Post Game Review: No. 3 Texas 17, No. 20 Texas A&M 7
In the renewal of the rivalry, No. 3 Texas proved to be better, clinching a spot in the SEC Championship Game by defeating No. 20 Texas A&M, 17-7.
With all eyes on Bryan-College Station, neither team punched on their first drive. Big completions from Marcel Reed to Terry Bussey and Jahdae Walker opened up A&M’s passing attack. Inside the 20, the Aggies failed to convert on fourth down as Quinn Ewers & Co. took over. Yet, a pair of incompletions and a rush for three sent the Aggie offense back on the field.
With the ball on the 50-yard line, Reed made a head-turning play, finding Walker while under pressure for a first down. Yet, his next was the exact opposite as No. 10 threw an interception to Michael Taaffe.
A&M’s defense continued to bring the pressure until Ewers avoided a sack and scrambled for 26. Quintrevion Wisner began to get going with gains of 22 and 11 on the ground. On fourth down, Arch Manning took over under center and toted the ball right across the goal line, 7-0.
A&M kept the chains moving on the ground as Rueben Owens received his first carry of the season. Noah Thomas got his first grab of the day, but A&M still failed to capitalize and was forced to punt after a sack and incompletion.
Kyle Field erupted as Taurean York sacked Ewers, but the crowd of over 109,000 fell silent as the signal caller went over the top to connect with Matthew Golden for a 45-yard grab. A roughing the passer penalty gifted the Longhorns 15 yards, and from A&M’s 7-yard line, Ewers found Jaydon Blue in the back corner of the end zone.
Back on offense, A&M failed to find momentum but appeared to catch a break as Andrew Mukuba was called for targeting. However, the call was reversed, and the Aggies punted.
Short rushes kicked off the Longhorns’ drive until Ewers launched a 35-yard pass to Ryan Wingo. Later in the drive, Texas converted on third-and-14 with Gunnar Helm left wide-open. A&M prevented the Longhorns from finding the end zone as the visitors settled for a 28-yard field goal.
A&M’s initial first down came courtesy of a grab by Jabre Barber, and EJ Smith fought for the second. The Aggies crossed midfield but failed to convert on fourth down. Reed attempted to cross the line to gain but came up shortly and limped off the field.
With three timeouts and 30 seconds remaining, Texas attempted to strike again. A 24-yard pickup from Wisner placed the Longhorns inside field goal range. However, Bert Auburn missed a 48-yarder as the half expired.
With the ball to start the half, Texas found a first down on the ground and another via pass interference. Yet, the Aggie defense held on and forced the Horns to punt.
Reed provided a subtle spark with a haul of 24, but A&M did not move across midfield as another uninspiring drive commenced. The Horns started to roll as pickups of 17, 8, 12 and 25 moved the sticks. York recorded a tackle for loss before Will Lee III picked off Ewers and took it 93 yards to the house.
It would be A&M’s only score.
In response, Texas pounded the ground game. On third down, Rylan Kennedy sacked Ewers, causing him to fumble, but Cameron Williams fell on it. However, the play was negated because of an illegal substitution on A&M. What would have been a seven-yard loss turned into a first down for the Longhorns.
Yet, A&M’s defense remained bothersome. Inside A&M’s 10, Ewers’ second redzone turnover was caused by Cashius Howell as York recovered it.
As the fourth quarter began, A&M’s offense showed some life with back-to-back gains of 10-plus, but the march stalled shortly after. Texas only found one first down before having to punt it away. Walker blocked a punt, and Dalton Brooks picked it up on A&M’s 19-yard line. A snag from Tre Watson set up first and goal, but on four tries, A&M never crossed the goal line.
Mike Elko’s defense found a stop, but it was too little too late.
A&M’s next offensive drive, Reed fumbled, giving the ball back to the Longhorns, who kneeled out the clock.
RUMBLED: Quintrevion Wisner had a night. The running back had no problem finding space, posting a season-high 186 yards on 33 carries. The Aggies had no answer for Texas’ ground game.
STUMBLED: A&M’s offense scored zero points. The embarrassing offensive performance looked uninspiring from start to finish and was filled with far too many predictable plays. A&M’s defense and special teams came up huge, keeping this one in reach. Yet, the offense could not do anything.
TURNING POINT: After a blocked punt put A&M 19 yards away from the end zone, A&M had a shot to turn this one into a one-score ballgame. However, all seven plays failed, and Texas stood strong on the goal line.
UNSUNG HERO: Captain came to play. Taurean York recorded 10 tackles, one sack and 3.5 TFLs. The linebacker also recovered a massive fumble that should have sparked the offense.
KEY STAT: It was a problem in Week 1. It was a problem in Week 14. Texas A&M gave up 13 “big” plays. Five passing plays over 15 yards, including a 44-yarder in the second quarter and eight runs over 10 yards.
Scoring Summary
First-quarter
TEX: 3:25 - Arch Manning 14-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 10 plays, 93 yards. TOP: 4:41. Texas 7, Texas A&M 0
Second-quarter
TEX: 8:25 - Quinn Ewers 7-yard passing touchdown to Jaydon Blue. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards. TOP: 4:18. Texas 14, Texas A&M 0
TEX: 1:50 - Bert Auburn 28-yard field goal. Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards. TOP: 4:33. Texas 17, Texas A&M 0
Third-quarter
A&M: 5:42 - Will Lee III 93-yard pick six. Texas 17, Texas A&M 7
