A&M's SEC title hopes again stomped away with another loss to Texas

Click HERE to view Texas A&M’s postgame press conference.

Game #12: No. 16 Texas 27, No. 3 Texas A&M 17
Records: Texas A&M (11-1, 7-1), Texas (9-3, 6-2)
Box Score

AUSTIN — The dreaded other shoe — the one of which Aggies always fear — finally dropped.

It was more like a stomp, actually.

No. 3 Texas A&M’s perfect season, its Southeastern Conference championship hopes and probably a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff were crushed by a second-half stampede in a 27-17 loss to the hated No. 16 Texas Longhorns on Friday night.

The Aggies (11-1, 7-1) are typically a second-half team. But on this awful night, they looked like a second-hand team, especially in a decisive and derisive third quarter.

“From our perspective, (we're) just very disappointed in how we played in the second half,” A&M head coach Mike Elko said. “We didn’t play Texas A&M football at all. It was by far the worst half we’ve played in the year. “

That’s saying a lot considering just two weeks ago the Aggies fell behind South Carolina, 30-3, in the first half before rallying for a 31-30 victory.

Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Quintrevion Wisner ran for 155 yards on 19 carries for an average of 8.2 yard per tote.

But Texas (9-3, 6-2), which trailed 10-3 at halftime, out-gained A&M, 189-35 in the third quarter. The Longhorns scored a field goal and three touchdowns on their first five possessions of the second half to take command.

A&M tried to rally, but quarterback Marcel Reed threw interceptions on the Aggies’ last two drives.

“We were playing with fire the last two weeks,” A&M linebacker Taurean York said. “We go down to a good South Carolina team by 27. By the works of God, we came back in that game. You put yourself in a position like this … you just can’t do that, man.”

Texas had one of the most anemic rushing attacks in the SEC. But Longhorn running back Quintrevion Wisner ripped off a 48-yard run on their first play of the second half. That started a rushing avalanche which buried the Aggies’ defense. Texas gained 157 of its 218 rushing yards in the second half.

Arch Manning concluded the onslaught with a 35-yard touchdown run.

“We couldn’t get our feet set,” Elko said of the A&M’s defensive problems. “They were getting edges on us. That was the explosive plays they were hitting in the run game. We busted two coverages that led to 14 points. We misfit the run on the quarterback touchdown. That led to an easy touchdown.

“We’ve got to look at what we’re asking our kids to do and make sure they can do it.”

Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Arch Manning broke free for a 35-yard rushing touchdown with 7:04 remaining to stake Texas to a 10-point lead.

The porous run defense was arguably A&M’s biggest issue, but it certainly wasn’t the only one.

Manning also frequently found holes in the A&M secondary. Meanwhile, the usually explosive offense was a dud.

A blocked field goal attempt was an ominous omen that something was amiss.

Before that field goal attempt, A&M was flagged for a false start penalty on first down at the 18. The next series reached the Texas 14-yard line. Another false start resulted in A&M settling for a field goal.

The Aggies led 10-3 at halftime on the strength of a KC Concepcion touchdown run, but that lead was short-lived.

A&M went three-and-out on its first two series of the second half. Texas raced up and down the field for scores.

“We just weren’t able to get first downs when we needed to,” Reed said. “They had, I guess, a better game plan in the second half. We couldn’t get stuff going. When we needed to try to have a momentum shift, we couldn’t find it.”

Now the Aggies must search for answers. They must find a way to solve some of their recurring problems.

Losing to Texas is painful, but bigger prizes remain within reach.

The Aggies have already clinched a place in the 12-team College Football Playoff. In three weeks, the tournament for the national championship begins.

A&M has the talent to legitimately challenge for a national title, but not if they continue to give up massive swaths of yardage on the ground, turn the ball over and commit drive-stalling penalties.

“We didn’t play the way we needed to,” Elko said. “I don’t know that you carry this stuff over. I don’t know that not executing is something that carries from game to game. I think we’ve got to figure out what we’re doing and how we’re going to get it fixed.”

Reed said the Aggies would get to work on repairs immediately.

“I think we believe that we can make it to the national championship,” Reed said. “So, we’re just going to put our heads down and grind. We’ve had a couple of wake-up calls in the past few weeks. I think going into practice, everybody can understand the magnitude of what it takes to get to where we are going to go now.”

They know where they’re going. The question is how long they will be able to stay.