be a week without college football.
Sometimes, it’s nice to just watch a game you have no stake in. Take the load of fandom off, go meet some new people, see new places, eat some new food and have a good time with a road trip to another game during A&M’s two bye weeks this season.
Here’s some ideas to get you started on your next adventure.
No. 1 Texas vs No. 18 Oklahoma
Saturday, Oct. 12 — Cotton Bowl — Dallas
2:30 p.m. on ABC
There’s no watch quite like a hate watch.
I’m well aware most Aggie fans would be rooting for team giant meteor over either one of these schools — and I don’t blame you. But, perhaps unfortunately, the Red River Rivalry is a bucket-list game in the wide world of college football. Fortunately, it’s a bucket-list item because of hatred.
Where else can you see such a venomous split at the 50-yard line where burnt orange meets crimson? It’s a historic game at a historic — if not fancy — venue, and it’s something Aggie fans can enjoy both from the sheer satisfaction that one of the Longhorns or Sooners has to lose as well as the potential impact the shootout will have on the SEC standings — that the Aggies currently lead, mind you.
And if the schadenfreude of watching No. 1 Texas possibly get upset by a hated rival isn’t enough to make the drive up north, the game takes place at the State Fair of Texas. Let the copious amounts of fried food and future coronary heart disease from consuming such delicacies as the Holy Cheesus and the Lay’s Potato Chip Drink guide you into Big Tex’s waiting arms.
Nicholls at Incarnate Word
Saturday, Oct. 12 — Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium — San Antonio
6 p.m. on ESPN+
This conference opener for a pair of Southland teams immediately has a draw for Aggies everywhere — Incarnate Word graduate quarterback Zach Calzada.
Yes, Calzada — the man who led A&M to a historic upset victory over No. 1 Alabama in 2021, hasn’t yet faced the reality of LinkedIn and job applications that the rest of us are destined for. Instead, he’s found his second wind leading the Cardinals to an 8-2 record last season and second place in the Southland while being named conference Newcomer of the Year.
There’s no shame in finding success at a different level of the game. There’s passion and glory at all levels of college football. Good for Calzada to find somewhere where he can lead a program to historic success for the second time.
Ags, don’t let him fade away into an obscure trivia question answer. Enjoy him while he’s still playing — especially if you saw that 2021 upset over the Crimson Tide, and even more especially if you saw the things said about him before that upset win. For that alone, Calzada deserves the success and support he’s found in San Antonio.
Hardin-Simmons at Mary Hardin-Baylor
Saturday, Oct. 12 — Crusader Stadium — Belton
1 p.m. on UMHB Livestream
If Calzada wasn’t enough to prove to y’all that there’s passion and glory in all forms of college football, perhaps this one will help.
Sure, it’s Division III football. But as A&M fans are bombarded by talk of NIL deals, super-conference plans and million-dollar donor funding, isn’t it nice to enjoy a day with teams playing for the love of the game — and disdain for their biggest rival?
It’s not a game without consequence, either. Hardin-Simmons sits at 4-0 and No. 6 in the Division III Top 25 while Mary Hardin-Baylor comes in at No. 13 in the poll. The winner will take first place in the American Southwest Conference standings and be in the driver’s seat for a spot in the Division III playoffs.
There’s plenty of bad blood and over a century of common history between the two rivals — yes, the “Hardin” in both names refers to the same figures, John and Mary Hardin, who put their oil fortune towards saving and supporting Christian colleges across the state. Ironic, then, that the two schools that share the Hardins’ name can’t stand each other now.
Isn’t it refreshing to attend a game and see players playing solely because they want to? There’s no talk of NIL here — Division III players don’t even earn athletic scholarships. Talk about a nice bye week break.
There’s no shame in wanting to take a break from football during one of the Aggies’ few days off. But if you find yourself craving the sport like an addiction you just can’t stop, don’t bemoan your lack of options. Just broaden your horizons, and go for a bit of a drive.