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College GameDay Announces Destination For Final Week Of 2024 Season

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Nov 23, 2024 11:12 PM ET

There's only one week of regular season college football left before the conference championship games and for all but about a dozen or so teams, it will be the last chance to make a case for the College Football Playoff. With most teams playing rivalry games next weekend, ESPN is bringing College GameDay to one of the more impactful games.

On Saturday, College GameDay announced that it is heading to College Station, Texas for the big SEC showdown between No. 15 Texas A&M and No. 3 Texas. The two schools have a long and storied history that dates all the way back to the late-1800s, but ceased after Texas A&M's move to the SEC. They have not played one-another since 2011.

"COLLEGE STATION! We're headed to Texas A&M for the showdown between the Longhorns and the Aggies," the show said in a post on X.

COLLEGE STATION‼️

We're headed to Texas A&M for the showdown between the Longhorns and the Aggies pic.twitter.com/Yb5hd5Rkr5
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 24, 2024

With both teams having only one in-conference loss, the game is functionally an SEC Championship semifinal as the winner is guaranteed a spot in the SEC Championship Game.

Texas are the No. 3 team in the nation and the top seeded team in the SEC. A win over the Aggies next week will lock up their spot in the SEC Championship Game. They could still conceivably get in with a loss but would need a lot of help to avoid relying on tiebreakers.

Texas A&M are No. 15 in the country and at one point rose as high as No. 10 in the country with the top record in the SEC. But a Week 0 loss to Notre Dame and a loss to South Carolina earlier this month have put them in a very precious situation. They too can clinch their trip to the SEC Championship Game with a win.

One thing is for sure: Both teams have taken full advantage of the chaos of the 2024 season. Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss and Tennessee have been good - often great - but have spent so much time cannibalizing each other that they largely let the Longhorns and Aggies get out ahead of them.

Will the winner of the Texas-Texas A&M game win the SEC title? Will both teams find a way into the College Football Playoff regardless?

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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