COLLEGE STATION - Around the turn of the century, a pint-sized Terrence Frederick noted the abundance of burnt orange surrounding him on the playground of Katy Elementary. So then and there, he made a maroon-tinted decision.

"Everyone in my class wanted to be Longhorns," Frederick said, grinning. "So I said, 'All right, I'm going to be an Aggie, to be different from everyone else.' It turned out that I really am an Aggie."

Texas A&M's top cornerback, like many others this week, on Monday reminisced about what one-time Aggies coach R.C. Slocum once dubbed the "predisposal" of tiny Texans everywhere.

"That's all you hear about when you're smaller," Frederick said of growing up in this state. "Texas or Texas A&M."

The rivals will clash for the 118th and last scheduled time on Thanksgiving night at Kyle Field, with the Aggies set to join the Southeastern Conference next season. One Aggie after another Monday said he wished the series would continue past this season - as a non-conference collision.

"There's just so much history between the two schools," A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. "Let's keep that history going."

Nick de la Torre/Houston Chronicle

Stalemate exists

A&M leaders, despite the Aggies' impending exit from the Big 12, have said they would like the state's top rivalry to continue. UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds has said the Longhorns' schedule is booked at least through 2018, and the Longhorns have declined to play A&M in any other sport in upcoming years as well.

"I hate to see anything that has such a rich history and tradition come to an end," A&M coach Mike Sherman said Monday. "When the Southwest Conference disbanded, there was a lot of gnashing of teeth about giving up on something that had so much history and tradition, and this is somewhat similar to that.

"I like that we play this football game, and I'm sure that on Thanksgiving if we're not playing this in the future, it will be a game that you think about and miss."

Still, Sherman's program will soon begin play in the rugged SEC West, which, remarkably, fields the top three teams in the current Bowl Championship Series rankings: LSU, Alabama and Arkansas. Adding a non-conference game against what's typically a power program in UT - despite the Longhorns' struggles the past two seasons - might seem a bit fatalistic. Plus, there's the problem of when to schedule the game, since it would no longer factor into the programs' conference schedule.

"Logistics play into it, and without even knowing what our schedule is next year, it's hard to fathom where that game would fit in at this point," Sherman said. "It's been a marquee game on Thanksgiving, so it's hard to walk away from that. But as we move forward and they move forward, (this) may be all that's left."

Still, A&M defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter said he wishes Texas would change its mind concerning the series - regardless of whether it adds another tough game to an already rugged future schedule.

"It's one of those traditional rivalries that make college football special," DeRuyter said. "To not play it anymore is sad for fans and alums from Texas and former students from A&M. … And when you play good teams, it hones your skills. And I know the fans appreciate it."

Don't waste this chance

All of the above is what makes Thursday's game so special in a special series - truly a showdown for the ages.

"This game is never just another game, but the fact that it's the last one for a long time? We told (the players) this is the one you're going to be talking about 10, 20 years from now," DeRuyter said. "And it's, 'Hey, remember the last time we played Texas? Did we win or lose?' We've got a chance to affect that outcome Thursday night."

brent.zwerneman@chron.com

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