One of the best parts of SEC media days is the player representatives, with Texas A&M sending Ainias Smith, McKinnley Jackson, and Fadil Diggs to this year’s festivities. Among the student-athletes in appearance was defensive lineman Landon Jackson, who transferred to Arkansas in 2022 from LSU.
When asked what game on the 2023 schedule he’s looking forward to, Jackson named Arkansas’ September 30 matchup versus Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in what has been aptly dubbed the “Southwest Classic.” The sheer atmosphere of the matchup, in which the stadium’s 80,000 capacity features a bevy of fans from both schools, played a role in Jackson’s answer:
“I’d say that A&M game at AT&T, I love that…it’s right in the middle so you’re getting all the A&M fans, all the Arkansas (fans)…it’s a home game for both teams, practically. It kind of gives you that…high school setting in that both teams have their fans there. And I like that, it’s just a high school setting with a hundred thousand more fans.”
Arkansas DL Landon Jackson says his favorite game on the Razorback schedule is the neutral site game against Texas A&M in Arlington. pic.twitter.com/MO6pCkTSnS
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) July 19, 2023
Jackson’s comments about the Southwest Classic carry weight beyond the atmosphere and the outcome on the field, as for a moment, there was speculation that this year’s matchup could, in fact, be the last to take place at AT&T Stadium. In the weeks leading up to Texas A&M’s schedule release, it was understood that if these two foes didn’t meet in 2024, then the 2023 Southwest Classic would contractually be the last matchup to take place in Arlington.
However, with the Razorbacks on the Aggies’ 2024 schedule as a neutral site opponent, the SEC agreed that it would be A&M’s home game and that it would be played at AT&T Stadium to fulfill that last year of the contract.
Texas A&M’s series with Arkansas began as a non-conference affair in 2009 at AT&T Stadium via an arrangement between both schools and the Dallas Cowboys. Arlington has hosted the classic every year since (with lone exceptions being 2012 and 2013). The payout for both teams equated to that of a bowl game, hence the motivation for the neutral site.
The Razorbacks won the first three games since the series resumed in 2009. Since then, the Aggies have had Arkansas’ number, having taken 10 of the last 11 matchups, including last year’s 23-21 win in Week 3.
As Texas A&M looks to start the 2023 campaign off strong, their matchup versus Arkansas will mark their second opponent in SEC play, following their September 23 matchup at home against Auburn. The Aggies’ first three opponents on the schedule are New Mexico, Miami, and ULM.
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