Mercantilism is an outdated economic theory that was common practice in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century. At its core, the theory suggested that wealth and resources were finite. That for one country to gain wealth, another had to lose it. A zero-sum game, of sorts. 

That’s preposterous, clearly. An onslaught of foreign trade and centuries of capitalism prove that money can grow in two buckets at once. But one place that mercantilism does have strong footing is in the Lone Star Showdown between rivals Texas and Texas A&M. 

Historically speaking, the Aggies and the Longhorns rarely prosper at the same time. When one lawn is watered, the other goes dry. Texas A&M averages 5.62 wins in the 24 seasons that the Horns won at least 10 games. Texas averages 6.9 wins in the 12 10-win seasons enjoyed by the Farmers. In 16 of the 36 seasons that one team won at least 10 games, the other failed to win more than six. 

The 2024 season could buck a trend. One explanation for the past instances of mercantilism was that the two shared a conference. Of course, one team would excel while the other floundered, they were head-to-head competitors and that accounts for one loss. While that played a factor for sure, the two weren’t conference mates for the last 12 years and never could become nationally relevant in the same season. Texas A&M was 97-54 overall from 2012-23. Texas was 90-62 in that same time.

The 1975 season remains the only year that both Texas and Texas A&M won at least 10 games. A&M won nine games during Texas’ 10-win seasons of 2018, 2006, 1995, and 1990. The Longhorns won nine games in 1998 and 2012 when the Aggies won 10. 

Another valid reason is recruiting. For the first 100-plus years of this rivalry, both fished in the exact same pond. If the best players in Texas were headed to Austin, that made it hard on the Aggies to keep up. If the best players in Texas were headed to College Station, the Forty Acres went hungry. 

Two things have changed in the last decade or so on the recruiting front. One, both Texas and Texas A&M recruit nationally. Eight of Texas’ current 21 commitments in the 2025 class play high school football outside of the Lone Star State. Seven of Texas A&M’s 2025 pledges hail from outside the borders. Both classes are ranked in the Top 8 of the 247Sports class rankings. 

The other change is that the Aggies are no longer little brother in the pocketbook. Texas A&M left the Big 12 with an athletic budget at roughly $87 million. The combination of SEC money and Johnny Manziel buzz raised that to $211 million by 2017. Texas nearly doubled the A&M athletic budget in 2011. Today, the two teams are on much more even ground. And money matters in recruiting. The Aggie recruiting classes from 2008-12 had an average ranking of 21.8. From 2018-23, the average ranking was 6.8. 

Both Texas and Texas A&M enter Week 9 with a record of 6-1. Each is ranked in the AP Top 20. The Aggies host LSU on Saturday night for the top spot in the SEC. The Longhorns are a Top 5 team despite a home loss to Georgia. With an expanded playoff, and therefore more potential for extra games, the College Station crowd could see something that hasn’t happened in nearly 50 years – two double-digit win teams in the Lone Star Showdown. 

The best news is that none of it feels flukey. Steve Sarkisian took the Longhorns to a Big 12 championship and a College Football Playoff appearance in Year 3 of his tenure. His Horns reached the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 for the first time in 15 years this season. Mike Elko’s Aggies are on a six-game winning streak and are the only 4-0 team in the SEC. Both teams could be in the CFP or in the SEC championship. 

Heck, it isn’t impossible that the Nov. 30 game in Aggieland isn't the only time these two teams play in 2024.