Texas A&M's SEC Championship Dreams Dashed Once Again by Texas Longhorns

The Texas A&M Aggies knew what the task was heading into rivalry week against the Texas Longhorns, but weren’t able to score enough points to make it to Atlanta.

Nov 28, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko calls a play during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Hate week. Bad week. 

Texas A&M had one opportunity to close out a perfect regular season and failed to execute. No excuses. Texas did enough on defense to keep A&M in an unimaginable position where, instead of hitting the road next week, they'll watch the title game from home . 

With the loss, A&M would have had a date with Alabama, Georgia, or Ole Miss, but instead has to settle for the consolation prize: likely playing a home playoff game in College Station, Texas. 

“We've got to get ready for the playoffs,” coach Mike Elko said. “We didn't play Texas A&M football at all.” 

Roller Coaster First Half

Nov 28, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) keeps the ball for yards during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Quarterback Marcel Reed had an uncharacteristic performance, exiting and returning after missing the end of the third drive. 

“I just kind of got spooked,” Reed said. “I'm good. You’re going to get hit and banged up a little bit, but you got to keep going. That’s been my mindset ever since I was a kid. So it didn't bother me at all.”

It is very unusual to see the Aggies only record one first down in the first two drives. That third drive, the chains were moving, where Reed got his wide receivers, KC Concepcion and Mario Craver, going before leaving the game. 

That third drive went 10 plays for 69 yards and looked super pleasing after the Longhorns took the first lead on a field goal. Finishing on that drive didn't go as the unit planned when they weren't able to convert on kicker Jared Zirkel’s 35-yard blocked field goal attempt. Luckily, Zirkel redeemed himself on the following drive, where Reed returned. 

Running back Rueben Owens started off the drive with a couple of small runs. Good pass protection from the Aggies’ offensive line gave Reed time to launch a ball downfield to draw a massive pass interference call. 

In the first half, the Longhorns had issues with referees throwing flags in favor of the Aggies, but one false start call moved the ball back to 3rd-and-12. A 6-yard catch reeled in by Ashton Bethel-Roman resulted in Zirkel drilling a field goal 31 yards out. 

Before going to the locker room, Reed led a 42-yard drive off nine plays that put the Maroon and White up 10-3. In Elko’s two seasons, going to halftime, he was 15-0 with leads, so the statistic seemed to suggest the entire team would extend that record, but both sides of the ball struggled to play like they had all season, when Elko was one of the top teams in the country. 

Total Collapse

Nov 28, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Kobe Black (6) makes an interception on a pass intended for Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Mario Craver (1) during the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

There have been only a few games this season when the Aggies have trailed by as much as they did in Austin, Texas, and the defense wasn’t able to limit the Longhorns' three drives to start the third quarter, which set the tone for the rest of the evening. 

"We just did a really, really poor job of executing anything in the second half,” Elko said. “We were bad, so it's on me. It's my fault.”

Every one of those three drives saw QB Arch Manning generate the offense registering at least 50 yards, going through his progressions and not tossing for as many yards as he usually does, which is typically how Texas wins games. 

“We couldn't get our feet set,” Elko said. “They were getting edges on us. That was the explosive plays they were hitting in the run game. We busted two coverages that led to 14 points. We misfit a run on the quarterback, which led to an easy touchdown.” 

Ten points in the third quarter were enough to get Texas to the finish line, as the ground game destroyed A&M’s defense. Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner, who had a career-high 186 yards one year ago at Kyle Field, remembered how destructive he could be and got back to his usual self, finishing with 155 yards on 19 attempts. 

That running back group accumulated 218 of the 397 total yards of offense and kept their arch nemesis from scheduling a business trip for next weekend at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after two late interceptions. 

“We've got to go play four games in a row to go win the championship,” Texas A&M linebacker Taurean York said. “Obviously, this one hurts. You want to win that one. You want to win that trophy. You want to have the in-state rivalry bragging rights, but it wasn't our time.” 

A&M now waits until next Sunday, Dec. 7, to see who, where, and when it plays, as the College Football Playoff committee releases its 12-team bracket.