In front of the third-largest crowd in the history of Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, Texas started fast and held on late to retain the upper hand in the renewal of a storied rivalry and secure a trip to the SEC Championship Game in its first season in the league. The Longhorns beat their in-state rival 17-7 on Saturday night, thanks to the nation’s No. 3 scoring defense, which held the Aggies without an offensive touchdown.
Texas nearly doubled up Texas A&M in total yards and dominated in the trenches, holding Aggies dual-threat quarterback Marcel Reed in check for much of the night and running for 243 yards.
Below, our takeaways from the Lone Star Showdown clash that set the SEC title game matchup: Texas vs. Georgia.
Texas’ late-game stop
The Longhorns did what they could to keep A&M in the game with their mistakes. The pick six and the blocked punt allowed A&M to threaten late.
But with the game on the line and A&M trying to punch it in on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Texas’ defensive line asserted its will. Defensive tackles Vernon Broughton and Bill Norton plugged up the middle, and Burke flew around the left edge to hammer Daniels for a loss, killing the Aggies’ final real chance to make it a game.
So much was made of Texas’ move to the SEC and whether the Longhorns would be ready. They more than answered the call this season with strong talent and depth on both sides of the line of scrimmage, built through recruiting with a few key transfer portal additions on the defensive line sprinkled in this summer.
After Texas lost NFL Draft picks Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat, some wondered how the Longhorns would hold up. Finding two tackles that talented and dominant is difficult. While nobody has quite approached the level of play that duo reached, Broughton, Alfred Collins, Norton, Jermayne Lole and a host of others have more than answered the call and helped Texas’ defense remain one of the best in the country.
ETHAN BURKE WITH THE STOP ❌🛑@eburke4lax pic.twitter.com/gaj2SZcPuN
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 1, 2024
On A&M’s offensive futility
Texas A&M’s best chance to make this a game was to jump out to a quick start and apply pressure to Texas. The Aggies did nothing of the sort.
Their promising first drive lasted nine plays and gained 65 yards but ended in a turnover on downs. After A&M’s defense forced Texas into a three-and-out on the subsequent drive, the Aggies didn’t take advantage, as Reed threw an interception on A&M’s second possession.
The Aggies generated two plays of 15-plus yards on the first drive and then did not have a gain that big the rest of the first half. So much of A&M’s offense went east and west, not north and south, and A&M never really challenged Texas’ secondary. One of the biggest issues A&M had in the season-opening loss to Notre Dame was its receivers’ inability to separate from the Fighting Irish defensive backs. That weakness seemed to rear its ugly head again, and without a consistent running game threat, it doomed A&M to a meager offensive output.
Quinn Ewers returned to old form … for the most part
After a week of uncertainty around Ewers’ health and a season in which he went from Heisman hopeful to perceived liability, Ewers looked like the early-season version of himself in College Station, until two third-quarter turnovers briefly kept the Aggies alive.
Ewers broke off a 26-yard run on the second drive of the game, showing that his high-ankle injury didn’t seem to be bothering him too much. His previous longest run of the season had been nine yards. He completed passes into small windows, got the ball out on time and kept the offense ahead of the chains with help from a strong running game.
Right on the money 🎯🤘@QuinnEwers @Jaydonblue23 pic.twitter.com/libA5zl92I
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 1, 2024
But in the third quarter, with the Longhorns up 17-0 and looking to put the game away, a tipped Ewers pass was intercepted and returned 93 yards for a touchdown. Ewers again drove Texas into the red zone on the next drive, but he had the ball knocked out while going for a slide, and the fumble was recovered by the Aggies. This time, Texas got the stop and forced a punt at midfield.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is known for his schematic prowess, and he added a new wrinkle to the offense on Saturday. Sarkisian, who rarely uses quarterbacks in the running game, sent out the athletic Manning for the early fourth-and-2 that resulted in his 15-yard touchdown run.
Mobile Manning™️@ArchManning pic.twitter.com/ahLQVQjne4
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 1, 2024
All season, Sarkisian has refrained from using Manning for specialized plays or personnel packages, only inserting the redshirt freshman when Ewers was injured or the game was well in hand, except for a brief stint in the first half against Georgia when Texas’ offense had failed to get much going (Sarkisian went back to Ewers to finish that game).
But with Ewers nursing the ankle injury, it was a smart decision that paid off big.
Texas O-line loses a key piece
The Longhorns lost All-American and future first-round NFL Draft pick Kelvin Banks early in the game to an injury, and he didn’t return. That meant that redshirt freshman left tackle Trevor Goosby was thrust into action in a critical spot.
Goosby didn’t miss a beat. There weren’t major pass protection issues on the left side with him in the game, and the run game continued to chug along, fueled by running back Tre Wisner.
Banks’ status is worth watching with Texas looking ahead to a potential Playoff run. But it’s good to know that the Longhorns have a capable left tackle to turn to if Banks is out for an extended period.
Required reading
(Photo: Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
