After charging through its first 11 games of the 2025 season undefeated, No. 3 Texas A&M football finally met its match against No. 16 Texas, where the Longhorns rattled off 24 points in the second half to win 27-17.
Fevered anticipation and a crisp November breeze hugged the sold-out confines of Darrell K. Royal Stadium with a Texas-sized grip, as the lights of the sun and building alike flickered in the autumn night.
The Aggie faithful who made their way out to Austin made their presence known early, yelling on their Maroon and White stars as they made quick work of the Longhorns’ first offensive drive. Their orange-cladden brethren returned the favor, while deafening noise set shock waves through the pulsing stadium.
When the two opening possessions and pregame jitters settled, each squad had one first down but nothing to show for it. In a battle of Texas titans, a monster play was needed to pierce through the stalemate.
It took five straight punts between A&M and Texas, but in the end, it was the Aggies who broke through the dam. With a flash of his legs, redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed carried the Maroon and White downfield for 20 yards. Then, an instant later, a quick pass to sophomore wide receiver Mario Craver had the Aggies marching toward the end zone and appearing as if they would strike first.
Instead, an unnerving sense of dread gripped A&M fans everywhere as Reed went down after losing his balance on a scramble play in the red zone. Hushed prayers and hypotheticals loomed in the minds of the 12th Man — that is, until Reed was back on his feet moments later.
A&M’s kicking woes persisted into their final regular-season contest, as graduate student kicker Jared Zirkel had a 35-yarder blocked. There have been no easy moments for either him or graduate student K Randy Bond, who have combined for eight missed field goals this year.
It was then that redshirt sophomore QB Arch Manning took a page out of Reed’s playbook and began a sprint that had the Aggie defense scrambling to catch up as he darted for 12 yards. A few checkdown plays had the Longhorns in field goal range, where senior K Mason Shipley connected from 41 yards to give his home squad a 3-0 lead.
To Aggie fans’ delight, Reed trotted back onto the field for the subsequent drive, which only invigorated the Longhorn crowd. It didn’t seem to affect the Nashville, Tennessee, native who shockingly ran every other play, until the A&M advance was halted at the Texas 13-yard line, opening the door for a 31-yard field goal made by Zirkel.
A 30-yard punt return by junior WR KC Concepcion flipped the field quickly for the Aggies, but a 4th-and-5 forced by the Longhorns was the make-or-break moment for Reed and the Maroon and White offense. Craver said make, while Texas defenders had to hit their brakes after a seven-yard pick up that moved the chains.
And sure enough, the man who put the Aggies in position to score in the first place was the one who did the scoring as well. Concepcion showed off his versatility while running the ball into the endzone for his first rushing score of the year. His eight-yard scamper marked his 12th touchdown in the Maroon and White since transferring from NC State.
The Longhorns rallied to respond with quick passes and rushes from Manning, which was when graduate student defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim took exception to the Texas march downfield. In a move of brute strength, the Iowa State transfer rammed through a wall of burnt orange, dropping Manning for an eight-yard loss and ending the first half with a 10-3 A&M edge.
Smokey the Cannon called the Aggies back on offense for the third quarter, though their first drive was short-lived. A three-and-out gave the Longhorns the ball back in a brisk minute and some change, where Manning was tasked to strike back.
Instead, junior running back Quintrevion Wisner and a pass interference penalty put the Longhorns inside the Aggies’ 20-yard line. The A&M defense bent but didn’t break, allowing Shipley’s second field goal of the game. Texas was set on clawing back.
After forcing another A&M three-and-out, the Texas run game came alive as holes in the Aggies’ defensive line were exposed. Wisner was keen on replicating his 2024 heroics at Kyle Field where he rushed for 186 yards as he diced through would-be tacklers, but it was Manning’s mobile ability that launched a 29-yard touchdown grab into sophomore WR Ryan Wingo’s hands. Texas was back on top, 13-10.
A false start on 4th-and-1 doomed an A&M drive that showed tremendous promise, and Texas was not going to let the chance go to waste. A 54-yard pass from Manning to junior tight end Jack Endries put the ball on the Aggies’ 2-yard line, threatening to throw the visitors into a 20-10 ditch — which is exactly what happened
On the first play of the fourth quarter, freshman TE Nick Townsend scored just as Concepcion had in the second, on a reverse into the left side of the end zone.
A&M needed a stand, one that would conserve time and field position. Enter the Maroon and White defense. Texas’ next drive netted negative two yards, and in a blink, Reed had the ball starting at his own 41-yard line.
By a miracle — and a 15-yard facemask penalty — the Aggies converted a 3rd-and-21 deep in their own territory, as a comeback bid hung in the balance. Reed used a running escape to hook up with redshirt junior TE Theo Melin Öhrström for a 28-yard gain, and the energy kept flowing as graduate RB EJ Smith IV scored a 13-yard touchdown.
It was a brief ceremony in the end zone, as the A&M defense was next in line to make the comeback dream a reality. But for the first time this season, the Aggies fell short of expectations by the final whistle. Manning’s scrambling proved to be the nail in the coffin, as he gunned it 35 yards into the end zone.
“Give [Texas] the credit, they went out in the second half and made the plays needed to win the game,” coach Mike Elko said. “We didn’t play Texas A&M football tonight, and it hurts to lose to a rival.”
It wouldn’t end without a fight, however, with Reed putting everything on the line to attempt a climb back for the lead. It was an exercise in futility, with back-to-back interceptions making it clearer and clearer that Texas’ fight was enough to keep the Aggies out of Atlanta and a spot in the Southeastern Conference Championship game.
“We just weren’t able to get first downs when we needed to,” Reed said. “We couldn’t find a momentum shift when we needed it. We have to be disciplined, and we have to be better. We were trying to get the ball down the field, but sometimes it doesn’t work out the way you want.”
The bright spot for A&M is that a College Football Playoff game looms over the horizon, but the hurt from being within 10 points of an unblemished regular season was a palpable feeling postgame.
“You can’t keep shooting yourself in the foot like this, especially on the road,” junior linebacker Taurean York said. “It wasn’t just them making the plays; there was kind of a lack of focus during this game. These penalties in crucial moments, they sting. We’re not going to harp on this loss, but we have a playoff run to attack.”
Even still, A&M’s leader still clings to hope.
“This one is going to hurt, but only for 24 hours,” Reed said. “There’s a lot to work for; we have everything in front of us. Our heads are going to be down, and we’re going to grind. Nobody likes to lose, but we have a lot to work for.”
