This year's Texas A&M-Texas Tech game not only marks the opening of the Jones AT&T Stadium expansion but also may be the most important game of the 2009 season for the Tech football team.
The Tech-A&M series has been one-sided during the Mike Leach era with the Red Raiders going 7-2 against A&M, including winning the last four games against the Aggies by an average of 24 points.
To some it may seem crazy that such a one-sided matchup could be tagged as the most important game of Tech's 2009 season, however for recruiting purposes it is imperative for the Red Raiders to continue dominating the hated Aggies.
Since Rivals.com began ranking recruiting classes in 2002, the gap in recruiting between the Aggies and Red Raiders has been narrowed significantly.
In 2006, the Rivals.com Web site ranked the Tech recruiting class as the No. 25 class in the nation ahead of the Aggies.
Prior to that, Tech had never been ranked in the top 35 by the Web site or even been within 25 spots of A&M. In 2007, Tech continued to narrow the gap when Detron Lewis chose to attend Tech over A&M.
Although the gap has been narrowed, it is unlikely that a team like A&M will be down for long. It has support from one of the largest Alumni bases in the state and top-notch facilities, including a stadium which holds nearly 85,000 people compared to the 60,000 that Jones AT&T will hold after the 6,000 seat expansion opens for the Oct. 24 matchup.
These are all resources that attract recruits to a football program. While Tech's resources have clearly improved in recent years, A&M still has the upper hand.
This is why A&M's recruiting has not been affected by the team's recent struggles on the field. A&M continues to get blue-chip recruiting classes every February. In spite of a horrific 4-8 2008 season by the Aggies, Rivals.com ranked the 2009 A&M recruiting class as the No. 22 class in the country.
Most Tech fans get excited when they look at the 2009 schedule and see Big 12 South games against highly ranked teams such as Texas, Oklahoma State and a season finale at Jones AT&T Stadium against Oklahoma.
However Tech fans need to realize the significance of the A&M game.
It is going to be very tough for Tech to pull off an upset in Austin where the Red Raiders have never won under Leach and in Stillwater, Okla., where Leach hasn't won since 2001. Even the Oklahoma game at Jones AT&T Stadium is going to be a challenge for a Tech team with a new quarterback against an Oklahoma team led by Heisman winner Sam Bradford.
Tech fans do not like to use the word rebuild, but rebuilding is a part of college football. It is unfair to expect a team that is replacing Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, two of the most successful offensive players in school history, to achieve the same level of success as the 11-2 2008 Red Raider team.
Losing to Texas, Oklahoma State or Oklahoma in 2009 is understandable. However, it is vital for Tech to continue its dominance over Texas A&M by beating the Aggies.
With the recent war of words between Leach and A&M coach Mike Sherman, this year's A&M-Tech matchup promises to be a grudge match.
Tech must continue to kick the Aggies while they're down because it is hard to believe that the Texas A&M program, with all of the resources it has, is going to be down for much longer.
A loss to the Aggies in 2009 would be a huge step back for Tech and would cause it to lose the one clear advantage it has had over the Texas A&M football program in recent years.
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