Texas Longhorns vs. Texas A&M 2025 Season Preview: What the Stats Say

One of the fiercest college football rivalries in history is returning to the Texas state capital of Austin in the last week of November, the Lone Star Showdown between the Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies.

The rivalry between the two teams was renewed last year at Kyle Field in College Station, and saw the Longhorns take home a 17-7 victory after a touchdown run from Arch Manning, a passing touchdown from Quinn Ewers to running back Jaydon Blue, and Quintrevion Wisner having a career night with 186 rushing yards. The Longhorns were simply better in every way from total yardage all the way to time of possession.

Now the Longhorns will be playing the host to their in-state nemesis, this time with Arch Manning under center in all four quarters.

So, What Do the Stats Say?

Both the Longhorns and Aggies come off of seasons that had many questions to answer, especially at the quarterback position. For Texas, it was more of a matter of when to put Arch Manning in Quinn Ewers' place rather than if. As for the Aggies, Marcel Reed's rise came at the physical expense of Conner Weigman after he struggled with injury and later, performance.

Texas quarterback Case McCoy, 201 — Nov 24, 2011; College Station, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Case McCoy (6) runs the ball against the Texas A&M Aggies in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. Texas defeated Texas A&M 27-25. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

After an interesting 2024 season for both sides, here is a stat breakdown for both sides.

Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggie rush defense was a slight downgrade from what they produced in the 2023 season, allowing 135.2 yards on the ground as opposed to the 108.8 they allowed two years ago, while producing 195.5 yards of their own.

And with their quarterback debacle lasting most of their first season under Mike Elko, the Aggies allowed more passing yards than averaged on their own side, a 210.3 to 232.2 deficit as the Aggie pass defense struggled with giving up long pass plays throughout their entire season, from the opener against Notre Dame all the way to their bowl game loss against USC.

Just when it seemed that the defense was going to get a critical stop, they would fall victim to a 30+ yard pass play and put them back on square one.

The offense was highlighted by running back Le'Veon Moss, who was arguably the best running back in the conference at the time of his season-ending injury against the South Carolina Gamecocks, finishing with 765 yards and 10 touchdowns in nine games played. Moss will be returning to the Aggie team in 2025, so look for the same type of production from the power back.

Quarterback Marcel Reed earned a couple of starts throughout the season before taking the starting spot for good during A&M's 38-23 comback win over No. 8 LSU late last October.

In his 11 games played, Reed completed 147 of his 240 pass attempts, an okay percentage of 61.3 to go along with 1,864 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions, including one to Michael Taaffe in the game against Texas last year.

Reed also took off on his legs 116 times for 543 yards and seven touchdowns, further solidifying his dual-threat status that gave him the edge over Conner Weigman in the depth chart in the end.

Their defense was led by linebacker Taurean York (team-leading 82 total tackles), cornerback Marcus Ratcliffe (three picks), and defensive lineman Cashius Howell (four sacks), all of whom are returning to the team in 2025 and will be expected to produce similar numbers and even more for Mike Elko this time around.

Texas Longhorns

It should be no surprise to anybody that the Longhorns boasted one of, if not the best defenses in the nation last year, and that song shall remain the same this year as well.

The team allowed only 173.8 passing yards per game and 109.6 rushing yards, thanks to the presence of linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., who led the team with an astounding 113 total tackles.

The Longhorns defense was also powered by defensive lineman Albert Collins and Colin Simmons, the former of which is now in the NFL. The two combined for 103 total tackles, 10 sacks, and Simmons also grabbed an interception.

The defense altogether grabbed 22 interceptions, as defensive backs Andrew Mukuba and Jahdae Barron led the team with five picks, and safety Michael Taaffe led the returning Longhorns with two interceptions.

And on the offense, the team was just as much of a well-oiled machine, averaging 278.8 passing yards and 158.8 rushing yards.

The 120th edition of the Lone Star Showdown is slated to kick off in prime time on Friday, November 28, from Austin.