COLLEGE STATION — For the first time since their 2024 bowl-game loss, the vibe and energy around Texas A&M football‘s locker room were somber Saturday.
No. 3 Aggies (11-1, 7-1) lost the Lone Star Showdown to No. 16 Texas (9-3, 6-2), with a spot in the SEC championship game at stake for a second straight season. The Longhorns entered halftime down 13-10, but thanks to 24 second-half points, they kept the rivalry trophy and the pride of Texas in Austin for another year.
“Obviously, give them credit. They made it in the second half,” head coach Mike Elko said following the loss. “From our perspective, very disappointed with how we played in the second half, the worst half we have played.”
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The anatomy of Texas A&M’s first loss
A&M was outgained 285 to 160 in the two quarters and lost the turnover battle 2-0. Texas quarterback Arch Manning accounted for 128 of his 179 passing yards during that half. He scored both of his touchdowns, one passing and the other on the ground, as well.
“We are tired of losing to that team for back-to-back years,” linebacker Taurean York said. “We wanted to go to the SEC championship.”
Defensively, A&M struggled to contain the Texas running game. The Longhorns finished the night with 218 yards, 155 of them coming from Quintrevion Wisner.
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Manning added 53 yards along, the bulk coming on a 35-yard touchdown run with about 7 minutes remaining. The second-half Texas scores came quickly. One was a six-play, 83-yard drive highlighted by a 54-yard completion to tight end Jack Endries. That put the home team up 20-10. After A&M scored to pull within three, the Longhorns wasted little time with a four-play possession that included a 21-yard pass to Endries and Manning’s back-breaking scamper to give the game its final score.
Despite the loss, the Aggies have important games coming up as they prepare for the College Football Playoff.
Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) is tackled during the Lone Star Showdown against Texas at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
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A&M quickly mourns loss, turns page to CFP
While the shot at A&M’s first SEC title is gone, along with the chance for a first-round playoff bye, the Aggies are still geared up for significant football. A&M is likely to fall in the rankings, but it has the résumé to hold a top-eight spot still, earning it a first-round home game.
Unlike last season, when the Aggies’ loss led them to the Las Vegas Bowl against USC with little significance, A&M knows it still has much to play for, with the main goal of a championship still ahead.
“This is a feeling we don’t want to feel anymore,” quarterback Marcel Reed said. “We haven’t felt it in a long time.”
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Reed rolled his ankle in the second quarter, missing one play before re-entering the game. The Aggies quarterback finished with 180 passing yards, matching his lowest total of the season, which previously occurred in a 31-9 victory over Mississippi State.
Reed credits the Longhorns for dropping seven, even eight players into coverage in the second half, which limited him to 86 passing yards. With postseason football coming, Reed acknowledges that there isn’t time to dwell as a leader.
“Obviously, this one is going to hurt, but no more than 24 hours,” Reed said. “Eliminate this one tomorrow, and we will go straight to work.”
York, who had 11 tackles, drew a comparison to last season’s game. A&M gave up over 200 rushing yards in that matchup, including 186 to Wisner.
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“We had too many busts,” York said. “We didn’t do our job. Same thing I told you last year.”
Growing up in Temple, about an hour’s drive from Austin, York likely would have liked some revenge on a school that neglected to offer him a scholarship.
Even with disappointment in his voice after losing again to the in-state rival, York knows his team has a chance at something the Longhorns might not have.
One loss doesn’t define a season, but what A&M does from here on certainly will.
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“Stick with us. Now, it ain’t time to fold,” York said to the fans listening. “We got you. Don’t worry.”
Reach Texas A&M beat reporter Tony Catalina via email at Anthony.Catalina@statesman.com.