The Longhorns (9-3, 6-2 SEC) spoiled A&M\u2019s bid at their first undefeated regular season since the 1994 campaign<\/a>. The Aggies (11-1, 7-1) will instead settle for their first trip to the expanded College Football Playoffs. Their in-state rivals may now join them.<\/p>\n Here are five thoughts from the game: <\/p>\n Sports Roundup<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n The stakes<\/p>\n The Longhorns might\u2019ve kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive with Friday\u2019s win<\/a>. They would\u2019ve surely been eliminated with a loss. What\u2019s left to be determined is if a win vs. previously undefeated A&M (and ranked wins vs. Oklahoma and Vanderbilt) are enough to convince the playoff committee to grant a three-loss team entry into the 12-team bracket. Zero three-loss teams received an at-large bid last year; Clemson, the only three-loss team in the field, had to win the ACC championship game to qualify. <\/p>\n The Aggies needed to win \u2014 or both No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 10 Alabama needed to lose \u2014 to clinch their first-ever trip to the SEC championship game. The Rebels beat Mississippi State 38-19 earlier in the day to eliminate the second option. <\/p>\n Their playoff hopes remain intact with just one loss. Friday\u2019s loss certainly cost them a first-round bye, though, but home field advantage in the first round remains a possibility. <\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n The Longhorns tried to move the ball through the air in the first half (nearly two third of their offensive plays were passes) but flipped their philosophy early in the third quarter and were rewarded. <\/p>\n Running back Quintrevion Wisner broke a 48-yard run to start the first Texas drive of the third quarter and to move the Longhorns into field goal range. He rushed for 37 yards on four carries in the next drive and helped set up quarterback Arch Manning\u2019s 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ryan Wingo in the endzone that gave Texas a 13-10 lead. The Aggies \u2014 then keyed in on Wisner and Manning\u2019s legs \u2014 left Wingo wide open. <\/p>\n Wisner, a DeSoto native, finished with 155 rushing yards. It was the first time this season that a Texas player eclipsed the century mark and it helped spur a third quarter in which the Longhorns totaled 189 yards of offense and outscored the Aggies 10-0 to take the lead. <\/p>\n Manning\u2019s big second half<\/p>\n The battle of a present-day Heisman Trophy contender (Reed) and a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite (Manning) was ultimately won by the latter. <\/p>\n It just took a few quarters. <\/p>\n Texas quarterback Arch Manning<\/a> completed just eight of his 23 first-half pass attempts for 51 yards in large part because his wide receivers failed to gain much separation from A&M defenders. <\/p>\n He might\u2019ve cost the Longhorns a chance to tie the game on their first third-quarter drive. At A&M\u2019s 19-yard line, on 2nd and 11, Manning skipped a pass into the endzone in a situation where he had open field to potentially pick up a first down on the ground. He didn\u2019t pick up an A&M blitz on the next play and was flagged for intentional grounding when he tried to avoid a sack from safety Dalton Brooks on third and long. The Longhorns settled for a 46-yard field goal from kicker Mason Shipley and a 10-6 deficit. <\/p>\n Manning nearly overthrew Wingo on the Longhorns\u2019 first touchdown, too, but he benefited from open options to set up their second. He passed for 73 yards on the final drive of the third quarter and found wide receiver Parker Livingstone (for 19 yards) and tight end Jack Endries (for 54 yards) uncovered for big gains. The long catch-and-run from Endries set up a 2-yard Nick Townsend touchdown run that gave the Longhorns a 20-10 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. <\/p>\n To give the Longhorns a two-score lead, with 7:04 left in the fourth quarter after the Aggies cut the lead to three points, Manning did it on the ground. He broke free on a quarterback sneak and outraced A&M defenders for a 35-yard touchdown that gave the Longhorns a 27-17 lead. <\/p>\n He completed 14 of his 29 pass attempts for 179 yards. <\/p>\n The A&M offense stalled<\/p>\n The Aggies were the more proficient offense in the first half and took a 10-3 lead into halftime thanks to quarterback Marcel Reed<\/a>\u2019s dual threat abilities and his explosive wide receivers. They scored the first half\u2019s lone touchdown on an 8-yard rush from wide receiver KC Concepcion with 56 seconds left in the second quarter and outgained the Longhorns 177-112 in the first half. <\/p>\n Things stalled in the third quarter. The Longhorns took the lead because of it.<\/p>\n The Aggies ended each of their three third-quarter drives with a punt and totaled just 35 yards of offense in the period. Reed, who finished with 251 total yards of offense, completed just two passes for five yards in the third quarter. <\/p>\n The Longhorns, ahead 20-10, had an opportunity to ice the game in the fourth quarter when Reed\u2019s 3rd and 21 scramble fell short of the chains with 9:42 left in the period. Texas safety Jelani McDonald was called for a facemask penalty, though, and the Aggies were gifted a fresh set of downs past midfield. Reed found tight end Theo Melin \u00d6hrstr\u00f6m for a 28-yard gain two plays after the penalty and running back E.J. Smith scored on a 13-yard run one play after that to make it a 20-17 lead. <\/p>\n He threw the game\u2019s first turnover on their next possession. Reed, with his team down 27-17, threw an errant pass in the redzone that Texas safety Michael Taaffe caught with his chest to squash A&M\u2019s last-best chance to pull itself back into the game. He threw another one drive later when, one play after a Texas punt, cornerback Kobe Black stepped in front of a throw to the left sideline for an interception that iced the game. <\/p>\n A quiet first half<\/p>\n The two teams combined for five punts, one blocked field goal and 125 total yards of offense in a scoreless first quarter. The Longhorns ended each of their first three drives with a punt, averaged just 2.3 yards per play and faced a third down of eight yards or longer five times. They converted just one. <\/p>\n The Aggies started drives at their 15, 13 and 8-yard line and crossed midfield just once. That drive lasted 11 plays, briefly knocked Reed from the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury and ended when defensive end Ethan Burke blocked kicker Jared Zirkel\u2019s 35-yard field goal attempt with 1:46 left in the quarter. <\/p>\n The second quarter was only marginally more explosive. The two teams traded field goals before the Aggies scored the game\u2019s fist touchdown on Concepcion\u2019s scamper. <\/p>\n They didn\u2019t score again until Smith\u2019s fourth-quarter touchdown.<\/p>\n Find more Texas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764410774_830_DWEF75CDCZB6PMGXSUDI5AYJ34.jpg\")
The turning point<\/p>\n