Texas and Texas A&M began their rivalry in 1903 and have faced off 109 times before pausing their unfriendly annual games in 2011.
Conference compatriots once more, the No. 3 Longhorns (10-1, 6-1 SEC) and the host No. 20 Aggies (8-3, 5-2) meet again Saturday night in College Station, with the winner advancing to play No. 7 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game next week in Atlanta.
The series went on hiatus when Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC ahead of the 2012 season. Now it’s back on in Texas’ first season since duplicating that exodus.
“When they made the decision to join the league,” Aggies coach Mike Elko said of the Longhorns, “you kind of always knew this day was coming.”
Texas defeated visiting Kentucky 31-14 last Saturday and Texas A&M lost at Auburn, 43-41, in four overtimes.
The Longhorns have won four straight since a 30-15 home loss to Georgia on Oct. 19. The Aggies have lost their last two SEC games, both on the road, starting with a 44-20 defeat against South Carolina on Nov. 2.
“We have that opportunity to kind of right the last two wrongs in SEC play and go out with a bang and put ourselves in the SEC championship Game,” Elko said.
A loss would certainly end Texas A&M’s CFP chances, but Texas might be able to lose and still make the CFP for a second consecutive season, depending on what happens in other games.
“Rivalries are great because of the buildup and excitement and all that, but at the end of the day, winning football games comes down to execution,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “This game comes down to playing with the right physicality, playing well in the critical moments, the special situations — as they present themselves — and you perform well in those situations through really good preparation.”
Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers was hobbled by an ankle injury suffered during the third quarter against Kentucky but is expected to start against the Aggies.
With Ewers limited, Texas leaned on the rushing attack and finished with a season-high 250 rushing yards. Quintrevion Wisner rushed for a career-high 158 yards and Jaydon Blue had 96.
Texas A&M has given up its two highest point totals of the season in its two SEC losses, which would have been true even without the overtimes last week. The score was tied at 31 at the end of regulation.
Elko said the Longhorns “without question” have the best offense the Aggies will have faced this season.
Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed, who has rushed for 441 yards and six touchdowns, has brought a dual threat to his team’s offense since coming off the bench to lead a 31-6 second-half effort in a 38-23 win against LSU on Oct. 26.
Texas linebacker David Gbenda said the Longhorns “embrace the environment” when playing in hostile venues such as the one they’ll face Saturday.
“It’s just so much more fun on the road because you walk into the stadium and there’s a bunch of people heckling us, talking down on us,” Gbenda said, “and it lights a fire under us, to just prove everybody wrong.”
