The Texas A&M Aggies are currently enjoying their bye week, but an SEC West showdown looms large as A&M travels to Starkville to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 27. The Southeastern Conference announced today that for the first time since A&M joined the SEC, the A&M/MSU game in Starkville will be an evening kickoff. The game will begin at 6 p.m. and air on ESPN.

The Aggies have not won in Starkville since Johnny Manziel’s first season as starter in 2012, and the past two trips to cowbell country have precipitated the downfall of A&M’s season.

Oct. 4, 2014

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

The Aggies were 5-0 and ranked #6 in the country, and quarterback Kenny Hill was a Heisman contender. That all ended when they faced #12 Mississippi State and lost 48-31. This game also featured maybe the worst alternate uniforms A&M has ever worn. The Aggies would follow this up by losing 35-20 to Ole Miss the next week, and then the infamous 59-0 drubbing by Alabama the next. Kenny Hill was then benched, and the rest is history.

Nov. 5, 2016

Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images

Despite a 19-point loss to Alabama two weeks earlier, the Aggies came into this game at 7-1, ranked #7 in the country, and fourth in the first College Footall Playoff rankings. This time Mississippi State came in at 3-5, and seemed like an easy chance for a road win before the Aggies returned home for the final three games of the regular season. Then Trevor Knight got injured and a 35-28 loss was the beginning of a downslide which ended with a five-game losing streak to Power 5 opponents by the time the season was over. On the bright side, at least this time it was the Bulldogs in the ugly alternate threads.

The 2018 season has seemed to reverse many trends established by Aggie teams over the past few seasons. Let’s hope this is yet another.