COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 30: On November 30, 2024, in College Station, Texas, Quinn Ewers #3 of the Texas Longhorns passes the ball to Quintrevion Wisner #26 during the fourth quarter of their game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. (Image b)
Texas College Station (AP) After defeating No. 20 Texas A&M on Saturday night in the resuscitation of a long-standing rivalry, the third-ranked Texas Longhorns advance to the Southeastern Conference championship game in their inaugural season in the conference.
The rematch against Georgia, ranked sixth, is scheduled for Atlanta.
According to Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, “the goal has always been let’s get to Atlanta and if we can get to Atlanta, those other goals might start to line themselves up.”
Texas won 17–7 thanks to a touchdown pass from Quinn Ewers and a career-high 186 yards of running by Quintrevion Wisner.
“We controlled the game and quite frankly dominated the game,” Sarkisian stated.
The Bulldogs and Texas (11-1, 7-1 SEC, No. 3 CFP) will square off for the SEC championship next Saturday. The victor will receive a first-round bye in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
This rivalry dates back to the 1890s and was eagerly awaited to return, with all the excitement of a heavyweight title fight. Texas jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead, making it appear as though a landslide was imminent.
To keep the Aggies in the game, however, Ewers gave up the ball in the red zone on back-to-back possessions. The first of them was an interception that Will Lee III returned 93 yards for a touchdown.
With roughly 4 1/2 minutes left, Texas A&M (8-4, 5-3, No. 20 CFP) had a chance to cut the score to three, but Ethan Burke dropped Amari Daniels for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the 1. On three fourth downs that evening, the Aggies were stopped by the Longhorns.
Mike Elko, the coach of Texas A&M, stated, “We simply didn’t play well enough on offense to have any chance at having success.”
Texas’ 11th consecutive victory on an opponent’s home field and fifth consecutive victory overall since a 30–15 home loss to Georgia were made possible by an early touchdown run by backup quarterback Arch Manning.
Sarkisian remarked, “It’s a great way to end the regular season,” “This was our desired location. When we made the mistake early in the season, we realized that in order to go to the championship game, we would need to win. And we’ve merited that privilege.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, former Saints quarterback Drew Brees, A&M Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, and Texas superfan Matthew McConaughey were among the 109,028 attendees.
Getting the victory in a series that was put on hold after Texas A&M went to the SEC, according to Ewers, meant a lot. Since 2011, the teams had not played.
“It s been a tradition for the long time and then it went away for a little bit,” he explained. “Now it s back and it s fun to be on top for sure.”
With almost six minutes remaining in the third quarter, DJ Hicks tipped the throw that Lee intercepted and returned 93 yards for the touchdown, reducing the margin to 17-7.
When Taurean York recovered the ball from Ewers at the A&M 11 toward the conclusion of the third quarter after Cashius Howell had stripped it from him, the Aggies defense once again came through.
Texas A&M punted instead of taking advantage of that mistake. On the following drive, the Aggies got the ball back in the red zone by blocking a Longhorns punt. However, Texas failed to score after halftime, and the Longhorns defense sealed the victory.
Elko, who is in his first season following Jimbo Fisher’s firing, stated, “We had an opportunity to do something really special this year, and we couldn’t close on it.” “And so that will haunt me, that will haunt us, that will haunt the players.”
With around three minutes remaining in the first quarter, a video review verified that Manning scored on a 15-yard run on fourth-and-2, putting the Longhorns ahead 7-0. To give Texas at least one takeaway in 20 consecutive games, Michael Taaffe intercepted Reed, setting off a 93-yard drive.
With almost eight minutes remaining in the second quarter, Ewers and Jaydon Blue connected on a 7-yard touchdown throw that increased the advantage to 14-0. After a review, it was determined that he had a foot in bounds for the score, even though it had been initially declared an incomplete pass.
On the drive, Matthew Golden recorded a reception of forty-four yards.
The pregame atmosphere at Kyle Field was nearly as interesting as the actual game. Across from the stadium, tailgaters were grilling a longhorn, so former A&M coach R.C. Slocum took a little chainsaw to cut the horns off. Hours before the game, according to the university police, two men were asked to leave campus: one was riding a horse, and the other was riding a longhorn, holding a dog, and wearing a 10-gallon hat.
Additionally, according to police, two males “wearing reflective vests and hard hats entered the stadium with fake construction credentials” and were taken into custody for trespassing.
The takeaway
Texas will have to correct its errors. be more reliable offensively going into the conference final and probably the playoffs.
Up next
Texas will now play the Bulldogs. To cap off yet another disappointing season, the Aggies wait to know which bowl game they will play in.
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