AUSTIN, Texas — The Aggies entered DKR Stadium Friday night with everything on the line. A victory would have secured their first SEC championship berth in program history, improved them to 12-0 for the first time since 1992, and locked up a College Football Playoff first-round bye.
Instead, penalties, interceptions and momentum swings in the second half led to a 27-17 Longhorns victory, handing Texas A&M their first loss of the season and ending their hopes of reaching Atlanta.
"Just very disappointed in how we played in the second half. We didn't play Texas A&M football at all," head coach Mike Elko said. "It was by far the worst half we've played of the year and you're not going to win in those types of situations. And so we didn't. It hurts, it should. This game means a lot and we got to regroup though and we got to get ready for the playoffs."
The Aggies took a 10-3 lead into halftime and had shown all season their ability to come out even stronger in the second half. Friday night felt different, however, and when momentum swung the Longhorns' way halfway through the third quarter, Texas A&M couldn't get it back.
"I feel like they took it over and we just couldn't get it back," quarterback Marcel Reed said. "We got to find ways because, you know, this is a good team, regardless of what their record has been and you know, we knew it was going to be a tough game because it's a rivalry game and games like this with stakes really high are going to be really good."
Junior linebacker Taurean York pointed to self-inflicted wounds as the difference maker.
"You can't keep shooting yourself in the foot against a team like this, you know, those guys, we recruit the same guys in the same state, so they're equal talent as us," York said. "So in a game like this, on the road, you can't get these penalties in crucial moments, especially on the road in a crowd like this. They were turned up tonight and I mean, reverting back to our old ways, not necessarily, we just lack of focus, honestly."
Texas A&M committed 8 penalties on the day, with the hostile atmosphere at DKR Stadium playing a significant role.
"We didn't handle the atmosphere well enough," Elko said. "Obviously, that's what makes this league challenging is when you play night games in this atmosphere, it puts a lot of stress on you. We have to handle it better. You can't be successful with the penalties that we had, but, you know, I think that's where a lot of that came from."
While Texas quarterback Arch Manning didn't get much going in the air, he rushed for 70 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that helped seal the victory.
"Arch is a great player. He obviously is a versatile threat with his legs and, you know, we let him get too many yards on the ground tonight," York said.
Despite ending the regular season with a loss like last year, the Aggies find themselves in a much different position with meaningful football still ahead.
"You know, there's still a lot to work for," Reed said. "We have an opportunity to have a playoff game potentially at home in front of our fans and you know, we're going to have to win out now. So, I think this team's really capable of it and I think we believe that we can make it to the national championship and so we're just gonna have to put our heads down and grind."
"You're gonna hold on to it for a long time, probably for as long as our playoff run is going on," York said. "Obviously, you're not going to harp on this loss, but you got to use it in motivation you know, remember how it felt to lose because it's been a long time since we've lost a game, since the Vegas Bowl, so it's not a good feeling. Nobody in that locker room is happy right now, but we're good though. We got a playoff run to go attack, so that's what we're gonna go do."
While the Aggies will not head to Atlanta for the SEC championship game next Saturday, they remain a lock for the College Football Playoff. Questions now center around their seeding, whether they'll host a home game at Kyle Field, who they might face, and whether the playoff committee could send the Texas Longhorns to College Station.
Those answers will come next Sunday after conference championship week concludes.
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