Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 14)

[satyanash 14769]

Collecting post-game $9.95-er analysis articles from the A&M game here:

(Gerald Goodridge) No. 3 Texas 17, No. 20 Texas A&M 7: Three things we learned

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The No. 3 Texas Longhorns had to win one more game to achieve their first goal of the season, playing for the SEC Championship in their first year in the SEC. To do it, they had the pleasure of knocking off the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies, renewing the rivalry after taking more than a decade off from the game. With the rivalry renewed and the Longhorns continuing to hold the claim on the scoreboard, we learned a lot about what Texas was made of in this contest — going into a hostile environment and coming away with a win.

This is the best defense in the country

The Longhorns absolutely smothered the Aggies in this contest, giving up just 244 yards, 98 of them on the ground for an average of 2.9 yards per rush. The Longhorns continued the trend of forcing opponents into playing against trend and shitting down what they want to do, turning Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed into a pocket passer and limiting his legs as much as they could.

It was fitting that the game effectively ended on a Vernon Broughton strip of Reed, with the senior playing arguably his best game in Burnt Orange. He routinely played on the Aggies’ side of the line of scrimmage and kept the offense from finding any purchase on the ground.

Texas still struggles with complimentary football

The Texas defense didn’t allow a touchdown until more than halfway through the fourth quarter, but the offense was rarely able to capitalize on the defense’s incredible night. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers turned the ball over on back-to-back drives, one a pick-six, and one gave the Aggies the ball on their own 19-yard line, forcing the defense to play with its heels on the goal line for most of the drive. Thankfully for Texas, the defense stonewalled the Aggies on the goal line and gave the offense the ball back.

Texas went without a score in the second half of the game, after scoring on three of their five first-half drives, which would have been four of five drives if not for a Burt Auburn miss. At some point, this may just be who the Longhorns are — an elite defensive team with an offense that can do just enough to win games against most teams.

The ground game continues to be a highlight for the offense

In three of the last four games, the Longhorns have pushed around opponents and dominated the game on the ground. The Longhorns have leaned on the ground game in late-game situations for the third consecutive week to try and close out opponents. Second-half rushing has been the name of the game for Texas in the three contests, combining for 194 in the fourth quarters of those contests.

Quintrevion Wisner was once again the star for Texas, rushing for a career-high 186 yards in the game, inching closer to the 1,000-yard mark on the year, hoping to keep Steve Sarkisian’s streak of 1,000-yard rushers alive. The offensive line dominated the Aggies defense, which features several players who will find themselves in NFL camps in the next few years, losing just 27 yards on carries in the contest.

Sam Khan Jr.: Texas stifles Texas A&M to secure SEC title game trip in debut season as league member

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In front of the third-largest crowd in the history of Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, Texas started fast, held on late and chanted “S-E-C!” as the home fans emptied out, retaining the upper hand in the renewal of a storied rivalry and clinching a trip to the SEC Championship Game. The Longhorns beat their in-state rival 17-7 on Saturday night thanks to a dominant performance from the nation’s No. 3 scoring defense, which held the Aggies without an offensive touchdown.

Texas will head to Atlanta next week to play Georgia for in the SEC Championship Game. The SEC newcomers were the only team in the 16-member league to survive conference play with just one loss.

Texas nearly doubled up Texas A&M in total yards and dominated in the trenches, holding Aggies dual-threat quarterback Marcel Reed in check for much of the night and running for 243 yards. The Longhorns jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead thanks to a touchdown run from backup quarterback Arch Manning and a touchdown pass from starter Quinn Ewers, which appeared to give their defense plenty of cushion.

Texas A&M got the momentum swing it had been looking for all game when cornerback Will Lee Jr. stepped in front of a tipped pass from Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and sprinted 93 yards the other way for a pick six with just over five minutes left in the third quarter. And just when it seemed Texas A&M’s comeback had run out of steam in the fourth quarter, Jahdae Walker blocked a Texas punt, and the Aggies took over at the Texas 19. But on a fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line, Ethan Burke broke through the line and stonewalled Amari Daniels on a run up the middle, ending the Aggies’ last best chance to get back into the game.

Saturday night’s game was the first meeting between the teams since 2011; the rivalry was paused when Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC and restarted when Texas followed suit 13 years later. Below, our takeaways from the Lone Star Showdown clash.

Texas’ late-game stop

The Longhorns did what they could to keep A&M in the game with their mistakes. The pick six and the blocked punt allowed A&M to threaten late. But with the game on the line and A&M trying to punch it in on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Texas’ defensive line asserted its will. Defensive tackles Vernon Broughton and Bill Norton plugged up the middle, and Burke flew around the left edge to hammer Daniels for a loss, killing the Aggies’ final real chance to make it a game.

So much was made of Texas’ move to the SEC and whether the Longhorns would be ready. They more than answered the call this season with strong talent and depth on both sides of the line of scrimmage, built through recruiting with a few key transfer portal additions on the defensive line sprinkled in this summer.

After Texas lost NFL Draft picks Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat, some wondered how the Longhorns would hold up. Finding two tackles that talented and dominant is difficult. While nobody has quite approached the level of play that duo reached, Broughton, Alfred Collins, Norton, Jermayne Lole and a host of others have more than answered the call and helped Texas’ defense remain one of the best in the country.

On A&M’s offensive futility

Texas A&M’s best chance to make this a game was to jump out to a quick start and apply pressure to Texas. The Aggies did nothing of the sort. Their promising first drive lasted nine plays and gained 65 yards but ended in a turnover on downs. After A&M’s defense forced Texas into a three-and-out on the subsequent drive, the Aggies didn’t take advantage, as Reed threw an interception on A&M’s second possession.

The Aggies generated two plays of 15-plus yards on the first drive and then did not have a gain that big the rest of the first half. So much of A&M’s offense went east and west, not north and south, and A&M never really challenged Texas’ secondary. One of the biggest issues A&M had in the season-opening loss to Notre Dame was its receivers’ inability to separate from the Fighting Irish defensive backs. That weakness seemed to rear its ugly head again, and without a consistent running game threat, it doomed A&M to a meager offensive output.

Quinn Ewers returned to old form … for the most part

After a week of uncertainty around Ewers’ health and a season in which he went from Heisman hopeful to perceived liability, Ewers looked like the early-season version of himself in College Station, until two third-quarter turnovers briefly kept the Aggies alive.

Ewers broke off a 26-yard run on the second drive of the game, showing that his high-ankle injury didn’t seem to be bothering him too much. His previous longest run of the season had been nine yards. He completed passes into small windows, got the ball out on time and kept the offense ahead of the chains with help from a strong running game.

But in the third quarter, with the Longhorns up 17-0 and looking to put the game away, a tipped Ewers pass was intercepted and returned 93 yards for a touchdown. Ewers again drove Texas into the red zone on the next drive, but he had the ball knocked out while going for a slide, and the fumble was recovered by the Aggies. This time, Texas got the stop and forced a punt at midfield.

A new wrinkle with Arch Manning

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is known for his schematic prowess, and he added a new wrinkle to the offense on Saturday. Sarkisian, who rarely uses quarterbacks in the running game, sent out the athletic Manning for the early fourth-and-2 that resulted in his 15-yard touchdown run.

All season, Sarkisian has refrained from using Manning for specialized plays or personnel packages, only inserting the redshirt freshman when Ewers was injured or the game was well in hand, except for a brief stint in the first half against Georgia when Texas’ offense had failed to get much going (Sarkisian went back to Ewers to finish that game). But with Ewers nursing the ankle injury, it was a smart decision that paid off big.

Texas O-line loses a key piece

The Longhorns lost All-American and future first-round NFL Draft pick Kelvin Banks early in the game to an injury, and he didn’t return. That meant that redshirt freshman left tackle Trevor Goosby was thrust into action in a critical spot. Goosby didn’t miss a beat. There weren’t major pass protection issues on the left side with him in the game, and the run game continued to chug along, fueled by running back Tre Wisner.

Banks’ status is worth watching with Texas looking ahead to a potential Playoff run. But it’s good to know that the Longhorns have a capable left tackle to turn to if Banks is out for an extended period.

