From Cedric Golden column today:
Top-five meetings between Texas, A&M are rare:
One would think the Horns and Aggies have met as top-five teams several times over the last half-century, but I had to go all the way back to 1975 to find the last time it happened. It was Darrell Royal’s penultimate season in Austin and the No. 5 Horns (9-1) were riding a five-game winning streak.
They had recovered nicely from a 2417 loss to Oklahoma, but the No. 2 Aggies, coached by former Royal assistant Emory Bellard, were hotter. They were 9-0 and had won six games by double digits.
As 56,679 packed Kyle Field — it was half the size it is now — things didn’t go well for the Horns. A&M linebacker Ed Simonini was all over the place and UT quarterback Marty Akins aggravated a knee injury. The Aggies keyed on Texas star running back Earl Campbell and celebrated a 20-10 win that gave them a clear path to a Southwest Conference title, a Cotton Bowl appearance and a chance for the program’s first national title since 1939. All they needed was a win at No. 18 Arkansas.
Didn’t happen.
The Razorbacks rolled 31-6 and created a three-way tie with Texas and A&M for the conference title. The Aggies ended up in the Liberty Bowl where they lost 20-0 to USC in what was Trojans coach John McKay’s final game.