COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — The 20th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies have a shot to reach the Southeastern Conference championship game for the first time since joining the league in 2012.
The only thing standing in their way: archrival No. 3 Texas.
Texas A&M and Texas will meet for the first time since 2011 on Saturday night at Kyle Field where a frenzied crowd expected to exceed 110,000 will welcome back a storied rivalry that dates to 1894.
“We know that this is going to be history if we make it,” Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed said. “And… a lot of people don’t have faith and didn’t have faith just because it’s the first year with the new coach, new OC, new DC, all the things and kind of a rebuild season (but) we’re here now and we’ve got a chance to go make this opportunity what we want it to be.”
The winner advances to face No. 6 Georgia on Dec. 7 in Atlanta.
“I think it’s great for college football that this game with us and them is going to matter on a grander scale than what’s just happening in the state of Texas,” Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said. “But I also know how much it means to every household in the state of Texas.”
Texas A&M is looking to bounce back after dropping a four-overtime thriller at Auburn last week. Texas has won four straight after its only loss of the season against the Bulldogs on Oct. 19.
“You hope to get to the last game of the year playing for everything,” said Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, who was hired after Jimbo Fisher’s firing last year. “And we’re in the last game of the year and playing for everything.”
The Longhorns will face a hostile crowd that has waited more than a decade for payback after Texas came to Kyle Field for the last meeting in 2011 and left with a 27-25 victory.
“It’s probably going to be like the Alabama game, the Notre Dame and the LSU game on steroids,” Texas A&M linebacker Taurean York said.
Texas has plenty of recent experience in dealing with tough road crowds. The Longhorns beat Alabama at home in 2023 and won at Michigan and Arkansas this season. In all, Texas has won 10 straight on an opponent’s home field.
“I mean, it’s going to be amazing,” Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron said. “You know, these are the type of moments you live for.”
Though these Longhorns and Aggies were all in grade school the last time these teams locked horns, the players all seem to get the gravity of this rivalry.
“At first some of the guys weren’t fully grasping what this game means and how important it is,” Texas A&M offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III said. “But now that we’ve gotten close and now it’s game week, I think everyone understands how big this game is and how much they need to lock in and focus for this game.”
Texas put the game away against Kentucky with a 15-play drive in the fourth quarter that included 12 runs and chewed up more than 8 minutes off the clock. Quintrevion Wisner had a career-high 158 yards, which was just the fourth time this season and Texas back has hit the 100-yard mark.
Elko is focused on eliminating explosive plays after his defense allowed pass plays of 31, 44 and a 63-yard touchdown in the loss to Auburn. “Just can’t let them happen,” he said. “You can’t let the ball go over your head.”
The Aggies have been strong against the run this season but have struggled at times against the pass and rank 81st in the nation by allowing 227.7 yards passing a game.
The Texas secondary has allowed just four passing touchdowns this season but taken away 17 interceptions. But the Longhorns are having their own issues. Texas has fumbled the ball seven times in the last two games, six against Kentucky, which returned one 25 yards for a touchdown.
“We just couldn’t hold onto the dang ball,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to get that fixed.”
Texas A&M’s defensive front is a strength of the team and the Aggies are 17th in the country with 78 tackles for loss. Defensive end Nic Scourton leads the group with 14 and linebacker Scooby Williams has seven.
Texas won the 2011 matchup on Justin Tucker’s final play field goal from 40 yards that split the upright with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel. Texas kicker Bert Auburn has struggled on long field goals this season. He is 9 of 13 overall, but just 4 of 8 from 40 yards or longer. Against Kentucky last week, he made one from 49 yards but also missed one from 47.
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AP Sports Writer Jim Vertuno contributed to this report.
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