Danny Davis: Longhorns heading to SEC title game after holding off Aggies

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COLLEGE STATION — Thirteen years later, the Texas football team didn't need a last-second kick to beat Texas A&M. In front of an announced crowd of 109,028 at Kyle Field on Saturday night, No. 3 Texas secured a spot in the SEC championship game with a 17-7 win over No. 19 Texas A&M. The Longhorns got 186 rushing yards from running back Quintrevion Wisner as well as a dominating performance from its defense in the victory. Saturday's showdown was the first between Texas and Texas A&M since Justin Tucker's 40-yard field goal lifted the Longhorns to a 27-25 win in College Station on Nov. 24, 2011.

After waiting 4,755 days for a rematch, Texas A&M came out swinging on Saturday night. The Aggies drove into Texas territory on each of its first two drives, but the UT defense thwarted both attempts to score. Jermayne Lole stuffed Texas A&M running back Amari Daniels on a 4th-and-1 attempt at the UT 10 to end one possession, and Michael Taaffe then intercepted a deep shot by Marcel Reed at the Texas 7.

That would be the closest the Texas A&M would get to taking a lead on Saturday night.

Texas (11-1, 7-1) turned Taaffe's interception into a 10-play, 93-yard touchdown drive that featured a relief appearance by backup quarterback Arch Manning, who scored on a 15-yard run. On UT's next possession, starting quarterback Quinn Ewers threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to running back Jaydon Blue. Both Manning and Ewers were initially ruled to have not scored — Manning was ruled to have run 14 yards when he needed 15 while the pass to Blue was called incomplete — but video reviews corrected those calls.

Texas eventually took a 17-0 lead into halftime after Bert Auburn kicked a 28-yard field goal with 1:50 left in the second quarter. That field goal was the 60th of Auburn's career, which tied Cameron Dicker's school record. A 93-yard interception return by Will Lee III cut into UT's lead in the third quarter, and a blocked punt set Texas A&M for another scoring opportunity in the final frame. But with 4:35 left, Texas stopped Texas A&M on a fourth-down attempt from the UT 1. Texas maintained its 10-point lead for the rest of the game.

In addition to those two aforementioned fourth-down stops, Texas forced two turnovers on Saturday. Texas A&M (8-4, 5-3) was held to 244 yards of offense. Texas will travel next week to Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium where Georgia (10-2, 6-2) awaits in the SEC championship game. This will be a rematch for Texas and Georgia after the Bulldogs recorded a 30-15 win in Austin on Oct. 19.

 

[satyanash 14769]

Olin Buchanan: Predictability leads to disappointment in A&M's 17-7 loss to Texas

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This year, Texas A&M renewed a rivalry with an arch-enemy. Hopefully, by next year, the Aggies will have a renewed offensive strategy with creativity and imagination. Maybe by then, coach Mike Elko and offensive coordinator Collin Klein can devise a plan to convert on fourth-and-1. That may require the entire offseason because a three-minute time-out certainly wasn’t sufficient on Saturday night. Twice, Elko called a timeout when facing fourth-and-1 deep in enemy territory. Both times, an inside run to Amari Daniels was called. Both times, he was stopped cold. Those plays— at the Texas 10-yard line in the first quarter and inside the one in the fourth quarter — were the most glaring failures as the No. 20 Aggies (8-4 5-3) suffered a 17-7 loss to No. 3 Texas (11-1, 7-1) which left a Kyle Field crowd of 109,028 bitterly disappointed and incredibly frustrated.

“I hold to the fact that if we want to be the team that we need to be, we have to be able to convert fourth-and-1s,” Elko said in a solemn postgame press conference. “You have to. Obviously, we didn’t, but we have to. And so when you play a team that’s explosive on offense, and you get down there, touchdowns matter. You put yourself in opportunities to have fourth-and-short. You’ve got to be able to move the ball forward. And twice inside the 10-yard line, we didn’t get it done tonight.”

Maybe the Aggies didn’t get it done because they repeated the same basic, no-frills play that had little-to-no chance of success. Daniels averaged only 1.6 yards on 13 carries. Three games ago, Daniels was also denied on a similar play when Elko opted to go for it at his own 34-yard line vs. South Carolina. Adding to the frustration, A&M ran a jet sweep to receiver Jahdae Walker to convert third-and-1. There was also a direct snap to Terry Bussey. Maybe Rueben Owens, who came back from injury, could’ve added a change of pace. But when a yard was needed most, Elko and Klein were painfully predictable. They showed all the creativity of a white wall. Daniels ran straight into it. “Offensively, we lost the line of scrimmage all night,” Elko said. “We weren't able to get anything going. Really disappointing. We just didn't play well enough on offense at all to have any chance at having success.”

In the early going, it appeared the Aggies would have a successful evening. They took the opening kickoff and advanced to the Texas 10-yard line before the first fourth-down failure. Their second series reached Texas’ 40-yard line, but an ill-advised deep throw by quarterback Marcel Reed was intercepted. Afterward, the Aggies had very little success — offensively or defensively. Clearly superior, Texas scored two touchdowns and a field goal on its next three series to take a 17-0 halftime lead. The Longhorns toyed with the Aggie defense, seemingly capable of picking up any necessary yardage.

Texas rolled up 458 yards of total offense, including 240 on the ground. Running back Quintrevion Wisner rushed for a season-high 186 yards. “We just got way too many misfits, way too many lack of leverage, way too many just simple execution errors,” Elko said. “They’re good. They’re talented. Hats off to them because they physically annihilated us.” The Longhorns were on the verge of breaking the game open when they reached the A&M 7-yard line and 10-yard line on consecutive drives in the third quarter. But A&M cornerback Will Lee III returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown. Then, Taurean York recovered a fumble by Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers that denied the Longhorns a scoring opportunity.

The Aggies remained in contention. A few minutes later, a come-from-behind victory seemed possible. Walker blocked a Texas punt. Dalton Brooks recovered. A&M was 19 yards away from pulling within a field goal. Almost eight minutes remained to play. Four plays later, the Aggies had second-and-goal at the Texas 2-yard line. Daniels then ran inside for a yard. Next, he ran inside for no gain. After a time-out, Daniels was stopped for a 3-yard loss that ended any chance of an A&M comeback. “The plays we ran, we practice all the time,” Reed said. “We just didn’t execute it tonight. I mean, I’m not going to say we should have ran something different just because I’m not the one making the calls, and I’m not the one seeing what their defense is signaling or what they’re calling, what they’re lining up in. But, you know, we didn’t get it. So, I mean, that’s the bottom line.”

The bottom line is that A&M had a horrific November collapse. Four weeks ago, the Aggies were the only SEC team unbeaten in conference play. They had an inside track for the conference championship game in Atlanta. They seemed destined for the College Football Playoff. After losses to South Carolina, Auburn and Texas, the Aggies are now destined for some obscure bowl game they may not even want to play in. “Losing our last three conference games and not being able to close the deal and going to Atlanta … yeah. I mean, it sucks,” Elko said. “There’s no sugarcoating it. There’s no soft words around it. We had our opportunities, and we didn’t get it done. And so it’s disappointing.”

As disappointing as the play selection on fourth-and-1.

(Eric Nahlin) A Most Violent Win: Texas demeans Texas A&M 17-7

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For somebody who likes movies I’m not a movie guy at all. I typically put a movie on and let the mind wander. If I’m lucky I’ll fall asleep and sleep well.  Not all that long ago I put on ‘A Most Violent Year’. I recognized the lead actor, Oscar Isaac, from a few movies. It also features Jessica Chastain who is pretty obviously known. You might remember the time she killed bin Laden. Given the title and those two being attached I figured I’d watch.  The movie is really good but I was about 25 minutes in before I noticed the absence of violence. This was not a Jason Statham movie. As you watch it you realize the fine man with noble motives doesn’t even know martial arts and is having ‘violence’ done to him in more subtle ways. He’s being attacked professionally, financially, and psychologically. They threatened his own home.

Texas A&M might have lost by the narrow sum of 17-7 but it was a most violent loss. Certainly they’re now psychologically damaged. The Texas A&M Aggies were out-schemed, out-prepared, and most importantly, out-toughed at the point of attack. If you watched a replay of this game, a game titled A Most Violent Win, you’d expect a massive blowout. Carnage. That didn’t materialize on the scoreboard but the “violence” was present nonetheless. Home invaded. Entering this game everybody in the world knew Quinn Ewers was limited. Given that, surely Texas would try to run the ball and protect the quarterback, right? A&M would surely have answers? No. Texas, even with star left tackle Kelvin Banks out for much of the game, imposed its will.

