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On Tuesday, the Texas A&M Athletic Department announced they have scheduled a non-conference football contest against the University of Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns for September 16th, 2017. Yes, 2017. Prepare your tailgate parties accordingly.
While some will roll their eyes at Texas A&M scheduling another no-name school, this is actually a nice opponent. The Ragin' Cajuns are 27-12 in three years under head coach Mark Hudspeth (who can do 25 reps of 225 pounds on bench press), including three bowl game victories and one Sun Belt championship. ULL is also picked to win the Sun Belt again this coming year. This is a quality program. With an increased recruiting presence in the state of Louisiana, it's also not a bad idea to schedule a smaller Louisiana school whose roster consists of players who were high school teammates of current Aggie players. Players enjoy going up against some of the same guys they played with or against in high school, making ULL a better choice than teams like Idaho or Western Carolina.
Now let's get a glimpse of what's in store for Aggie Football in the upcoming years.
2015 Football Schedule
Non-conference Opponents
| Date | Opponent |
| Sept 5 | Arizona State (NRG Stadium, Houston) |
| Sept 12 | Ball State |
| Sept 19 | Nevada |
| Nov 14 | Western Carolina |
SEC Opponents
| Home/Away | Opponent |
| Home | South Carolina |
| Away | Vanderbilt |
| Home | Alabama |
| Home | Auburn |
| Home | Mississippi State |
| Away | Ole Miss |
| Away | LSU |
| Neutral | Arkansas |
The 2015 schedule is pretty much set up. All we lack are the specific dates for the SEC conference games. By getting Vanderbilt from the East and South Carolina, Alabama, and Auburn at home, this looks to be a great year for Texas A&M as the younger, talented players on the roster now become upperclassmen. I am, however, still disappointed we open Kyle Field with Ball State.
2016 Football Schedule
Non-conference Opponents
| Date | Opponent |
| Sept 3 | UCLA |
| Sept 10 | Louisiana Tech* |
| Nov 12 | UTSA* |
*Note: Opponent is not listed on Aggie Athletics Football Schedule
SEC Opponents
| Home/Away | Opponent |
| Away | South Carolina |
| Home | Tennessee |
| Away | Alabama |
| Away | Auburn |
| Away | Mississippi State |
| Home | Ole Miss |
| Home | LSU |
| Neutral | Arkansas |
UCLA, Tennessee, LSU, and Ole Miss at home save the schedule. Both UCLA and Tennessee home games should be memorable, as it will be more than a decade before either are seen at Kyle Field again.
2017 Football Schedule
Non-conference Opponents
| Date | Opponent |
| Sept 2 | @ UCLA |
| Sept 16 | Louisiana Lafayette |
| Nov 11 | New Mexico* |
*Note: Opponent is not listed on Aggie Athletics Football Schedule
SEC Opponents
| Home/Away | Opponent |
| Home | South Carolina |
| Away | Florida |
| Home | Alabama |
| Home | Auburn |
| Home | Mississippi State |
| Away | Ole Miss |
| Away | LSU |
| Neutral | Arkansas |
We can never predict how good teams will be this far in advance, but a South Carolina - Florida combo from the East, plus a trip out to UCLA, makes this a very difficult schedule.
2018 Football Schedule
Non-conference Opponents
| Date | Opponent |
| Sept 19 | @ Oregon |
SEC Opponents
| Home/Away | Opponent |
| Away | South Carolina |
| Home | Kentucky |
| Away | Alabama |
| Away | Auburn |
| Away | Mississippi State |
| Home | Ole Miss |
| Home | LSU |
| Neutral | Arkansas |
Texas A&M is still scheduled to visit Oregon in 2018, and get an assist with Kentucky visiting Kyle Field. This is the year we know the least about in terms of upcoming opponents.
2019 Football Schedule
Non-conference Opponents
| Date | Opponent |
| Sept 14 | Oregon |
| TBA | Rice (NRG Stadium, Houston) |
| Nov 2 | UTSA |
SEC Opponents
| Home/Away | Opponent |
| Home | South Carolina |
| Away | Georgia |
| Home | Alabama |
| Home | Auburn |
| Home | Mississippi State |
| Away | Ole Miss |
| Away | LSU |
| Neutral | Arkansas |
Oregon is scheduled to make the return trip to Kyle Field in 2019. An oddity is the away game at NRG Stadium in Houston against Rice. That would give the Aggies two neutral site games in the same season, similar to what will occur in 2015. I'm not a fan of that idea. Let's try to keep it to one neutral site game a season, which is currently being held by Arkansas. Of course this far out, the Rice game may never be played.