When Tom Herman held his introductory press conference in November, he said he had not thought about the possibility of renewing the Longhorns’ rivalry with Texas A&M. Eight months later, it appears he has thought about, and is onboard.

“We don’t play a rival at home ever,” Herman said when asked. “I don’t know why we can’t play A&M as our marquee non-conference opponent.”

The shade directed at Big 12 schools other than Oklahoma aside, Herman has a point about wanting to play a big-time rival in Austin. When the Longhorns face OU, it’s at the neutral site of the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas. Baylor and Texas Tech fans won’t be amused by his comments, but it’s hard to argue with his point of wanting to play a big-time rival in your home stadium.

Reviving the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry is a popular offseason topic in the Lone Star State ever since the Aggies made the move to the SEC. Former Texas coach Charlie Strong made headlines in June 2016 when he suggested the two schools were in discussions to play again. A Texas spokesperson was quick to say that any possible game was further off than Strong had indicated.

When TAMU coach Kevin Sumlin recently spoke at a fundraising event in Austin, he predicted a future meeting between the two teams.

“Me, personally? I think over the course of time that’s going to happen,” Sumlin said. “With our move to the SEC scheduling has become a real issue.”