LSU–Texas A&M football rivalry

The LSU–Texas A&M football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the LSU Tigers football team of Louisiana State University and Texas A&M Aggies football team of Texas A&M University. With the admission of Texas A&M as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 2012, the rivalry is annually scheduled between fellow members of the SEC West.

History
Texas A&M is LSU's ninth oldest collegiate-football rivalry. On the other side, the Tigers are the Aggies' seventh-oldest collegiate-football rivalry. This is despite the fact that the series has been highly intermittent (with breaks of nine, 15, and 19 years between contests, among others) and featured a five-game stretch between 1906 and 1914 where the teams were conference opponents in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA).

Over the years, the two teams have built strong home-field advantages, and the series' record is reflective of these reputations: the Aggies are 7–2–1 in College Station, while LSU is 22–10–1 in Baton Rouge (LSU holds a 4-3–1 edge at neutral sites, including wins in the 1944 Orange Bowl in Miami and the 2011 Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas).

The Aggies first played the Tigers in College Station in 1899, with the Aggies winning, prior to both teams joining the SIAA.

The teams would not meet again for six years (the first of what would be numerous breaks in the rivalry) until in 1906 in Baton Rouge, the first of five games between 1906 and 1914 in which the teams would be conference opponents in the SIAA. Although conference opponents the SIAA period featured yet another break (the teams did not play between 1908 and 1911) followed by three years of games between 1912-1914. A&M held a 3-1-1 advantage in the five games where both teams were SIAA members (which included neutral site games in New Orleans in 1908, Houston in 1913, and Dallas in 1914). After 1914 A&M would depart the SIAA for the newly-formed Southwest Conference (LSU also participated in initial meetings to form the Southwest Conference but elected not to join when the conference began play.)

The teams would not play in 1915, then played two neutral-site games in 1916 and 1917 (Galveston in 1916 and San Antonio in 1917) before yet another break between 1918-1919 and then four more games between 1920-1923 in a home-and-home series. Between 1916 and 1923 A&M held a 3-2-1 advantage.

After 1923 it would be 19 years before the Aggies and Tigers would play; the teams played every year from 1942 to 1949 during the regular season, with all of the games held in Tiger Stadium, which had been expanded into the South's largest football venue during the 1930s. The Aggies were 2–6 in those match-ups. In addition to the regular season match-up in 1943, the Aggies and Tigers also faced each other in the first bowl match-up of their rivalry. The Tigers won the January 1, 1944 Orange Bowl 19–14.

After a five-year break the Aggies and Tigers met in 1955 and 1956, with the Aggies taking both match-ups (the 1955 game was held at a neutral site in Dallas, and the 1956 game was held in Baton Rouge). The Aggies were led in those games by John David Crow, a Louisianian, and also their first Heisman Trophy winner.

The series would then take a three-year break and be renewed in 1960. From 1960 to 1975, the Aggies and Tigers played annually (the most consecutive match-ups of the series). The Aggies were only 3–12–1 over this span, but their 1970 win was notable in that it featured a 79-yard touchdown pass with just 13 seconds remaining to upset the heavily favored Tigers (who would go on to win the SEC title). A&M lost all nine of their remaining games that year. After several years of not playing each other, much to the dismay of Tiger fans A&M signed Baton Rougean Billy Cannon, Jr. - a future first round draft choice in the NFL who also happened to be the son of LSU's lone Heisman Trophy winner.

The rivalry would then take another break, this time for nine years, before being renewed in 1986 in the season-opener slot. This stretch would continue for 10 years until their (then) last regular season meeting in 1995, this time with the games alternating between Baton Rouge and College Station. The Aggies were 6–4 over this span, winning the last five meetings - four of which were over LSU head coach Curley Hallman, a former Aggie. R. C. Slocum, a native of Louisiana, served as head coach for the Aggies during those final seven games. Four match-ups during this 10-year renewal of the series also featured Lynn Amedee or Steve Ensminger - both former LSU quarterbacks - in the role of Aggie offensive coordinator. Bucky Richardson, who like Billy Cannon, Jr. was a product of Broadmoor High School in Baton Rouge, also played in several of these games. LSU opened the season in 1986 by upsetting the Aggies, 35-17 - quickly ruining a season in which A&M had been expected to challenge for the national title. After two more blow-outs of Texas A&M by the Tigers, the 1989 edition of the Aggies was determined to reverse its fortunes. Earlier that year, the schools' rivalry had begun to hit a fever pitch as LSU had upset A&M's top-ranked, record-setting baseball team in an NCAA regional series played in College Station and, within days, had also edged the Aggies for the NCAA men's outdoor track and field championship (Texas A&M later hired away the LSU coach who did this, Pat Henry, and promptly won multiple national titles itself). Though unranked, the Aggie football team achieved redemption in that year's game immediately by scoring on the opening kickoff against LSU's #1-rated kickoff coverage, on the way to upsetting LSU 28-16 and sending the 7th-ranked Tiger team into a tailspin for the remainder of the season. LSU only managed to recover enough to win four games that year and began a drought of six straight losing seasons - a stretch twice as long as the previous school record for consecutive losing seasons (three, between 1954–56).

The Aggies and Tigers would not renew the annual series, but after 15 years they faced each other once more on January 7, 2011, in the Cotton Bowl Classic. It was the second time the two had faced each other in a bowl game. The Aggies lost 41–24.

The series resumed in 2012, and for the first time since the SIAA days the teams would be conference opponents, when Texas A&M joined the Southeastern Conference and was placed in the West Division alongside LSU. LSU won the first ever SEC matchup 24-19 at Kyle Field.

The Aggies have shut-out the Tigers 7 times (including the Aggies' non-university recognized National Championship Season of 1917 when they did not surrender a point during 8 games, and beat the Tigers 27–0). The Tigers have shut-out the Aggies 9 times (including the Tigers' non-university recognized National Championship season of 1908, when they beat the Aggies 26–0, and the Tigers' non-university recognized National Championship season of 1962, when they beat the Aggies 21–0). Add to those totals the game in which the Aggies and Tigers shut each other out 0–0 in 1920. The Tigers hold the series' longest winning streak of 6 games from 1960 to 1965. That winning streak was part of a 10-game unbeaten streak for the Tigers from 1960 to 1969 which included a 7–7 tie in 1966. From 1945-1988 was the most dominant span by either team in the series history. LSU was 20-5-1 vs Texas A&M during this span. It currently has been 18 years since Texas A&M has defeated LSU in a football game.

Game results
''LSU victories are colored ██ purple. Texas A&M victories are colored colored ██ maroon. Ties are white.''

Pre-SIAA

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SIAA

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Post-SIAA (SEC v. SWC)

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SEC

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