Longhorns Overcome Late Turnovers to Beat Texas A&M

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The No. 3 Texas Longhorns (11-1, 7-1 SEC) clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game with a 17-7 win over No. 20 Texas A&M (8-4, 5-3) in the return of the Lone Star Showdown on Nov. 30 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

Texas Sophomore RB Quintrevion Wisner ran for 186 yards, quarterbacks Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers each accounted for a touchdown and the Texas defense came up with a crucial goal-line stand in the fourth quarter to secure a victory.

Game Summary

Texas A&M came out aggressively and took the game's opening drive 65 yards to the Texas 10-yard line in nine plays. Yet, the drive stopped there as running back Amari Daniels was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on fourth down for a turnover on downs. The Aggie defense held its own on the ensuing drive, but it was just a matter of time before the Longhorns took control.

The Texas defense forced the game's first turnover as defensive back Michael Taaffe intercepted a pass from Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed. That led to the first of 3 consecutive scoring drives for Texas to take a 17-0 lead.

The game saw Manning come in as part of a subpackage and ran right through the A&M defense, diving for the pylon for the game's first score. Ewers later found running back Jaydon Blue on a pass to the corner of the end zone, and Bert Auburn converted a 28-yard field goal.

The Longhorns had an opportunity to extend the lead before the half, but Auburn missed a 48-yard field goal attempt.

That kept Texas A&M within striking distance at halftime, and Texas' ongoing turnover issues reappeared in the second half as the offense coughed up the ball twice with chances to put the game away. The first was an interception returned 93 yards for a touchdown by Texas A&M defensive back Will Lee III for his team's only score.

The next Texas drive ended similarly, as Ewers fumbled deep in Aggie territory, and Texas A&M linebacker Taurean York recovered the football. Still, the Texas A&M offense struggled to work against the Longhorn defense, barely making it past midfield before having to punt.

The Aggies had a couple more chances but could not turn a blocked punt into critical points and fumbled the ball back to Texas on their final possession. Texas defensive tackle Vernon Broughton came up with the game-sealing recovery along with 2 sacks, 2 TFLs and 2 quarterback hurries on the night.

Turning Point

Trailing 17-7 with 7:56 left in the game, Texas A&M's defense came up with a big stop to force a Texas punt. The Aggies came after the kick, blocked it and recovered the ball at the Texas 18-yard line with a chance to make it a one-score game.

Texas A&M quickly moved the ball to the Texas 1-yard line but had a decision to make on fourth down, needing a score to stay in the game. The Aggies opted to bypass a field goal attempt and kept the offense on the field. Daniels once again got the carry and was stuffed in the backfield by Texas defensive lineman Ethan Burke.

Looking Ahead for the Longhorns

The Longhorns now have a chance to win the conference in their first season as members and will face No. 7 Georgia (10-2, 6-2) in a rematch of their Oct. 19 loss in Atlanta on Dec. 7. Georgia is the only team to beat Texas this season. The Longhorns struggled with their run defense in the first half but nearly completed a second-half comeback before a long Georgia drive in the fourth quarter put the game away.

The Texas run defense has been excellent the last 3 weeks, and Trevor Etienne, who led the Georgia rushing attack on Oct. 19, has been dealing with an injury that has caused him to miss games.

Texas A&M finishes with its most wins in a season since 2021, but there will be plenty of talk about what might have been. The Aggies got off to a great 7-1 start that had many looking toward the College Football Playoff and more.

Head coach Mike Elko even said at that point that finishing with 3 losses in SEC play would be a major letdown, and that's exactly where the regular season ends -- with Texas A&M dropping 3 of its final 4 regular season games.