My ‘run festival’ source sent a message earlier in the day that basically said, “same defense as Kentucky.” His implication was Texas would beat up A&M on the ground. Right again. I’m not sure anyone expected a hero game from Tre Wisner specifically but he certainly had it in him. Sark recently called him cut from a Brillo pad. That is about as good of a compliment as a football player could get. In that way, Wisner is similar to Isaac’s character. We did expect the hero game from the defense. We got it and then some. Turnovers forced, goal line stand, discipline, best Texas defense I’ve seen. It’s been a pretty violent year for that unit. The score 17-7 isn’t the summation Texas fans wanted. It certainly wasn’t the expectation before intermission, but it was violent nonetheless.

 

[Reynolds Woodcock 4876]

13 minutes ago, satyanash said:

“They’re good. They’re talented. Hats off to them because they physically annihilated us.”

Print the fucking shirts

[satyanash 14769]

(Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Texas shuts down A&M

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Once again, Texas’ elite defense travelled and shut down another opposing offense. Technically it wasn’t a shutout because the Aggies got on the scoreboard with their own defense, but it was arguably better than a shutout given some of the game context. The Aggies blocked a punt and recovered at the Longhorn 19-yard line down 17-7 with 7:45 left. This possession ended after six plays with Longhorn possession and zero points on the board for Texas A&M.

The game was essentially over at that point although they’d make one more play to save the defensive shutout. On the day, Texas held the Aggies to 244 total yards, scarcely more yardage than Texas had running the ball (240). Poor decisions and turnovers wasted a pair of Longhorn drives and prevented the game from becoming a blow out, but it was still a commanding win. The rivalry is renewed and balance has been restored to the state.

Quick thought no. 1: Defensive domination

As always, there were a lot of heroes on the defensive side of the ball. Vernon Broughton had a pair of big sacks, quarterback hurries, and the late fumble recovery after Trey Moore stripped Marcel Reed from behind. Michael Taaffe contributed another turnover with an interception early in the game to go along with a tackle for loss and a break-up.

Reed ended up going 16-23 for 146 yards at just 6.3 ypa with zero touchdowns and the aforementioned completion to Taaffe. He ran the ball 14 times for 56 yards at 4.0 ypc with a pair of fumbles, one of which Texas recovered. The Aggies couldn’t control the ball long enough to up his numbers higher in hero-ball mode but they certainly tried and it wasn’t doing any damage.

Texas has too much team speed in the pass-rush and overall pursuit. The rest of the Aggie run game got 20 carries for 42 yards at 2.1 ypc. Erased. Texas’ goal line stand after the punt block was the key moment. The Aggies had a chance to get the game within a field goal and ran four times into the Longhorns only to come out with nothing but a tackle for loss on 4th-and-goal which actually gave the Texas offense some breathing room for the next drive.

Not blocking a 6-foot-6 Edge like Ethan Burke on a crucial play was certainly an interesting choice by the Aggies.

Quick thought no. 2: A mixed game from Quinn

Quinn Ewers had a terrific first half in this game. He was 11-17 in the first half for 142 yards at 8.4 ypa with a touchdown and zero interceptions along with 22 rushing yards. A taped in support boot protected the sprained ankle and allowed Ewers to move around reasonably well.

As I noted in my preview, fade routes were available against the man coverage the Aggies predictably employed. Quinn hit a few with some really well thrown balls…

The second half was different.

In the second half Ewers was 6-11 for 76 yards at 6.9 ypa but threw a pick-6 (tipped at the line) inside the Aggie 10-yard line and fumbled on a scramble the ensuing drive at about the Aggie 11. Even tho the interception was tipped, the decision made little sense and those two turnovers squandered drives of 78 and 64 yards and netted the Longhorns -7 points.

Overall Ewers was 17-28 for 218 yards at 7.8 ypa with one touchdown, one interception, and the fumble along with 29 rushing yards. That’s actually eight more rushing yards than Aggie starting running back Amari Daniels managed in this game. If not for the turnovers it would have been a really strong and truly gritty performance. As it is, despite the flaws he’s 3-0 in the three games circled before the season as the ones for Texas to focus on, at Michigan, Oklahoma, and at Texas A&M.

The Longhorns will need a better, clutch showing in the second half at some point from Ewers but the wins keep stacking.

Quick thought no. 3: Tre Wisner wore out the Aggies

What a game for the Texas O-line and star running back Quintrevion Wisner.

He finished with 33 carries for 186 yards at 5.6 ypc and added a pair of catches for another 21 yards. The Aggies, like most everyone else, realized the Texas swing/screen perimeter game was one of the Longhorns’ more potent weapons and tried to sit on those to the detriment of the run defense. But more than that, the Texas line continued to dominate their combo blocks on outside zone and Wisner ran patient and hard through the wash for consistent gains and broken tackles.

Steve Sarkisian identified the Aggies have less depth up front in light of all the transfers and leaned on them with tempo, leading to the A&M defenders (probably) faking endless injuries after Texas gains to buy time to catch their breath. It hardly mattered, or wouldn’t have if not for the second half turnovers.

Wisner had 207 total yards, nearly as many as the entire Aggie team, and has been carrying the Longhorns through the back half of the schedule. He’s now up to 812 rushing yards on the season with an outstanding chance to end up as Sark’s 3rd different 1,000 yard back at Texas. The Longhorns are now a lock to play at least two more games this season.

The Texas O-line completely dominated this game and some of Texas’ rushing successes lead to bizarre timeout decisions by Mike Elko which could have cost the Aggies late had they not been a train wreck on offense. No one went into this season thinking Texas would be identified by a Wisner-paced run game and elite defense but Sark has pivoted effectively to those strengths and they have the Longhorns in the SEC Championship Game.

Quick thought no. 4: Wild Arch

Sark had a plan to involve Arch Manning whether Ewers was able to give the team four full quarters or not…

The Arch package scored this touchdown, forced a panicked Elko timeout on another drive, and will be a useful feature to add on in future games. This was a pretty simple zone-read play with both tight ends leading outside for the zone-keeper and Arch really made it work with his speed and toughness going for the pylon.

Later in the game they had another play dialed up which appeared to be a quarterback sweep with a backside sweep for the running back and the O-line botched it with linemen colliding in the backfield pulling in opposite directions. It looked promising conceptually, at least. Ewers should get healthier in the coming weeks but I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the Manning package.

Quick thought no. 5: The road ahead

How incredible would it be for the Texas program if they were to win the Big 12 Championship in the Longhorns’ final season in that conference before winning the SEC Championship in the first season in the new conference? Pretty incredible. They’ll have to beat Georgia to do so, a task which could be easier if the Longhorns can just get it to overtime where Kirby Smart and the Bulldog staff have surely already exhausted all of their two-point plays.

That’ll be a very tough game to win as both teams are pretty beat up. Georgia just survived an absolute war against Georgia Tech and had to make yet another desperate second half comeback in order to do so. Texas has an injured starting quarterback and have fed the emergent star running back, who’s only about 200 pounds, 59 carries in two weeks. There’s also star left tackle Kelvin Banks, who was very capably replaced by Trevor Goosby in this contest but would be sorely missed if he can’t go next week. Texas has a lot of guys to get healthy and winning a shot at a first round bye by defeating Georgia would be extremely valuable.

Texas is opening as a -1.5 point favorite in this rematch…more coverage to come this week.

Joe Cook: Three fourth-down stops serve as more evidence of the Longhorns' defensive prowess

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COLLEGE STATION — On their first offensive drive of the game, the Texas A&M Aggies drove deep into Texas territory but encountered a 4th and 1 on the Longhorns’ 10-yard line. The Aggies elected to hand the football off to Amari Daniels, but defensive tackle Jermayne Lole made the stop to turn the ball over on downs. With seconds remaining in the first half and down 17-0, A&M again decided to go for it on 4th down, but Marcel Reed was tackled short of the line to gain at the Texas 43.

