And now the Longhorns must wait.
The Texas football team rallied from a halftime deficit on Friday in a 27-17 win over Texas A&M at Royal-Memorial Stadium. Texas quarterback Arch Manning accounted for two touchdowns in the victory, which spoiled Texas A&M’s bid for a perfect regular season.
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Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (5) looks for room to run against Texas A&M Aggies defense during the first half of an NCAA college football game in the Lone Star Showdown in Austin, Texas, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.
Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman
Texas closes out the regular season with a 9-3 record and a 6-2 mark in SEC play.
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Friday’s win was UT’s third over an opponent ranked among the top-10 teams in the Associated Press poll. Texas bested then-No. 6 Oklahoma last month and beat then-No. 10 Oklahoma on Nov. 1. Texas A&M (11-1, 7-1) was ranked third by the College Football Playoff committee, AP and coaches this week.
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Will this resume be enough for Texas to impress a committee that will make up the College Football Playoff field? Or are the Longhorns’ three losses too much for the committee to overlook? Texas will find out on Dec. 7.
Texas Longhorns linebacker Ethan Burke (91) grabs the shirt of Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver KC Concepcion (7) during the second quarter of the Lone Star Showdown, the rivalry match-up between the Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Nov. 28, 2025.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Texas and Texas A&M start off slow as Aggies build a halftime lead
Eleven minutes into Texas A&M’s first trip to Austin since 2010, Texas safety Jelani McDonald was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he picked up Mario Carver and slammed the Texas A&M receiver into the ground. So there were some early fireworks at Royal-Memorial Stadium. Those fireworks, however, didn’t come on offense.
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More: See the best photos from the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry matchup
In the opening quarter, Texas punted three times while gaining 41 yards over 18 plays. Texas A&M sent punter Tyler White onto the field twice, and its only promising drive into Texas territory was upended by an injury to quarterback Marcel Reed and a field goal attempt that was blocked by Texas senior Ethan Burke.
Texas and Texas A&M last battled through a scoreless first quarter in 1997, but the first first half in the Lone Star Showdown without points since 1939 was not to be had. Texas and Texas A&M traded field goals over the first nine minutes of the second quarter, and the Aggies then scored a touchdown when KC Concepcion shed an attempted tackle by Michael Taaffe on an 8-yard run with 56 seconds left.
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo (1) celebrates scoring a touchdown in the third quarter of the Lone Star Showdown, the rivalry match-up between the Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Nov. 28, 2025.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Texas offense finds its spark as Manning, Wisner deliver big plays
After halftime, Texas turned to running back Quintrevion Wisner in its search for a spark on offense. One year after he rushed for 186 yards in College Station, Wisner turned his first six carries of the second half into 84 yards. Those 84 yards – spread out over two possessions – set up a 46-yard field goal and put Manning in a position to toss a 29-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo.
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More: Texas QB Arch Manning shows ‘resolve and resiliency’ ahead of Aggies’ visit
Wingo’s touchdown, in which the wide-open receiver leapt and made an acrobatic catch of an overthrown ball by Manning, gave Texas a 13-10 lead.
Wisner rushed for 48 yards on the Longhorns’ first offensive snap of the second half. That stood as the team’s longest gain until tight end Jack Endries ended the third quarter with a 54-yard catch-and-run play to the Texas A&M 2. And what one tight end started, another finished as freshman Nick Townsend scored on a two-yard run to open the fourth quarter.
With 9:15 left, Texas A&M made it a 20-17 game on EJ Smith’s 13-yard touchdown run. Texas, however, quickly countered and Manning extended the Longhorn lead back to 10 points with a 35-yard run that capped a four-play, 63-yard drive.
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Texas A&M was unable to get closer than 10 points for the final seven minutes.
Wisner led the Texas offense with his 155 rushing yards, 30 of which game on a drive that gave the Longhorns the final first down they needed at the end of the game. Endries had 93 receiving yards on four catches.
Texas Longhorns tries to black the extra point against Texas A&M Aggies kicker Jared Zirkel (99) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in the Lone Star Showdown in Austin, Texas, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.
Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman
What’s next for Texas after a 9-3 regular season?
What’s next for Texas? The Longhorns will have to wait until Dec. 7 to see if they’ve done enough to convince the CFP committee to include them in the 12-team field. Texas will probably need a top-10 ranking in order to secure an at-large bid since five conference champions automatically qualify for the postseason.
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The CFP committee will release a batch of rankings this upcoming Tuesday ahead of the conference championship games.
If Texas doesn’t make the playoff, the SEC has contractual ties to the Texas Bowl (Houston, Dec. 27); Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Fla., Dec. 27); Music City Bowl (Nashville, Dec. 30), ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, Fla., Dec. 31); Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Jan. 2); and Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, N.C., Jan. 2). Texas has only appeared before in the Gator Bowl and Texas Bowl.