A&M faces UT in College Station on Saturday in a revival of one of college sports' most storied rivalries.

Why it matters: At stake is a spot in the SEC championship game — and, perhaps more importantly, bragging rights in Texas.

Catch up quick: The Aggies and Longhorns first met in 1894 and faced each other around Thanksgiving for years — until the Aggies left for the Southeastern Conference in 2012.

• UT joined the SEC this year, paving the way for the teams to meet once more.

Flashback: The rivalry was marked with unspeakable tragedy.

• In 1999, the Aggie Bonfire, an annual tradition meant to embody A&M's desire to beat Texas, collapsed during construction, killing 12 people and injuring 27.

By the numbers: Texas leads the rivalry with 76 wins and 37 losses. The teams have drawn five times.

Yes, but: Texas leads the series by just five games in College Station.

What they're saying: "I watched this game on Thanksgiving," UT head coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday about tuning in as a kid to watch the annual Texas-A&M match-up. "It was like, that's how I fell in love with Texas from the very beginning. The uniforms, the helmets. Then I knew that the rivalry was what it was because what did you do as a kid? You watch football."

• "Our focus is single-handedly on Texas… I mean Auburn," A&M coach Mike Elko said last week — before the Aggies lost in quadruple overtime to Auburn over the weekend. 

What to watch: Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers is practicing this week following an ankle injury last weekend, but expect a big dose of all-purpose back Quintrevion Wisner.

• A&M loves to trumpet its "12th Man" — crowd support — as its competitive advantage, and Kyle Field is sure to be rocking.

How to watch: The game airs at 6:30pm on ABC. As of yesterday afternoon, tickets were averaging $1,072 a seat, per online marketplace TickPick — making it the most expensive college football game ever, per Forbes.

• Texas is a 6-point favorite.

Go deeper into the strategies

Most federal dollars go to direct transfers to Americans, disproportionately located in the very places that propelled President-elect Trump back to the White House.

Why it matters: If the Elon Musk/Vivek Ramaswamy-led Department of Government Efficiency is to achieve anything near the $2 trillion in annual cost savings they've floated, slashing bureaucrats from the federal payroll or payments to well-heeled contractors wouldn't be enough.

• Rather, it would require cuts to programs on which the counties that backed Trump heavily depend.

By the numbers: Researchers at the Economic Innovation Group analyzed county-level data on how much personal income was driven by those federal transfer programs in 2022, as opposed to income earned from wages, investments and the like.

Zoom in: Looking across Greater Houston, counties with the largest percentage of income per capita are handily Trump country.

• In Liberty County, a quarter of residents' income is some form of government transfer. More than 80% of residents there voted for Trump this year.
• In Galveston County, that's 18% of income where 63% voted for Trump. Waller County residents rely on the government for 17% of their income with 61% supporting Trump.
• In Harris County, that percentage is 13%, and it's 10% in Fort Bend County. Both of those counties chose Vice President Harris.

The big picture: Big-ticket transfer programs operated by the federal government include Social Security ($1.3 trillion in outlays in 2023), Medicare ($1 trillion), Medicaid ($616 billion), income security programs like unemployment benefits and food stamps ($448 billion), and federal employee pensions ($197 billion).

🚲 City Council named a 9-mile bikeway after late planning director Pat Walsh, who helped champion the Houston Bike Plan. (Houston Public Media)

🎁 Pancho Claus' founder, Richard Reyes, is having open heart surgery but asked the community to continue the Christmas toy drive tradition. (CW39)

🍗 Turkey Leg Hut on Almeda Road is closed indefinitely after the landlord terminated the lease. (Houston Chronicle)

From the gridiron to the ice rink, sports are plentiful during the holidays.

Here's what to watch on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Thanksgiving

Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears (NFL) - 11:30am

• For perhaps the first time ever, the Lions will play a Thanksgiving game as the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl. CBS

Iowa State vs. South Carolina (NCAAW) - 12:30pm

• Dawn Staley and the defending champion Gamecocks will take on the Cyclones in the Fort Myers Tip-Off tournament. FOX

Tulane vs. Memphis (NCAAF) - 6:30pm

• The Green Wave have already clinched their ticket to the AAC championship, but a big win against the Tigers will help their resume for the College Football Playoff committee. ESPN

Black Friday

Colorado vs. Oklahoma State (NCAAF) - 11am

• Coach Prime and the Buffaloes will try to end their regular season on a high note by beating the OK State Cowboys in Boulder. ABC

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders (NFL) - 2pm

• Keep your eyes peeled for Taylor Swift while Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs take on their division rival. Prime Video

Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) - 5:30pm

• Fun fact: Boston has won four of the last five matches in this series. TNT

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) - 9pm

• LeBron James and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will battle it out for a victory in the NBA Cup group stage. ESPN