So late in the game, Aggies head coach Mike Elko had a choice with his team down 17-7 and under five minutes left on the clock. Should he try to make it a one possession game with the field goal and get a stop-and-score? Or should he test the Texas defense on fourth down once again from one yard away to try to capitalize on momentum from a blocked punt?

Elko chose the latter to try a salty Longhorn defense. A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein called what Texas’ Anthony Hill identified as G-lead. Aggie players failed to block Ethan Burke, and Texas recorded a third fourth-down stop of the Aggies offense and in doing so, recorded the pivotal play that kept the A&M offense out of the end zone in the return of the Lone Star Showdown.

Texas won 17-7, and the Aggies’ seven points were the result of a Quinn Ewers tipped pick-six as opposed to points put on the Longhorn defense. Those three stops were indicative of a strong day for Pete Kwiatkowski’s side of the ball as it continues to claim a status among the best in college football. The Aggies tallied 244 yards and averaged only 4.3 yards per play.

While Texas A&M picked up some chunk plays via Reed’s arms and legs, consistency was tough to come by for the Aggies. Two of A&M’s three drives that were nine plays or longer ended in those turnovers on downs. The third? It ended in a punt.

The strong day wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for Texas’ fourth down prowess in the red zone on Saturday night that kept A&M’s offense off the scoreboard. And that fourth down prowess is the direct result of a portion of Longhorns’ practice that emphasizes an aspect so simple yet so important in football. “Don’t let them get in the end zone,” Texas defensive tackle Vernon Broughton said.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian explained following the game that his team has a portion of practice he calls red zone lockout. Sarkisian says it’s a good-on-good, sudden-change period where the ball is placed on the 25 and the defense is challenged to keep the offense out of the special 10 yards. The goal is simple for the offense: score.

The Longhorn defense is proficient at making that task complex. “I think we developed a mentality in there that we are defending our end zone,” Sarkisian said. “It doesn’t matter if they are six inches away from that goal line, that’s one more snap that we can defend our end zone. Our guys have done that all year.”

When Elko decided to keep his offense on the field, Hill and company smiled. Thanks to the lockout practice, Hill felt like they were in a comfortable environment, or at least one they knew they could excel in. “We were excited because we feel like nobody’s getting in the end zone with us,” Hill said when describing his thoughts ahead of A&M’s final fourth down attempt. “If you think you’re going to just run right at us for one yard, you’ve lost your mind. That’s not going to happen.”

Not much has happened against the Longhorns defense this year. Texas ranks No. 10 in stuffing opponents in the red zone, a stat that is one of many where the Longhorns rank among the best in the nation. “Our goal and what we preach is defending our paint and defending our end zone,” Michael Taaffe said. “No matter what the opponent is, we don’t let anyone get in our end zone. That’s the pride we have about ourselves, and we work really hard throughout the week to make sure the standard is upheld.”

The work of players on the defensive front like Broughton and Alfred Collins often kept the Aggies behind schedule on offense. A&M averaged 2.9 yards per rush against Texas. The Aggies’ one rush of 10-plus yards was via a Reed scramble on a quality play design. No other run went further than 10 yards.

“Those guys, Alfred and Vernon, are really versatile players because of their length and their athleticism but both those guys have really worked at their craft to be very good run defenders for us, which was something we challenged them on all offseason,” Sarkisian said. “Then they have the ability to rush the passer because of their athleticism and their length.”

Then at linebacker, Hill and Liona Lefau led the way in tackles with five and six, respectively. Lefau also forced an early fumble A&M recovered. And in the secondary, Taaffe recorded an early interception to lead a standout day for a group that allowed one pass of 20 or more yards. The Longhorns succeeded at all three levels and continued to stake their claim to having the best defense in the country. It was an effort that was physical, and one that was dominant.

“To do it in the fashion that we did, that wasn’t a gimmick win,” Sarkisian said. “We didn’t hit trick plays and things. We lined up and played good, hard-nosed football, and executed. Couple balls didn’t bounce our way, but we won the game in a physical manner, which is what we knew we needed to do to win the Southeastern Conference.”

On Saturday, Texas had to defend 57 plays. Like a strong, top-tier defense does, the Longhorns were fantastic against an offense that has just one reliable method for moving the football. And no plays embodied that fantastic night in College Station like Texas’ three fourth-down stops that harkened back to key portions of practice sessions.

Justin Wells: Texas' Tre Wisner tougher than leather for the Longhorns in College Station

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For Texas running back Tre Wisner, the year began with him down the depth chart. But after injuries to the running back room during fall camp, he was thrust into a new role: starter.

The sophomore from DeSoto (Texas) via Waco (Texas) Connally was huge on Saturday during the first matchup between in-state rivals Texas and Texas A&M since 2011. He notched 186 yards rushing on 33 carries with 21 yards receiving on two catches. But it was his ability to break tackles, move the chains, and ultimately burn clock in a 17-7 win that really helped the Longhorns.

Steve Sarkisian called Wisner “tougher than a Brillo pad” after last week’s 158-yard, one-TD performance over Kentucky. The former special teams standout took on the role of bell-cow midway through the season.

“He earned a lot of trust from us a year ago,” Sarkisian said about Wisner. “Everyone talks about our five-star recruits and four-star recruits, and Tre was not one of those guys. He was a really good high school football player. The makeup for him, his mentality, the day he showed up, all he’s done is worked his tail off. And be a great teammate. Last year on special teams, he earned our trust by the way he covered kicks.”

When CJ Baxter and Christian Clark went down in fall camp, Wisner’s opportunity arose. “In training camp, when we had back-to-back injuries to CJ and Christian, we had to revamp some things. All Tre Wisner did was keep working,” Sarkisian said. “When his opportunities came, he took advantage.”

Wisner topped the 100-yard mark for the third time in his career and for the second consecutive game. What did it mean for the talented Texas ball-carrier? “It means a lot, but the standard is the standard,” Wisner said. “It doesn’t matter what type of game it is. Whenever my name is called, I have to step up and do my job.”

When Wisner signed with Texas out of high school, one main reason was UT running back coach Tashard Choice. That relationship continues to grow, on and off the field. “That man has been real big in my life,” said Wisner. “Not even from a football aspect, just about life. If I can’t do it in life, I can’t do it on the field. For him to bring me in everyday for meetings, and give us a word, a scripture, or just a topic about life, it definitely smooths things out for me.”

After his 33-carry performance, Wisner was asked if he was tired. “Tired? Tired? Tired?” The word doesn’t compute in the world of Wisner.

 

[pacman 7426]

 

[satyanash 14769]

Eric Nahlin: That was fun! Texas physically dismantles Texas A&M 17-7

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This was written by Coach Venable, a long-time successful Texas high school defensive coordinator.

Regardless of your degree of fan participation this was a fun game to watch period. I guarantee this was one loud battle with constant ups and downs damn near every play. It was super loud on television. I can only imagine what the atmosphere was like in that stadium. Winning isn’t everything but it’s definitely ahead of what finishes second. My hometown hero Dan Jenkins once wrote there’s nothing as heartbreaking as losing the high school rivalry football game. Well, this was as close as it gets and we won a donnybrook so it’s happy hour all weekend. So celebrate and dance to the music.

Okay, you take away four plays and this game was a laugher. We are on their seven yard line and throw a pick six. We are on their ten yard line and fumble away another golden chance for points. We turn a punt rusher completely loose and he blocks our punt to give their offense a very short field to navigate. We miss a medium range field goal after a long drive. Three of those four plays offer a high percentage of scoring points and the other offers terrific field position for our defense.

If those four plays are merely ‘tie goes to the runner’ they don’t score and we add points to our side of the scoreboard. We already had 17 before the half. Just doing the math leads one to believe this was a blowout waiting to happen. Did I forget to mention we also had a GL stand, a fourth and one, and one interception plus a fumble recovery? Yep, this could/should have been a much bigger GAW (common coach speak for “good a$$ whipping” in coaching office chatter.)

In a game of big plays one doesn’t need to have a jury trial to name the offensive and defensive players of the game. Vernon Broughton (45) and Tre Wisner (26) delivered the game of their lives in front of the largest audience of this season. I’ll leave the stats and descriptions to others but it’s seldom you see individuals make as many huge plays as these two did in this rival war. There were many deserving mention on both sides of the ball but none could match the efforts of these two heroes.

