The Aggies will have to deal with the Texas heat in their first two games of the year, then will go under the lights for a later-than-usual start in their third outing.

A&M opens the season against Sam Houston, which will playing its last season in the FCS in 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic's pushing the 2020 FCS season to the spring of 2021, the Bearkats went a combined 21-1 with an FCS national championship (in the spring) last year. The Aggies have defeated the Bearkats each of the 12 times the two schools have faced, most recently in a 65-28 drubbing in 2013. The teams first played one another in 1919.

The 13th edition of the matchup will kick off at 11 a.m. central time Sept. 3 and will be televised on SEC Network.

A&M has no past history with its next opponent, Appalachian State. The Aggies have never played the Mountaineers, who went 10-4 last year, which included an appearance in the Sun Belt Championship Game. A&M and Appalachian State will kick off at 2:30 p.m. central time on Sept. 10 and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

The third game of the season brings A&M's premier non-conference opponent to Kyle Field for a prime time kickoff. The Miami Hurricanes, who last visited College Station in 2005, are coming off a 7-5 season but have a new coach in Mario Cristobal. Their offense is led by quarterback Tyler van Dyke, a potential preseason All-American after throwing 25 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions last season.

The Aggies and Hurricanes will kick off at 8 p.m. central time on Sept. 17, with the game televised on ESPN.