Texas A&M has more traditions than most schools and one of the ones the Aggies have developed over the years was the great combination of turkey and football -- i.e. playing on Thanksgiving. For decades that meant taking on rival Texas but since the school moved to the SEC it has also included a few games against regional rival LSU.
If the program wants to continue doing so however, they’ll have to find somebody other than the Tigers to play.
Speaking to the Dallas Morning News at SEC spring meetings last week, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva seemed to firmly draw a line in the sand on the holiday kickoff with his team.
“We’re not playing on Thanksgiving,” Alleva said, saying the day itself should be reserved to spend time with family.
LSU and Texas A&M have basically ended the season with each other in an SEC West battle since 2013 and played on Thanksgiving in both 2014 and 2016. The on/off again nature of playing on the holiday seemed to be put to bed when the league made the Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State a traditional Thanksgiving night game most years but we’re sure the door was still open if the two other schools wanted to arrange something.
That’s not in the cards anymore though and when Jimbo Fisher faces off against one of his former schools in either College Station or Baton Rouge, it seems like a lock that it will take place on a traditional Saturday in November.