Let’s brag on the warriors now:

• Hill Jr. (0) has quickly become the best LB in this league. He does so much to make life easier on his DC’s job each week. He’s worth every penny.
• Golden (2) had three catches with one being a 44 yard bomb and another good 21 yarder to the red zone.
• Ewers (3) had two turnovers and a ton of good plays in a gritty performance. Stop criticizing now—the oskie was tipped and the fumble was a perfectly placed strike from behind position he never saw.
• Guilbeau (3) had several good plays but he needs to time his blitzes a lot better—five yards deep before the snap is a little too early.
• Mukuba (4) had three open field tackles.
• Muhammad (5) had another good game—he quietly does his job often without incident.
• Wingo (5) had two really nice catches and runs. Big play waiting to happen is all this guy offers the offense. It’s time for Sark to quit hiding him.
• Barron (7) had one bad coverage decision but otherwise had a few nice plays.
• Bond (7) had two good plays—needs to get healthy again.
• Moore (8) had a caused fumble among several good plays.
• Simmons (11) had two real good plays—best game at sticking to his assignment—hustle tackles and pursuit is second to none on this defensive.
• Norton (15) had two super penetration efforts in short yardage situations—very valuable piece to our defense.
• Manning (16) superb TD scoring effort—he’s going to be a good one.
• Taaffe (16) had another terrific game—he may be all conference this year—small step he’s made huh?
• Lefau (18) had a better game this week—good reads help.
• Niblett (21) deserves mention for excellent special team efforts.
• Blue (23) avoided turnovers in limited reps and had one helluva TD catch.
• McDonald (25) had some good open field tackles again.
• Smith (26) is getting more action lately—-good coverage tackle.
• Wisner (26) ran for around 180 yards in around 30 carries and sparked our offense with max efforts. Big time player.
• Gbenda (33) doesn’t get many snaps but is valuable with leadership.
• Blackwell (37) reduced snaps but terrific stunter on mugs with Gbenda (33) and Blackwell blowing up short yardage with stunts into the backfield.
• Broughton (45) spent his evening kicking butt and taking names with penetration wrecking efforts, Great senior.
• Campbell (52) is a steady mauler that doesn’t finesse a damn thing—better every week.
• Hutson (54) gives us a third guard and steady effort every week.
• Williams (56) had a solid game—mauler that buries opponents and better at pass protection.
• Goosby (74) passed the final exam with flying colors taking over for Banks.
• Conner (76) has improved in every aspect each week—who knew he is our most improved on offensive lineman and should gather honors—wow.
• Banks (78) had a perfect game going until injured early—hope it isn’t serious.
• Davis (81) good blocking—senior that has improved into a valuable piece of our offense.
• Helm (85) is the best TE with another strong game this week.
• Sorrell (88) is the most dependable in the front line—huge big play in short yardage.
• Burke (91) had a great GL stop on 4th down plus another big play.
• Our edges are really good especially when they are given assignment football jobs that require specific responsibilities first.
• Collins (95) has been our most valuable inside guy all year—great senior playing well.
• Lole (99) gives us quality performance every week.

We get another shot at them dawgs next week and I’m betting we don’t show up overconfident but just happy to get one more chance to prove ourselves. It’s why you come to Texas.

(Scipio Tex) 2024 Texas A&M Postmortem: Defense/Special Teams

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Texas turned in its best team defensive performance of the season in front of a massive hostile crowd and what was for Texas A&M, the biggest game in their program history. That statement is both demonstrative of the stakes, but also the nominal relevance of Aggie football. Thirteen long years in the SEC without a SEC title game appearance or a college football playoff berth.

Then their blood rival and school obsession pistol whips them in front of a record crowd, sealing Texas’ own SEC title game appearance and a back-to-back playoff berth in their first year in the league. That has to sting. But not quite as much as the pain that the Texas defense inflicted on Saturday night. Mike Elko said it best:

Indeed. The Longhorns dominated the Aggies physically in the box with even and sometimes light numbers, allowed almost no explosives in the passing (one 26 yard completion) or run game (one Reed run for 23 yards), and held the Aggie offense scoreless for four quarters, despite the Texas offense and special teams gifting the Aggies a couple of short field opportunities.

The Aggies had their best offensive success on their opening drive going 65 yards on 9 plays. That ultimately fruitless drive would tally over a quarter of their total game output. That initial drive was highlighted by a pair of Marcel Reed completions for 27 and 16 yards, respectively. Probably the two throws that A&M drilled all week.

Once those concepts were burned, the Texas defense reduced the Aggie playbook to a fortune cookie script. The Texas defense stiffened, the Aggies went for it on 4th down on the Texas 10 yard line (correctly, in my opinion) and were stoned for the first of three times on 4th and short.

That stop embodied the play of the Horn defense.

Look at the bottom of your screen and watch the rhombus of Lole, Sorrell, Gbenda and Taaffe on this play. Lole gives no ground at the point of attack, Sorrell jacks up and discards the 265 Aggie tight end like a tackling dummy (look where his hands strike inside as he uncoils; the Aggie TE buckles like he was hit by a jackhammer – you’re basically watching edge coaching clinic tape) and then #88 moves across #17’s face to make initial contact with Daniels while Taaffe and Gbenda, who slips a clumsy block, are johnny-on-the-spot to provide additional physics to the scrum, preventing Daniels from slipping off and falling forward.

That combo of individual dominance (Sorrell) supported by strong team defense happened repeatedly on Saturday night. After Marcel Reed hit his first two passes, he went 14 of 21 for 103 yards and an interception. Reed was reduced to check downs, scramble drills and generally trying to hero ball the most cohesive defense he’s seen this season.

Reed was certainly game and he has a potentially bright future with a better supportive infrastructure, but, as predicted, the burden of carrying the offense weighed on him with two turnovers and his 60 yards rushing on 14 carries were more a mild irritant than anything meaningful. The standard Aggie rushing attack led by Amari Daniels tallied 21 yards on 13 carries with four other Aggie ballcarriers contributing 7 more carries for 21 yards.

20 carries for 42 yards in support of Reed won’t cut it. Particularly given the fact that Texas parked two safeties deep on most downs and dared A&M to pound it. A&M should have been able to run the ball a little with the extra man advantage of Reed’s legs and an honest box. Instead, they got physically dominated.

Overall, Texas A&M finished with 248 yards on 57 plays. A&M went 0-3 on 4th down and 4 of 14 on money downs overall. If you consider a Turnover On Downs a turnover, Texas forced five in only nine Aggie possessions.

DEFENSIVE LINE

The whole unit should take a bow.

Vernon Broughton had his best performance since September. He finished with 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 QB hits, a fumble recovery and various acts of mayhem. In the second quarter alone, he had a pressure that forced an incompletion, a sack and then a coverage sack. He also had a terrific stand against a double team that forced Daniels to bounce into Moore.

Collins was relatively quiet by his high standards. He got a lot of blocking attention, but still managed a deflection at the LOS that almost resulted in a Sorrell interception. Two hurries. A huge play on the last 4th down goal line stand.

Lole did a bunch of dirty work inside to create for others and had several strong pocket collapses that forced Reed into survival mode. Bill Norton had some poor early snaps catching blockers that had me cussing, but he got his pads low and finished the game strong with several manly gap wins on short yardage. Most snaps in quite a while and a good last 3 quarters.

The edges dominated. It didn’t necessarily show up in huge numbers, but they manhandled the big Aggie tight ends and offensive tackles in the running game and harassed the hell out of Marcel Reed. Seeing multiple Longhorn edges physically throwing 330 pound Aggie OT Trey Zuhn around was hilarious. It’s always the mouthy ones who tap out first.

Trey Moore continues his exemplary play, highlighted by a gorgeous strip sack fumble hustle play that sealed the game.

Lole does a fine job of disrupting and nearly getting the sack and Moore escapes a hold to run down Reed while the Longhorn defensive back shows just enough in the flat to keep Reed from his outlet and hold the ball way too long. Again, an outstanding individual play supported by dialed-in team defense. Simmons played really hard. Some frustration at grabby Aggie OL and a late game altercation.

