Anguish in Austin.
No. 3 Texas A&M suffered its first loss during the last regular-season weekend to No. 16 Texas, keeping the Aggies out of the 2025 SEC Championship Game.
It was a night full of some good, more bad and an ugly 27-17 result.
After a failed trick play to open the drive, Arch Manning & Co. moved the sticks with a 9-yard pass to Emmett Mosley V. Yet, the Longhorns would not move them again, stalling out on their side of the field.
A great punt planted A&M on their own 7-yard line, and Marcel Reed delivered a few quick strikes to his duo of stud receivers, Mario Craver and KC Concepcion. However, the Aggies handed the ball right back with an incompletion on third down.
Defenses continued to rule as the Horns and Aggies traded wasted marches. Texas attempted to air it out but had no success, going three-and-out. A&M found five yards on the ground with Rueben Owens II, but ultimately did the same.
After another three-and-out possession by the Horns, the Aggie offense found a groove. Reed hit Concepcion for 17 before gaining another 20 yards with his feet. Craver moved the Aggies into field goal range, and an unnecessary roughness penalty gave the Maroon & White a few more yards.
Inside the redzone, Reed awkwardly slipped and went down with an apparent ankle injury. Thankfully, Reed returned the following drive. Miles O’Neill came in for a snap before Jared Zirkel’s 35-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
Manning scrambled a few times to give the Longhorns’ offense some juice as the first quarter bled into the second. Texas’ 14-play drive was stopped with a PBU from T.J. Searcy on third down, leading Mason Shipley to kick a 41-yarder.
Reed trotted back out on the field, staying in the pocket to find Theo Melin-Öhrström for a 12-yard completion. A few carries from Owens picked up 18 yards before Jamarrion Morrow saw some action. Reed connected with Ashton Bethel-Roman, but was rolled up on and went down after the play. Zirkel knocked a 31-yarder through to tie things up.
Following another squandered Longhorn possession, Concepcion hauled back a punt 28 yards to put A&M on Texas’ 42. A quick slant to Craver converted on fourth-and-5, and later in the drive, Reed’s pass slipped through a small window right to Concepcion to move the sticks. Later on the drive, #7 punched in his first rushing touchdown of the year to give the Aggies the lead, 10-3.
Just before the half, Texas attempted to piece together a scoring drive. Instead, Tyler Onyedim introduced himself to Manning with a sack for a loss of eight on a crucial third down.
On offense to start the second half, A&M began with an uninspiring outing. After a three-and-out, Quintrevion Wisner sped away for 48 yards, and a pass interference call placed Texas inside the red zone for the first time. Dalton Brooks shortly swarmed Manning, dropping him for a loss of nine. Shipley made a 46-yarder to bring the Longhorns within four.
The Aggies’ offense sputtered once again while Texas scored its first touchdown of the night. Wisner picked up 37 of the Longhorns’ 70 on the march before Manning hurled it up to a wide-open Ryan Wingo in the end zone.
Looking for a response, A&M did not deliver. A chain of short gains moved the sticks once, but on fourth down, a false start forced A&M to punt.
Texas’ offense would not relent. Gains of 19 and 11 allowed the burnt orange to cross midfield. A 54-yard pass to Jack Endries planted Texas on the 2-yard line as the fourth quarter arrived. Nick Townsend punched it in to put the Longhorns up by 10.
It was more of the same for A&M as another fourth-down false start led to a punt. Yet, the Aggies sent the Texas offense off the field shortly after.
A 14-yard Reed scramble and face mask penalty after the play set up a much-needed scoring drive for the Aggies. The biggest play of the night for the Maroon & White was a 28-yard catch by Melin-Öhrström. A play later, EJ Smith toted the rock 13 yards and into the end zone to make it a one-score game.
However, Texas punched right back. Kickstarting the march with a 21-yard strike to Endries, Manning slipped through the middle and into the open field for a 35-yard rushing touchdown to extend their lead.
A&M played with a bit of tempo as Concepcion and Bethel-Roman hauled in chain-moving grabs. The Aggies inched close to the red zone, but Reed threw a costly interception to Michael Taaffe.
A stop from defense presented another opportunity for Reed and the offense. It was quickly wasted as Kobe Black picked off Reed.
With the loss, A&M finishes the regular season with an 11-1 record and again misses the SEC Championship Game by losing to their most hated rival.
RUMBLED: Texas outplayed A&M when it mattered. The Longhorns’ rushing attack came alive after a season in the graveyard. Quintrevion Wisner was Texas’ first 100-yard rusher this year, totaling 155 yards on 19 carries.
STUMBLED: A&M had 35 total yards and one first down in the third quarter, with only seven coming through the air. Texas had 189 yards and scored 10 to take the lead. Games are won and lost in the second half, and the Ags let this one slip.
TURNING POINT: When down, A&M has responded all year. They failed to do so on Friday night. After back-to-back touchdown drives from the Longhorns to take the lead, A&M never gained it back. This one was in the books when Reed threw two picks on two consecutive drives.
UNSUNG HERO: Nobody in Maroon & White.
KEY STAT: Texas’ 218 yards on the ground were the difference.
Scoring Summary
Second-quarter
TEX: 12:04 - Mason Shipley 41-yard field goal. Drive: 14 plays, 57 yards. TOP 4:42. Texas 3, Texas A&M 0
A&M: 6:41 - Jared Zirkel 31-yard field goal. Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards. TOP 4:42. Texas A&M 3, Texas 3
A&M: 0:56 - KC Concepcion Jr. 8-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 9 plays, 42 yards. TOP 4:15. Texas A&M 10, Texas 3
Third-quarter
TEX: 11:56 - Mason Shipley 46-yard field goal. Drive: 5 plays, 50 yards. TOP 1:54. Texas A&M 10, Texas 6
TEX: 7:12 - Arch Manning 29-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo. Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards. TOP 3:04. Texas 13, Texas A&M 10
Fourth-quarter
TEX: 14:57 - Nick Townsend 2-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 6 plays, 83 yards. TOP 3:14. Texas 20, Texas A&M 10
A&M: 9:15 - EJ Smith 6-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 6 plays, 59 yards. TOP 1:37. Texas 20, Texas A&M 17
TEX: 7:04 - Arch Manning 35-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 4 plays, 63 yards. TOP 2:03. Texas 27, Texas A&M 17
