AUSTIN — On a night when CFP No. 3 Texas A&M perched on the cusp of history, Texas didn’t exactly pull the chair out from under its season, but the joke was on the Aggies, nonetheless.
Consider the way the Longhorns trolled Mike Elko in the closing seconds of their 27-17 upset Friday at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
On the screen at the south end of the stadium, Elko’s big mug suddenly loomed from some forgotten presser where he pronounced A&M “the state’s flagship program.”
Cue an ear-shattering “Psych,” then pandemonium.
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Now, in the big scheme of things, finishing 11-1 and missing out on their first undefeated regular season since 1992, not to mention the Southeastern Conference title game next week, isn’t the worst that could happen to the Aggies. The committee won’t forget them in its final reckoning. A&M might not even fall so far that it will miss hosting a first-round College Football Playoff game.
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Meanwhile, the Longhorns, at 9-3, would need a calculus of events to avoid becoming fodder for the Citrus Bowl, but tell that to Steve Sarkisian.
“I think we’re absolutely a playoff team,” the Texas coach said. “There’s a couple of things in there that are really telling stats. We’re the first team since the 2019 LSU champs to beat three top-10 ranked teams in the same regular season. Chew on that. I think we have the No. 5-ranked schedule. Lost to the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 teams.
“I get it, we didn’t beat Ohio State and we didn’t beat Georgia. But when you look at the schedules of some of the teams in front of us, quite frankly, it’s comical.”
Quite frankly, Sark looks right at home in Austin politics. Not sure it’ll make any difference with the committee, but there’s no use in not trying.
Texas hasn’t often found itself in a position like the predicament it faced Friday in the wrap-up of what could politely be called a disappointing regular season. From preseason No. 1 to an underdog in its final regular-season game, the Longhorns had been passed by A&M in the standings and stature.
The last time the Longhorns went into this ancient rivalry ranked beneath the Aggies?
Hint: Ricky Williams posted 44 carries, back when such a workload didn’t violate Child Protective Services.
Quintrevion Wisner didn’t approach Williams’ massive 259-yard output in the Longhorns’ 1998 upset of the Aggies, but he finished with 155 yards on 19 carries, most of it in the second half, when we got an idea of what Arch Manning might be capable of when he has a running game.
At one point in the second quarter, Texas had nearly as many yards in penalties (23) as it did passing (28). Manning had just 61 yards passing at the half on 8 of 23 attempts. He finished 14 of 29 for 179 yards and a touchdown and ran for another 53 and a TD, including a 35-yarder that finally broke the game open for Texas.
The Aggies had no answer for Texas in the second half. Marcel Reed was 20 of 32 for 180 yards but threw two picks. He also led the Aggies in rushing with 71 yards, which was part of the problem.
A&M went into the game statistically better than Texas on both offense and defense. The Aggies had the more explosive offensive players, particularly in KC Concepcion, a budding All-American. But, despite a 30-yard punt return that set up his 8-yard touchdown run in the second half, Texas limited him to 57 yards worth of catches.
On the plus side for the Aggies, they’re still viable CFP contenders. Unlike Sark, Elko doesn’t need to do any politicking. The loss of state bragging rights for the third time in a row and missing out on the SEC title game again won’t go over well with the faithful, but the Aggies have built a nice résumé. Winning on the road against Notre Dame and LSU looks good, at least on paper.
Sarkisian didn’t call out the Aggies by name, but he noted that some of the teams in front of the 16th-ranked Longhorns didn’t play a schedule as tough as Texas’, “and they’ve got a nice pretty record to show for it.”
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“The team that played for a national championship last year lost to Northern Illinois at home,” he added.
“I have no doubt in my mind that we’re ready to play for a national championship.”
If it doesn’t go over with the committee, he has at least persuaded his players.
“I think we’re gonna make the playoffs,” Manning said. “I don’t know why we wouldn’t.”
Michael Taaffe, who came up with a game-clinching interception in his final game at Royal-Memorial, called the win over the Aggies “the best win in all of college football.”
“I don’t think the committee should punish us,” he said, “for giving college football what it wants to see.”
Not all of college football, of course. I can think of a fan base that’s seen quite enough of this.
Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN
How Arch Manning shook off early struggles, led Longhorns’ second-half rally vs. A&MLosing to Texas hurts, but the result didn’t wreck Texas A&M’s historic season