I think for it to be a rivalry there has to be a chance for either team to win When a team is out-manned they can rise up, overcome the odds and pull out a victory. There was a time when they may have been a rival, but they are now just another W on the schedule. I don’t think that counts as a rival. That would be like saying SMU might be a rival.

i think our most exciting games now are the home games against UT or OU depending on the year. they all know they aren’t safe in Lubbock and they DO admit to Lubbock being a hard place to play.

I never had a thing for Aggies in the rivalry department until I met two of them when I moved to Dallas. We became friends and did a lot together. But they openly mocked my degree from time to time – in jest, with a touch of sincerity hidden behind hit. So that began to bug me…especially since I made more money than both, and one was an underemployed karaoke DJ with no “real job” prospects. Since then, I’ve had a fairly open dislike for all things aggie – including those two yahoos, whom I no longer hang out with.

In the days prior to 2000, Tech and A&M were never out of any of the games, it seemed. For Red Raider fans, it was just as sweet to defeat them as it was to beat UT. Because of the success of late for Tech and UT, it becomes very frustrating when we lose to them. But, to lose to A&M just seems to bite just a bit more. They have a coach now that could lead them back into the limelight, so we do need to be more aware of them and just take care of business to prevent any chances of them getting the upper hand. But, is is so much fun when Texas Tech beats the Ags. SO MUCH FUN!

To have made this a rivalry by protesting in the loudest possible fashion that it ISN"T a rivalry.

Despite all their protests of how we are classless because we take down our own goal posts (what biz is it of theirs?), punch Governor’s aides in the face (that was them, by the way…its been documented), etc…it has only served to fuel the fire. Given all of this they can only expect us to delight all the more as they wallow in mediocrity.

What I PROMISE will happen…if/when the Aggies ever start consistently playing us close or winning with any regularity, it will THEN be deemed their second biggest rivalry. But since we boot stomp/break their hearts more often than not, they refuse to accept the title. Fine by me.

Tech has become their largest rival. Lets face facts UT looks at A&M the same way we do lately. Pretty much a “W”. They haven’t been relevent since the Big 12 formation and that has to hurt. A&M still wants to believe in the “Sherrill” team they once were. Those days are long gone and teams such as Tech and OSU have stepped up and continued to remain competitive. Baylor is what they need to worry about for now. I can honestly see A&M improving but not to the likes of Tech anytime soon. Aggies will always disregard Tech as a rival simply because it hurts them so much to admit it. Fact is I think tech should be the one saying A&M isn’t a rival since they can’t compete in the Big 12. For me I think OSU could be one of our true rivals.

I’m going to have to totally disagree with Beergut’s comment:

We royally screwed up by hiring Franchione, which has set our program back, but Tech hasn’t really taken advantage of that, b/c you are still so far behind texas and Oklahoma.

First of all, it always has to go back to Fran. Anyhow, that makes no sense. How has Tech not taken advantage of the Aggies’ situation since Fran was hired? Tech is 5-1 against the Ags (with the loss by 1 TD) since Fran first came on the scene at AtM. That is not taking advantage, it is manhandling. Besides, taking advantage of one inferior team’s situation of crappy coaching has nothing to do with catching up with the top programs.

Tech has been steadily improving over the past few years gaining more and more national attention, and has even beaten UT or OU 3 of the last 4 years. Are we at the same level as UT or OU in regards to fanbase, recruiting, or overall strength of program? No. Is there still room for a lot of improvement? Hell yes. But Tech was as high as #2 in the polls last year and did tie OU and UT for the South Championship. The gulf between the programs is not as large as it used to be.

Although I do agree that we are behind UT and OU in recruiting… the gap is steadily closing. I truly think we have one of the best coaching staffs in the country, and our steady improvement as a program can be attributed mostly to our improvement in talent. Just as last year we signed arguably our most talented class, I see that trend continuing. Although we may not get to hand pick our players like UT does every year, I think we will eventually be right on their heels year after year. Good things are in store for the Red Raiders!!

I would recommending ignoring beergut all together. While every once in a great while he say’s something cogent, the rest of the time he is nothing but an Aggie homer (as he should be) who likes to cheer for them on this site (which he shouldn’t be).

He’s that gnat you can’t get out of the corner of your eye in the summer time. Annoying, but harmless.