Kliff Kingsbury and Art Briles May Help Fans Forget About the Texas A&M/Texas Rivalry

The college football scene in Texas has been dominated by the Longhorns and Aggies for years, but if some of the state's other teams have anything to say about it that will soon change. Heck--along the way they might even spark a classic rivalry of their own.

I'm taking about Baylor and Texas Tech of course.

The rivalry between the two actually goes back to 1929 and has seen the two teams meet 72 times. As far as rivalries go you couldn't ask for a better record for it--the Red Raiders hold a one game advantage at 36-35-1.

With such a hotly contested rivalry why is it just now going to become a can't miss game? You would think that such a competitive one would be high on the list for football fans everywhere.

It hasn't been--but it soon will be and not just because Texas A&M and Texas no longer play.

Baylor and Texas Tech have two of the most up and coming programs in the nation. Art Briles has revived the Baylor Bears, survived the departure of the school's Heisman trophy winner, and appears to have the team poised to compete for years to come.

Kliff Kingsbury has probably gotten more attention because of his movie-star like looks, but with his ability to recruit and mentor young quarterbacks the Red Raiders are on the verge of breaking out.

So essentially what we have here are two exciting teams that actually do play each other--unlike those other two schools.

Unlike the Longhorns and Aggies the rivalry off the field is not filled with a ton of vinegar. No, it appears to be more of a gentleman's game almost. For example, when talking about Briles recently Kingsbury was sure to heap praise on the Baylor coach before adding in a little dig (from DallasNews):

“I’ve always had the utmost respect for coach Briles and really modeled the way I treat players and the way I coach after his style. He had a way of making you feel like you were 10-feet tall and bulletproof every time you stepped out onto the practice field and the game field and made you enjoy the game....

He continues to compliment Briles but when finishes up with this:

"...And so he puts on that smile and that country charm, but that man will cut anybody’s throat to win a football game, I can promise you."

Love it.

 

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