Good ballgame. He had five tackles just pursuing from backside and never relenting. A backside edge who can wreck stuff playside is a major pain in the ass to an offense trying to run zone schemes or their QB. Can’t ignore this finish by Burke on the huge 4th and inches. Unblocked and firing all the way.

Please find #95, #15 and #45 inside though. Collins kicks ass backside and gets penetration while keeping his feet and Broughton swim moves an Aggie blocker play side and he’s free. Norton has a nice submarine to displace the LOS. Victories across the front. Daniels has nowhere to go. Burke comes down like a bat out of hell, but this play is stopped by the big ‘uns at the point of attack. Burke effectively cleans it up.

Sorrell was extremely physical all game. The Aggie tight ends are going to have nightmares about him. He was a little tentative and concerned about contain early in his pass rush, but he got into the groove and had some good pocket constrictions on Reed later. Tough offsides penalty on the first Aggie drive that hurt us on 3rd and 4 in our territory. Great job overall. Physicality of this unit was off of the charts. The Aggie OL got worked. They should wear ribbons of shame.

Linebacker

The best off-the-ball linebacking performance of the season by far. Lefau was terrific. Much needed breakout after some pretty mediocre play. He had some big hits and really smart plays in coverage and as a run defender. Perhaps it was motivated by a few snaps for Gbenda, who was also very strong. Hill led the team in tackles and was as disruptive as usual.

Very impressed with their tackling, hustle and physicality. Most complete “traditional linebacking” performance of the season.

Secondary

Mukuba had several strong open field tackles (the bogus targeting call made me laugh) and an amazingly instinctive PBU on an open Aggie tight end on a big 3rd and long. Taaffe had an impressive momentum swinging interception that demonstrated his range.

Again, this is an excellent individual effort supported by team play. In this instance, Simmons gets Reed out of the pocket and Lole’s motor and flat pursuit down the line of scrimmage disallows Reed from keeping it up the sideline for an easy 5-10 yards. An ill-advised throw ensues. Texas ball. Guilbeau had an incredibly physical nickel blitz where he drove Amari Daniels five yards backwards into the QB. His late game poorly timed blitz offsides was somewhat amusing on the rewatch, less so in real time.

On rewatch, Jelani McDonald played more snaps than I’d remembered. Good job. Barron and Muhammad allowed Aggie receivers to catch balls in front of them and tackled well. No explosives. A&M averaged 9.1 yards per completion.

Special Teams

Dreadful.

Kern had a punt blocked when his outside man lost his mind (why is he not blocking and turning and watching) and had another punt sail into the end zone with the opportunity to pin A&M deep when Sark passed up going for it on 4th and 3. Horrific opportunity exchange there. Auburn blew a 48 yard field goal in resounding fashion. His long misses are by 10-15 yards. Bizarre.

Refreshingly, Silas Bolden made several good return decisions and I’m not sure who gave him sedatives. Good coverage.

Final

Stat of the game? The Texas Longhorns missed three tackles all game. That’s a season low in an environment that tested their mental toughness, communication and physicality. They dominated in all phases.

 

[satyanash 14769]

(David Ubben) What I saw at Texas-Texas A&M: Scenes from an essential college football rivalry’s return

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — As Aggies silently filed out of Kyle Field, Texas fans in burnt orange filling the southeast corner of The House That Johnny Built rubbed salt in their wounds with three letters. “S-E-C! S-E-C!’ they chanted.

Traditionally, the chant has been reserved for programs expressing their superiority to teams that don’t get to wear the patch on their jerseys. Both Texas and Texas A&M wear it now. And Texas capped its maiden voyage through an SEC schedule with a 17-7 win over A&M for the right to do something A&M has never done: Play for the SEC title. “Let’s take this s— to Atlanta!” a member of Texas’ equipment staff yelled as they packed up gear on the sidelines in the game’s final minute.

Texas is here. And A&M is left dealing with the fallout of a nightmare resumption of one of college football’s most storied rivalries after a ludicrous 13-year absence fueled by the same pettiness that makes the rivalry so unique and special. “You’re little bro!” yelled senior linebacker David Gbenda, who made three tackles for a defense that didn’t allow a point to Texas A&M’s offense in the win.

Texas A&M’s only points came on a pick six off a Quinn Ewers pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage. Texas minister of culture Matthew McConaughey, who moonlights as an A-list Hollywood actor, didn’t need to say a word as defensive lineman Vernon Broughton pounced on a game-sealing fumble. He turned to the crowd and flashed a horns up.

Minutes earlier, a loud bang rang out from inside a suite as the Longhorns stuffed Amari Daniels for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-1 on the goal line, keeping the Aggies’ deficit at 10 with 4:36 to play. “Son of a bitch!” a voice echoed through the hall as elevator doors opened. Thirteen years of waiting ended with Texas’ fight song echoing into the chilly Aggieland night. “It sucks,” Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed said.

Ewers cradled the game ball and smiled as he walked up Texas’ tunnel, unwilling to let anyone else lay a hand on it. “A win is a win,” he said afterward, downplaying the significance of a ball that might be sitting on his mantle a half century from now, marking the only time the senior will ever play his alma mater’s most hated rival. Does Ewers keep the game ball from every win? “I don’t,” he said. “But for some special ones I like to.”

***

All three decks of the east side of Kyle Field are almost full by the time Kanye West’s “Power” kicks in on the PA system, signaling the team’s entrance for yell practice. A&M moved the tradition from midnight to 5:30 p.m. Friday to accommodate the football team’s schedule and allow it to attend. It brings plenty more fans out to the stadium, too.

Josiah Brantley, one of five Aggie Yell leaders and a senior at A&M, says Friday night is different from all the yell practices he’d attended before. Texas A&M president Mark Welsh III tells the crowd that 58 suite holders asked for their suites to be open for yell practice, which concludes with a lengthy fireworks show. “Tomorrow we get to beat the hell out of Texas,” he says. “I’m not sure life gets better than this.”

Yell leaders, per tradition, take their turns ribbing their rival ahead of Saturday’s game. “Who trashes their own field?” Jake Carter, head yell leader, asks the crowd, referencing Texas’ loss to Georgia earlier this year when Longhorns fans threw garbage onto the field following a controversial call that was later reversed.

“Coach Schlossnagle never belonged here anyway,” says yell leader Kyler Fife, igniting the crowd with a shot at the baseball coach who left A&M for Texas this summer. “Tomorrow is personal,” yell leader Grayson Poage says after referring to Texas’ mascot Bevo as a glorified hamburger. “It’s about who runs Texas.”

***

Sweet-smelling smoke wafts through the air from barrels welded into homemade smokers. If the state of Texas had an official smell, it would be beef being cooked low and slow.

The closer one gets to Kyle Field on Saturday, homemade smokers dwindle and food trucks take their place. Signs acknowledging every family member’s graduation date hang over many of the tents filling Aggie Park east of the stadium. These two rivals first met in 1894. The old and new clash in a buzzy tailgate scene 130 years later.

A QR code hangs on a sign outside the stadium for fans to enroll in a rewards program. A 12th Man sign sponsored by Valero — oil money does make much of what success A&M and Texas enjoy possible — offers an enticing backdrop for Instagram photos. A pop-up store sells Lucchese boots, complete with a singer crooning George Strait’s “Amarillo By Morning” through a small speaker.

Another sells Mizzen+Main merchandise alongside a banner featuring Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman — who was benched last month — as a pitchman. A field is blocked off with “no tailgating” signs. It serves as a fitting playing field for a fitting prologue for Saturday night’s game. There’s no need to pick teams. One side features kids in burnt orange Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers jerseys. The other: Kids wearing maroon 12th Man and No. 2 Johnny Manziel jerseys.

The silence of fans walking up the ramp leading to the northwest corner of the stadium is occasionally interrupted by an A&M fan drumming the familiar rhythm of “Hullabaloo, caneck, caneck!” — the opening words of the “Aggie War Hymn” — on a light post along the sidewalk. Reflexively, any Aggie fan in earshot responds with a “Whoop!”

Oscar Torres Jr. graduated from Texas A&M in 1977. He went there because he liked the engineering program. He convinced his younger brother Jorge to attend A&M, too. Jorge graduated in 1990. Another brother graduated in 1986.

