Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed Unfazed by Loss to Texas

The Texas A&M Aggies dropped a game that certainly hurts more than anyone could have expected at the beginning of the season.

With a chance at going 12-0 for the first time since 1992, the Aggies had one team left on their schedule: the Texas Longhorns. With three losses on the season, Texas knew a win against the Fightin’ Farmers was the only way it could keep its season alive and it certainly played like it.

With the loss officially in the rear-view mirror, Texas A&M and quarterback Marcel Reed are ready to look to the College Football Playoff.

Marcel Reed is Ready to Move Forward

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) reacts after a play during the second quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Kyle Field. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

“This one’s going to be long gone in my head by tomorrow,” Reed said after the game.

No matter how much Texas wants to hoot and holler about the outcome of the game, Texas A&M will still have a College Football Playoff game to prepare for in the coming weeks. A loss to Texas could be a blessing in disguise for the Aggies. Last year, all four of the teams that earned a bye week to start the College Football Playoff dropped their first game. Playing the first round will allow A&M to get back into the swing of playing playoff-caliber football, giving the Aggies an advantage against a team with a bye, should they win.

In the third quarter, Texas started to take over and turned the tide of the game, marking Reed and the Aggies’ downfall.

“We weren't able to really get things going,” Reed said after the game. “We just weren't able to get first downs when we needed to. They had a better game plan in the second half than us, and we couldn't get stuff going. When we needed to try to have a momentum shift, we couldn't find it.”

Reed finished the game with 180 yards and two interceptions with a 63 percent completion rate. Texas quarterback Arch Manning, who was considered to be a preseason Heisman Trophy Candidate and was ruled one of college football’s first busts, was right there with Reed, recording 179 yards and a touchdown with a 48 percent completion rate.

"I don't know, and I don't care,” Reed said when asked about his Heisman Trophy chances after the game. ”Whatever they want to say about it, they can say. I'm trying to play for a National Championship right now."

As of Saturday, the Allstate Playoff Predictor has Texas A&M hosting SMU in the first round of the playoff.