Texas A&M and LSU make up the SEC’s newest high-profile rivalry. It’s not a new feud by any means; the two teams have more than 50 games played against each other, dating back to 1899. These are two well-established, historic programs that have a shared past.

Now, they’re playing annually — scheduled for rivalry week, no less — and the games really mean something. Last season, when two mediocre teams met fighting just for what middle-tier bowl they’d be heading to, seems like an aberration.

There was a big log thrown on the fire of this rivalry this offseason when John Chavis left LSU to become defensive coordinator at Texas A&M. It appears to be a great hire for the Aggies, one that will pull their defense out of the basement. While coaches move within the conference all the time, the way this move went down will have the boos raining down on Chavis in Tiger Stadium in November.

These two teams are set to do battle every season for the foreseeable future. Which is better positioned heading into that future?

On-field results

With its move to the SEC in 2012, Texas A&M made a leap up in prestige, much in part thanks to Johnny Manziel’s on-field feats. In his first season, he led the Aggies to their highest end-of-season ranking since Bear Bryant was the coach at Texas A&M.

Since then, A&M has been trending down: 11 wins in 2012, nine in 2013 and eight last fall. The offense has remained deadly effective, leading the SEC in passing last year, but the defense fell apart due to coaching and scheme as much as issues with talent.

LSU hit a down patch last year, too; an 8-5 campaign ended a streak of four straight 10-win seasons. LSU was as talented as any team in the SEC, but was hamstrung by quarterback issues and a faulty run defense early in the season (which was mostly corrected by the end of the year). In the last decade, though LSU has won 10 games in 11 of the last 14 seasons, though, a consistency the program has never seen before.

Edge: LSU. Texas A&M is creeping into annual contender status, but LSU has shown it is able to maintain that level of play across a decade and a half and a coaching change, while Texas A&M is trending the wrong way since its banner opening season in the SEC.

Coaching

Les Miles and Kevin Sumlin are at very different points in their careers, but both are excellent, well-paid coaches.

Miles has been through the wringer over and over, with a national title and two SEC championships to his name. While he certainly has his flaws, clock management and finding a quarterback among them, he is one of the most underrated coaches in the country, and he’s established residence for the program at heights it had only visited before his arrival.

Sumlin was hailed as a genius when he first arrived at A&M, but there have been murmurs of dissatisfaction with his performance, although it mostly stems from the defensive side of the ball. You can set your watch by Sumlin’s offense, and it’s one of the few units that will generate yards no matter what the circumstance.

LSU’s assistant coach pool is one of the best in the nation, and they’re paid like it as well. There are several former head coaches on the staff, and several others who have gotten looks in that realm, most recent recruiting coordinator and running backs coach Frank Wilson.

A&M got a great DC in Chavis and made another strong hire to bring in Dave Christensen, formerly Utah’s OC, to coach the offensive line. Coaches like OC Jake Spavital and strength coach Larry Jackson are considered among the best at their roles as well.

Edge: LSU. Texas A&M is not far behind, and if Sumlin shows that he can win big with a team made up of his recruits and with a competent defense, this could shift in Texas A&M’s favor.

Recruiting

This is an area of college football that both of these teams do a great job in. Even in the SEC, where five or more teams are in the national top 10 every year, both A&M and LSU hold their own.

Both programs dominate their home states, at least in the SEC. It’s newsworthy when a top Louisiana prospect goes elsewhere — like Speedy Noil choosing the Aggies in 2014 — because it’s so rare that the Tigers let one slip away. The talent in the state, which often includes big, rangy athletes at the skill positions and in the defensive backfield and line, has influenced the way the Tigers play.

Texas A&M doesn’t have anyone to compete with from the SEC in Texas, although there are several Big 12 programs that they have to contend with. The Aggies have had a higher ranked recruiting class every year since joining the SEC than they did in any of their last five years in the Big 12, and they’ve become a recruiting giant in recent years.

Edge: Push. LSU won’t be leaving the top of the recruiting rankings as long as they’re playing high school football in Louisiana, but Texas A&M’s SEC affiliation has pushed it into the same class.

Culture

When Sumlin was hired to guide the Aggies’ transition to the SEC, he brought an aura of cool along with him. That was certainly fueled in part by Manziel’s roguishness, but A&M has become one of the hottest programs in the country in the last three years. Donations came flooding in during the Aggies’ inaugural SEC season, and those have fueled full-scale renovations to the football program, from a freshly redone stadium to sparkling facilities that make A&M a destination for top prospects.

LSU already had a culture in place before Miles arrived, and the coach has furthered it. For a top-flight receiver or defensive back in high school, interest from LSU is a sure sign that they’re a worthy college football player. That perpetuates and helps LSU stay stocked with unbelievable talent.

Both fan bases are borderline insane when it comes to their teams (in a good way, of course). Both stadiums are packed with more than 100,000 fans every Saturday, although Tiger Stadium takes the edge when it comes to hardest places to play.

Edge: Push. LSU has an established environment that won’t diminish anytime soon, but Texas A&M is on its way to being one of the most highly regarded programs in the nation.

Sum it up

Edge: LSU, but only slightly.

Both of these programs are set up very well for the future, thanks to excellent recruiting and strong program structure in place at both. However, both could see their futures hinge on this season; there are rumblings that both Miles and Sumlin could be on the hot seat if they experience another down year, something that would change the course of either program.