Ten more nephews from the family later graduated from A&M, all convinced by Oscar Jr. On Saturday, he drove five hours to Aggieland from Laredo and sat outside the west side of Kyle Field with a handful of family members drinking Miller Lites and embracing a game they waited more than a decade to see.

Oscar Torres III was 19 the last time the two rivals played and remembered sadly walking out of the stadium as Texas fans celebrated. He’s 32 now and graduated in 2014. “This game just permeates everything,” he says. “My neighborhood has a group chat and nobody ever talks sports. But when this game comes around, it’s all everybody is talking about.”

Mike Speller, a banker, graduated from Texas in 1991 and flew down from Connecticut in part to see family for Thanksgiving, but also to go to the game with his son, a ninth-grader whose dream school is Texas. They paid $3,600 for a pair of tickets. “We waited to see if tickets were going to get any more reasonable,” he says. “They only got more unreasonable.”

Mark Rhodes, a psychologist and 1991 graduate of Texas A&M, brought his wife Trish to the game on Friday from Amarillo. They paid $1,600 for their pair on the secondary market. As soon as Texas’ SEC arrival signaled the rivalry was coming back, they decided they were going to be at the renewal. “We would have paid pretty much anything to come to this game,” Trish Rhodes says. “It didn’t matter.”

They aren’t alone in their desperation. Texas A&M police say they arrested one fan who ran past security at an entrance. Two more came to the game dressed as construction workers with fake credentials, hard hats and reflective vests. They are arrested for criminal trespassing. Another is removed from the stadium after gaining access with a fake ticket.

Outside the east side of Kyle Field around 90 minutes before the game, a group of Stormtroopers fresh off a tour of Tatooine walks by waving an A&M flag. An A&M fan in a maroon shirt looks at them and smiles. His shirt featured scripture: Psalm 75:10. “All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,” it reads.

***

Before the game, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte chats with McConaughey, who paces across the field and pauses to talk briefly with ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, who brought his dog Peter to witness history, too. “When I first took the job, my thought was we have to bring this rivalry back,” says Del Conte, who left TCU to become Texas’ AD in 2017. “Everyone loves the game. It’s part of history.”

“The SEC was natural for lots of reasons but one of those was rekindling this rivalry,” Texas president Jay Hartzell says. “We started this journey back in 2020. The Longhorns wanted to get this rivalry resumed. To see it finally coming to fruition is fantastic.”

Texas dominates the first half 17-0, then holds off the Aggies’ comeback bid in the second. After singing “The Eyes of Texas” with the band after the win, some Texas players sprint to midfield and prepare to celebrate on the A&M midfield logo. Security and coach Steve Sarkisian quickly shoo them away. Another Texas cheerleader, seeking space, runs toward midfield with a giant Texas flag. Security stops him.

“We’re not planting that!” a Texas support staffer yells. “I’m just waving it. I know better than that. I wave it after every game,” the cheerleader says, before doing so. “I just watched Ohio State and Michigan get in a full-fledged brawl in my hotel room today and I just didn’t think it was right,” Sarkisian says. We shouldn’t be on their logo. Shouldn’t be planting any flags on their logo, and I’d like, whenever that day comes, to get the same respect in return.”

The fight songs of both schools take a moment to insult the other. A&M’s ball boys wear white “Saw ’em off” hats on the sidelines. The band’s name tags all read “BTHO t.u.” The prevailing tone, however, radiates far less hate and much more excitement. Aside from a few A&M and Texas staffers needing to be separated in pregame warmups, Saturday’s game lacks the fisticuffs and ugly scenes that color much of Rivalry Week elsewhere in the sport.

Most of the 109,028 fans who arrive as part of the third-largest crowd in Kyle Field history eventually leave disappointed. One of the wildest weekends in A&M history — in a game with stakes as high as almost any ever played on that field — ends in sadness at the hands of its most hated rival. But so much of this rivalry’s existence necessitates this game actually being played. Finally, after 13 long years, it was.

(Sam Khan Jr.) Back in Texas’ shadow: Texas A&M’s 12-year SEC head start can’t prevent an old nightmare

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — After Texas A&M’s final offensive possession went awry and the finality of the Aggies’ fate set in, Texas fans gleefully took the opportunity to rub salt in their fresh wound.

Thousands of burnt orange-clad fans seated near the southeast tunnel at Kyle Field each put an arm up, with index finger and pinky extended, looking to their right at the Texas A&M student section. In rhythm, they rocked the “Hook ’em Horns” sign while unleashing a chant that filled the crisp night air while 100,000-plus Aggies in the building stood in stunned silence. “S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!”

Thirteen years after Texas last broke the Aggies’ hearts in this very stadium and 12 years after Texas A&M initially planted its flag in the SEC, the Longhorns forcefully announced their arrival, doing something in their first year that the Aggies still have yet to do: clinch a berth in the SEC Championship Game.

That’s what will sting the most about Texas 17, Texas A&M 7. Not the Longhorns’ fourth-down stop at the goal line with 4:36 left that killed A&M’s last real chance at narrowing the gap. Not the multiple opportunities that A&M squandered after Texas miscues. Not even the anemic offense A&M fielded in the biggest game of the season. It’s the fact that, 13 seasons into Texas A&M’s SEC membership, the Aggies’ chance to distance themselves from the shadow cast by their biggest rival just disappeared.

Never mind that the Longhorns spent many of those 13 years floundering in college football’s abyss. Forget that the Aggies, too, made a grand arrival in their debut SEC campaign, riding Johnny Manziel, Mike Evans and Kevin Sumlin to a fun, action-packed 11-2 season that yielded a Heisman Trophy and helped fill the university’s coffers to the point that it could spend half-a-billion dollars to make Kyle Field the pristine stage it was on Saturday.

Texas A&M has been good, but not great, since making its “100-year decision” — as then-president R. Bowen Loftin termed it — to leave the Big 12 for the SEC except for two seasons: 2012 and 2020. This year, under new head coach Mike Elko, was the Aggies’ chance to finally play for something real at season’s end, a trip to the SEC championship and an opportunity to remain in the College Football Playoff race. Instead, they’ll finish 8-4, with three consecutive conference losses after sitting atop the SEC standings at midseason. “It sucks,” Elko said. “There’s no sugarcoating it.”

One season into its SEC existence, Texas has passed the Aggies. Truthfully, the Longhorns already had, making the Playoff last year while the Aggies fired Jimbo Fisher — the coach who was supposed to lead them to SEC titles and make them national title contenders — and committed to pay him more than $70 million in buyout money through 2031.

Texas A&M could try to wave that contrast away because Texas had accomplished that breakthrough as a member of the Big 12, not the rugged SEC. It’s different in this league. But since Steve Sarkisian arrived at Texas, the Longhorns have thoughtfully, gradually prepared themselves and built their team for this moment, and it’s paying off.

Meanwhile, the Aggies massively underachieved in their final two seasons under Fisher, and Elko was brought in to fix it. The early returns were promising. Despite a season-opening loss to Notre Dame, A&M rattled off seven consecutive wins to put itself in the SEC’s driver’s seat. But some things can’t be fixed in one season. Texas has better offensive personnel than the Aggies do. If Sarkisian had his pick of the A&M receivers, there’s no guarantee any of them would start for the Longhorns.

At the line of scrimmage — where SEC games are won and lost — Texas is also further ahead. Despite losing All-America left tackle Kelvin Banks to an ankle injury in the first quarter, the Longhorns didn’t miss a beat, subbing in redshirt freshman Trevor Goosby with minimal issues. The front paved the way for a 240-yard rushing performance, 186 of which came from running back Tre Wisner.

“We (had) way too many misfits, way too (much) lack of leverage, way too many just simple execution errors,” Elko said. “They’re good, they’re talented, and hat’s off to them because they physically annihilated us.”

On offense, the Aggies couldn’t get tough yards when they needed them most. On fourth-and-1 at the Texas 10 on the game’s opening drive, the Longhorns stuffed A&M running back Amari Daniels for a turnover on downs. Late in the first half, A&M quarterback Marcel Reed tried to scramble for 3 yards, but the Texas front contained him and stopped him for 1.

And the game-deciding sequence at the Texas 1-yard line was a mano-a-mano beatdown by the Longhorns’ defensive line. By time Daniels received the handoff from Reed at the 5, three Texas defensive linemen were already past the line of scrimmage. One of them was edge rusher Ethan Burke, who screamed around the left edge, untouched, to hammer Daniels for a loss.

