by Travis Normand
November 12, 2024

The Longhorns have a section in their football media guide about their Thanksgiving Day “tradition.” This section is full of inaccuracies and I originally wrote about it on November 29, 2020 (and you can see that post HERE). I was going to update that post for the 2024 season, but figured I would draft this abbreviated post instead. If you want all of the details regarding the inaccuracies, you can read my longer post from November 2020 (linked above).

The 2024 Texas Longhorn Football Media Guide

In the 2024 Texas Longhorn Football Media Guide (across the bottom of page 190) there is a section titled: “Thanksgiving Day Tradition“ which includes the following text (emphasis added):

“Including its first Turkey Day game in 1893, UT has played 87 times on the Thanksgiving holiday and posted a 59-25-3 mark. Texas A&M is the most common opponent with 69 matchups and UT holding a 46-20-3 advantage. The teams first met on Thanksgiving Day in 1900, however, that tradition ended in 2011 with A&M departing the Big 12 for the SEC. Texas faced TCU in 2012 and 2014, and Texas Tech in 2013 and 2015. The Horns have also faced Arkansas (1894, 1912, 1917), Notre Dame (1913, 1915) and Oklahoma (1910). Prior to 2012, Baylor (1994-95) is the only other team the Horns faced besides Texas A&M on Thanksgiving Day since 1917. Below is a breakdown of UT’s Thanksgiving Day notables:

First Thanksgiving Day game: Nov. 30, 1893 • 18-16 W • Dallas University
First game at Memorial Stadium: Nov. 27, 1924 • 7-0 W • Texas A&M
Last Thanksgiving Day game: Nov. 26, 2015 • 48-45 L • Texas Tech
Longest streak of Thanksgiving Day games: 17 (1957-73)
Longest stretch without a Thanksgiving Day game: 12 (1996-2007)
Record on Thanksgiving Day: 59-26-3 (.695)
Home Record on Thanksgiving: 41-14-1 (.755)
Road Record on Thanksgiving: 18-12-2 (.594)
Record against Texas A&M on Thanksgiving Day: 46-20-3 (.688)
Longest Thanksgiving Day winning streak: 15 (1949-66)
Longest Thanksgiving Day losing streak: 7 (1985-93)
Current Thanksgiving Day streak: Lost one: vs. Texas Tech (2015).”

This same section appears in most, if not all, of their football media guides going back to at least their 2006 Spring Football Media Guide (page 173).

What is wrong with this section?

There are a lot of things wrong with this section, both numerically/statistically and historically. However, I am only listing three of them here (with the biggest issue being that they are missing 11 games from their list)!

(1) “Record on Thanksgiving Day: 59-26-3 (.695)”

As you can see from the quoted text above, the Longhorns claim that they have played on Thanksgiving 87 times. They then claim that their overall record is 59-26-3. The problem here is that 59+26+3 = 88 (not 87).

(2) Winning percentage is wrong.

At least two of the above listed winning percentages are wrong. First is the “Record on Thanksgiving Day: 59-26-3 (.695).” The correct number is .6875 or .688 (not .695). Second is the “Home Record on Thanksgiving: 41-14-1 (.755).” The correct number is .741 (not .755).

(3) The Longhorns are missing 11 Thanksgiving Day games!

There are eleven (11) Thanksgiving Day games between the Longhorns and Aggies that are not included or counted in the 2024 Texas Longhorn Football Media Guide (see Table 2 in my original post, linked above).

In other words, the Longhorns have played on Thanksgiving Day 99 times (88 + 11); and their overall record is 67-29-3. However, for some bizarre reason, the Longhorns have completely missed and/or overlooked these games and failed to include them.

The list of eleven (11) games are as follows:

(1) 11/29/1903 – Win vs. Texas A&M – Note: This game was actually played on 11/26/1903, which was Thanksgiving Day.
(2) 11/29/1908 – Win vs. Texas A&M – Note: This game was actually played on 11/26/1908, which was Thanksgiving Day.
(3) 11/28/1934 – Win vs. Texas A&M – Note: This game was actually played on 11/29/1934, which was Thanksgiving Day.
(4) 11/30/1939 – Loss vs. Texas A&M – Note: This is the correct date of the game; and it was Thanksgiving Day but is not labeled, and thus is not counted as such.
(5) 11/28/1940 – Win vs. Texas A&M – Note: This is the correct date of the game; and it was Thanksgiving Day but is not labeled, and thus is not counted as such.
(6) 11/27/1941 – Win vs. Texas A&M – Note: This is the correct date of the game; and it was Thanksgiving Day but is not labeled, and thus is not counted, as such.
(7) 11/30/1944 – Win vs. Texas A&M – Note: This is the correct date of the game; and it was Thanksgiving Day but is not labeled, and thus is not counted, as such.
(8) 11/29/1945 – Win vs. Texas A&M – Note: This is the correct date of the game; and it was Thanksgiving Day but is not labeled, and thus is not counted, as such.
(9) 11/30/1950 – Win vs. Texas A&M – Note: This is the correct date of the game; and it was Thanksgiving Day but is not labeled, and thus is not counted, as such.
(10) 11/29/1951 – Loss vs. Texas A&M – Note: This is the correct date of the game; and it was Thanksgiving Day but is not labeled, and thus is not counted, as such.
(11) 11/29/1956 – Loss vs. Texas A&M – Note: This is the correct date of the game; and it was Thanksgiving Day but is not labeled, and thus is not counted, as such.

You might think this is not a huge deal, and that “mistakes happen.” I agree that mistakes happen (especially at the University of Texas); but, this is apparently not some minor or unimportant stat.

This stat is slightly more important as the Longhorns apparently have a “tradition” of playing on Thanksgiving Day which is a big deal to them. In fact, as you can see in their media guides, it is such a big deal, that they mark games each season with a “t” when played on Thanksgiving Day (and an “f” if played on the following Friday). Finally, it is such a big deal that the “tradition” has its own section in the media guide!

Considering how big of a deal it is, one would think that the Longhorns would get it right.