Texas A&M star takes vivid shot at Arch Manning, Texas ahead of 2025 Lone Star Showdown

Fans across the nation can already feel it brewing. The air grows thick with tension. The atmosphere is heavier than before. Rivalry Week has arrived in college football. Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns will be playing for their lives, as the 11-0 Texas A&M Aggies walk into Austin in the 2025 NCAA season.

It’s the one week every single school has circled in red in the calendar. The one matchup no college football program ever wants to lose. The one loss that no team stands to take. The one win everybody would give up everything to secure year in and year out. Rivalry Week is also known as ‘Hate Week’ because that’s what drives most sides during the days ahead of kickoff.

For Manning and the Longhorns, that’s the case. And it’s no different for the Aggies either, who will look to cut Texas’ season short of expectations with a statement win on the road. Ahead of the Lone Star Showdown, Texas A&M offensive lineman Ar’maj Reed-Adams offered a candid message for Texas to hear.

Clearly, last season’s drama hasn’t been forgotten in College Station. Instead, it’s being used as bulletin board material by the Aggies. When asked about the Longhorns celebrating on the midfield logo last year, Reed-Adams didn’t mince words. “Cowards do what cowards do,” he stated, via GigEm 247.

Texas vs Texas A&M: Head-to-head record

The Longhorns got the best out of the Aggies last season, defeating them 17-7 at Kyle Field in College Station. It was the first time both schools met since 2011, but it kept the historic trend of Texas coming out on top.

As it stands, Texas holds a massive lead over Texas A&M. According to Winsipedia, the school in Austin has the upper hand with a 77-37-5 lead in the all-time head-to-head record against its rival school in College Station. Out of the last 10 meetings, the burnt orange has prevailed in 7. The remaining three have been wins for the Aggies.

What’s at stake?

When Texas A&M takes the field at DKR–Texas Memorial Stadium, the pressure will somehow be split evenly between both sides. The Aggies enter as the favorites, standing as the SEC’s lone undefeated program (11–0, 7–0 in conference play). But Manning and the Longhorns can’t afford anything short of a win at home. A loss would drop them to 8–4 (5–3 SEC), and that could be all she wrote for Texas’ playoff hopes in the 2025 NCAA campaign.

If Texas A&M falls short, they could miss the SEC Championship Game, but their postseason berth is virtually locked in. Therefore, a loss would be far more catastrophic for Texas than for the Aggies. Still, fans across the country know one thing for certain: nobody wants to lose the Lone Star Showdown. There’s a reason they say everything is bigger in Texas—and the sting of a Rivalry Week defeat is no exception.