Horns control Aggies, to vie for SEC title in Year 1

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — In its first season as a member of the SEC, Texas didn’t just show it belongs, it proved it deserves to contend for championships.

The No. 3 Longhorns secured a spot in the SEC title game on Saturday with a 17-7 victory over No. 20 Texas A&M, closing out an 11-1 regular season with another signature road victory that helps guarantee the program will earn a spot in the College Football Playoff field.

In their first game back in College Station since a dramatic walk-off win in 2011, the Longhorns left no doubt by overpowering their in-state rival on both sides of the ball. Texas got a career-high 186 rushing yards on 33 carries from running back Quintrevion Wisner and a shutout performance from its defense that featured three critical fourth-down stops.

“I really thought we controlled the game and, quite frankly, dominated the game,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.

The Longhorns will get a chance for revenge when they meet No. 7 Georgia in Atlanta next Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated Sarkisian’s then-No. 1 ranked squad 30-15 in Austin on Oct. 19. Since then, Texas has stayed on course with a five-game winning streak that included three SEC road victories.

On Saturday night, Texas’ defense set the tone yet again by holding Texas A&M to 146 passing yards and 98 rushing yards. They halted the Aggies’ opening drive by stopping a fourth-and-1 rush for no gain from their own 10-yard line, then got an interception from Michael Taaffe at their 7-yard line on the Aggies’ next drive.

Their biggest stop of the night came in the fourth quarter, after Texas A&M blocked a punt and recovered it in the red zone with 7:48 remaining. Texas’ defense stuffed running back Amari Daniels on third-and-goal at the 1. A field goal would have cut the deficit to 17-10, but the Aggies went for it on fourth down and ran Daniels again, but Ethan Burke met him for a 3-yard loss.

“They’re good, they’re talented, and hat’s off to them because they physically annihilated us,” head coach Mike Elko said.

After the Longhorns held their opponent to 17 points or less for the 10th time this season, defensive lineman Alfred Collins was asked what statement the defense made. He replied simply, “Best in the nation.”

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 218 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 29 yards despite playing through a high-ankle sprain. The Aggies scored their lone touchdown on a 93-yard pick-six by cornerback Will Lee III off a deflected pass in the third quarter, but Sarkisian said he was proud of how his QB played through pain.

Texas also lost left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., a projected first-round draft pick, to an ankle injury in the first half but still had little trouble handling Texas A&M’s talented front with Wisner powering an offense that picked up 26 first downs. Texas also added an offensive wrinkle in the red zone with backup quarterback Arch Manning running the ball three times and breaking away for a 15-yard score in the first quarter.

After singing “The Eyes of Texas,” a group of Texas players ran to midfield to continue celebrating. Sarkisian ran out to them and urged them to clear the field and head to the locker room. Texas did not attempt to plant its white Longhorn flag on the midfield logo. Sarkisian said it was important to him to show respect for their opponent.

“I just watched Ohio State-Michigan get in a full-fledged brawl in my hotel room today, and I just didn’t think it was right,” Sarkisian said. “Rivalries are great, but there’s a way to win it with class. I just didn’t think that’s the right thing to do. We shouldn’t be on their logo, we shouldn’t be planting any flags on their logo, and I’d like to — whenever that day comes — get the same respect in return.”

Texas fans still did not hold back, chanting “SEC” from the stands in the final minute after the Longhorns recovered a fumble by Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed to secure the win. The much-anticipated rivalry game was played in front of 109,028, the third-largest crowd in Texas A&M history, but the moment wasn’t too big for a Texas team that has won an FBS-best 11 consecutive road games.

Sarkisian said the night meant so much more for his players and coaches after months of hearing their program would struggle with the transition from the Big 12 to SEC ball. Now they’ve earned an opportunity to avenge their first and only SEC loss.

“We knew when we had the slip-up earlier in the season that we’d have to win out to get back to a championship game,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve earned that right and we’re playing a heck of an opponent, as we all know. Georgia is a great team, and we’re going to have to prepare really well to try to come out on top.”