Ballgame. “We did terrible, absolutely terrible,” Elko said in assessment of A&M’s performance against Texas’ defensive line. “We got physically beat up. And in order to win games in this league, we can’t do that.”

Throughout this season, Elko has been determined to go for it in fourth-and-short situations. It’s part of the identity he’s trying to build in his first year at Texas A&M. But the shortcomings on Saturday and in other instances this season show the Aggies still have far to go to reach that goal. “If we want to be the team that we need to be, we have to be able to convert fourth-and-1s,” he said. “You have to, and obviously, we didn’t.”

Even beyond those critical situations, moving the ball was a chore for the Aggies. After two plays of 15-plus yards on the opening drive, A&M didn’t have another such play for the remainder of the first half. Finding open receivers downfield was difficult, and the Aggies spent more time going east and west than north and south. Texas finished with five passing plays of more than 20 yards; A&M had one. The Longhorns had eight runs of 10-plus yards; the Aggies had one.

Texas A&M got beat by a Texas team that was simply better. Perhaps the foundation Elko laid in Year 1 will pay long-term dividends. But on Saturday night, none of that mattered. Only the all-too-familiar scene of the Longhorns celebrating on Texas A&M’s turf.

Thirteen years and six days after Justin Tucker split the uprights to say goodbye to A&M, the Longhorns returned to Kyle Field on Saturday to push the rival Aggies aside, extend their series lead to 77-37-5 and dance their way to Atlanta for a rematch with Georgia. The Aggies, meanwhile, are in a place that’s all too familiar.

“There’s a big difference between the SEC Championship Game and the Music City Bowl and the Texas Bowl,” Texas A&M linebacker Taurean York said. “One of those you want to play in and one of those you don’t. We’ll be playing one of those games that people are really not caring about, people are not watching.”

Chris Vannini: It’s personal with Texas A&M, but Texas was all business in dominating rivalry’s return

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The ball came loose, and Matthew McConaughey darted down the sideline. As the Longhorns jumped on Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed’s fumble, securing a 17-7 win, the Hollywood star and Texas’ “Minister of Culture” stopped on a dime, bent his knees and threw his arm out straight toward an end zone, signaling Texas possession with the seriousness and body language of a coach.

Then he turned toward the Texas section behind the bench and threw up the Hook ‘Em hand sign. No hopping up and down. No smiling. All business. Yes, the return of the Lone Star Showdown was a very big deal to fans in this state after 13 years without it. But Texas football has bigger dreams. It always has. Head coach Steve Sarkisian, hired to win it all and win the SEC, has built a fully operational battle station. He’s one win away from winning the SEC in the Longhorns’ first season in the league, while Texas A&M is, once again, rebuilding with a new coach.

The state of these two programs looks a lot like it historically has looked: The Longhorns looking for titles and the Aggies looking for answers.

For more than a decade, Texas and Texas A&M took swipes at each other from afar, their century-old college football rivalry torn apart by conference realignment when A&M left for the SEC in 2012 as Texas threw its weight around in the Big 12. Texas’ move to the SEC meant the rivalry would return to where it ended in 2011, at Kyle Field.

Ticket prices reached the thousands of dollars. Friday’s Yell Practice pep rally turnout was the biggest anyone in town could remember. More than 109,000 people came to the game. The press box swayed. A spot in the SEC championship was on the line.

Then the rivalry was renewed in the same way it ended, with a Texas victory. After all that hype and anticipation from fans, Texas itself mostly treated this like another game and finished it the way they’ve finished so many others this season, by taking an early lead and slowly choking the hope out of an opponent with ferocious defense. All business. And that’s what should worry Texas A&M the most.

The 2011 Texas team that waved goodbye to Texas A&M finished 8-5. The 2024 Texas team that waved hello is a much different program. It left the Big 12 with a conference title and a College Football Playoff appearance last year. It’s now one win away from an SEC title in its debut season, with a CFP spot unofficially locked up.

Texas A&M had a decade’s head start on the Longhorns in the SEC. In one season, Texas has made their position in a new conference look the same as the old one.

“A lot of our guys have been hearing since the day it got announced we were going to the SEC that we were going to struggle in the SEC, that it’d be hard, that we were going to come into this environment tonight and it was going to be the toughest environment in college football and we wouldn’t be ready for it,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “There were a lot of things we’ve been challenged with that have been brewing inside a lot of people in that locker room, coaches and players included. To do it in the fashion we did, that wasn’t a gimmick win.”

Texas ran for 240 yards, nearly surpassing Texas A&M’s total offensive output (244). The same Texas run game that averaged 1.1 yards per carry against Georgia (including sacks) and just 3.4 per carry against Arkansas two weeks ago dominated the Aggies on Saturday night.

A month ago, Sarkisian challenged the offense that it would have to run the ball better. Star left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. left Saturday’s game early with an ankle injury and didn’t return. His future status will be key for national title hopes, but on Saturday, redshirt freshman Trevor Goosby more than held his own against the Aggies star lineman Nic Scourton.

“We knew we had to step up to the plate and run the ball to open defenses,” said running back Tre Wisner, who took 33 carries for 186 yards. “It all comes down to grit and heart.”

The game was only as close as it was because of Longhorn miscues. With a 17-0 lead, a Quinn Ewers pass was tipped and returned 93 yards for a Texas A&M touchdown. On the next drive, Ewers fumbled while sliding in the red zone. Texas also had a punt blocked in the fourth quarter, setting up a short field and a chance for A&M to make it a one-score game. But Texas’ defense made a goal line stand to all but end the game.

Ewers mostly played well, completing 17 of 28 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown. One turnover was his fault. The tipped interception wasn’t. His 26-yard run in the first quarter set up an Arch Manning touchdown run. Sarkisian said Ewers was far from 100 percent with an ankle injury, and the coach needed to see more from his quarterback in Thursday practice to know whether he would play.

When Ewers kneeled the clock out, he held the ball and didn’t let it go. Through handshakes, hugs, selfies with fans and singing “The Eyes of Texas”, he kept the ball tucked tight. He transferred into Texas knowing the SEC move was coming, knowing he’d likely be the quarterback to play when the rivalry came back. He leaves it undefeated, 1-0.

Texas was the better team top-to-bottom because Sarkisian and company built it that way, and it’s not changing anytime soon. Ewers appears on his way out to the NFL — he participated in Senior Day ceremonies last week — but next up is Manning, who looks like he may live up to his own five-star hype. Texas lost two NFL defensive tackles from a year ago and hasn’t missed a beat inside. Wisner is a sophomore. Texas is fourth in 247Sports’ Team Talent rankings.

When Sarkisian took over in 2021, he went to work rebuilding the program from the trenches outward. Of the 11 former five-star recruits on the roster, three are offensive linemen. From the sideline, Texas’ size compares favorably to a top-level SEC team in a way it hadn’t before. The incoming recruiting class currently ranks sixth nationally by 247Sports and has four more five-star players.

Texas A&M’s class is down at No. 19, with one five-star player. Now, in the transfer portal era, it’s easier than ever to turn around a team elsewhere. Maybe coach Mike Elko will find a transfer quarterback he likes better than Reed and Conner Weigman. But Elko has to deal with a reality that previous Texas A&M coaches didn’t. The Aggies’ SEC advantage over Texas in the recruiting pitch is gone, and Texas has a coach maximizing the potential of his own place. It’s a different battle. Losing this game won’t help.

For all the rivalry hype, Saturday’s game featured little to no chippiness between players before or after the game. Athletic director Chris Del Conte was calm and reserved coming off the field. When some Texas players tried to stomp on the midfield Texas A&M logo, Sarkisian quickly brushed them away. There are more important things to worry about, like next week’s SEC championship and the College Football Playoff spot the Longhorns have already sewn up.

Texas and Texas A&M are back together again. That’s good for college football. But for anyone who thought Texas would face a daunting path and a big adjustment in the SEC, Saturday was a harsh wake-up call. Especially for the Aggies.

 

[closetohumping 17547]

Laredo to college station is five hours?

[Codaxx 5943]

3 missed tackles in a game is just ridiculous