September 14, 2024: Texas A&M Football @ Florida Gators
In only their third game of the year, the Aggies will already be facing down a formidable conference foe, as they head to the Swamp to do battle with the Gators. This will be the third time the Aggies have visited the Swamp—twice since joining the conference and once in their very first matchup, all the way back in 1962.
The Aggies are 3-3 overall in their games against the Gators, and 2-2 since joining the conference. The Gators were the very first team the Aggies ever played in an SEC matchup, with UF narrowly winning 20-17 in Manziel's first-ever game.
Since then, most of the matchups have been similarly close: the Aggies eked out a 19-17 decision in the Swamp in 2017 (their only visit as a conference foe), and beat a top-5 Gator squad by 3 in 2020 in one of the most memorable games of the Fisher tenure. The 2022 edition of this matchup is memorable for a far different reason: a threadbare Aggie squad, wracked with the flu, was forced to roll out an injured Haynes King and several walk-ons on defense against Anthony Richardson and company. Though they kept pace in the first half, they ended up getting blanked in the second, losing 41-24.
Next year's Gator squad may be somewhat vulnerable—though Billy Napier has built a star-studded class thus far, they are teetering following a lackluster season. This could be the last year for Napier down in Gainesville—and a loss to the Aggies would be a poor way for him to start.