Greg McElroy offers initial reaction to Texas' 2024 SEC schedule
The 2024 SEC conference schedule was released Wednesday night, meaning Oklahoma and Texas now know exactly which teams they’ll face as they prepare to join the conference that season. The Longhorns drew some tough opponents, including rival Texas A&M.
The Aggies and Longhorns have not faced each other since A&M left the Big 12 in 2011, and there is a lot of anticipation regarding their meeting. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy joined the schedule reveal show on SEC Network to offer his first thoughts on that matchup at Kyle Field as well as the rest of Texas’ SEC slate.
“How do you not have A&M first when listing off the upcoming opponents? That’s the one we got circled, right?” McElroy asked. “As a kid from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I grew up a Big 12 guy and my backyard was Texas and Oklahoma. But right there next door was Texas and Texas A&M. The amount of vitriol that exists in that rivalry on both ending, knowing that it’s coming back for the first time since 2011. I’m sure Aggie faithful being as kind as they will have a nice, warm reception for their Longhorn brethren when they enter Kyle Field hopefully sometime around Thanksgiving.”
When the Aggies left for the SEC, escaping Texas was a big reason why. The Longhorns hold a 76-37-3 all-time record against A&M and is also unquestionably the bigger brand of the two, and wanted to separate itself. Now, however, both schools are back in the same league and it will interesting to see how things play out on the field. Texas won the most recent matchup by a narrow score of 27-25 in 2011.
The Longhorns already faced Alabama last season and are set to do so again this year, so the Crimson Tide were not on their 2024 schedule. Still, Texas may have drawn an even scarier opponent in Georgia, which won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022.
At least the Longhorns can take solace in the fact that game is a home contest, and McElroy believes it will be a major test for them.
“Love that Georgia’s going there as well,” the ESPN analyst said. “Obviously, Texas has had a taste of Alabama not just last year but this year as well. So it’s only appropriate to welcome them into the league by showing off the very best that we have to offer in this league. It will be a very good litmus test for the Longhorns and the Sooners as they make this leap.”
Other notable names on Texas’ 2024 SEC schedule include Arkansas, which was previously with the Longhorns in the old Southwest Conference, and Florida. You can view the full schedule below.