Austin, Texas — arch manning Throwed a touchdown pass at the end of the fourth quarter and ran for the decisive score and reached No. 16 texas united to reach number 3 Texas A&M 27-17 On Friday night, the Aggies’ undefeated season was spoiled and they were eliminated from the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Manning’s 29-yard touchdown pass Ryan Wingo Texas (9-3, 6-2 SEC) got a 13-10 lead in the third quarter in a tight, defensive game. His 35-yard run on third down put the Longhorns ahead 27–17 with 7:04 to play.
Texas, which started the season ranked No. 1 and was unranked at one point, defeated a top-10 opponent for the third time this season to keep alive any faint hopes of making its third consecutive College Football Playoff.
“In the locker room, you could see it, we had 30 minutes to see if we could continue to play this season,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told ESPN’s Molly McGrath in his post-game, on-field interview, referring to his halftime speech. “And they certainly played like that in the second half.”
The Aggies (11-1, 7-1) have clinched their first playoff berth, but a loss to their biggest rival will hurt the program for a long time. Texas A&M has never played for an SEC title since joining the league in the 2012 season.
Meanwhile, despite three losses, the Longhorns feel they have made a case for a playoff spot as well. Texas lost to Ohio State, Georgia and Florida.
“You tell me. That team is undefeated. No. 3 in the country, and a lot of pundits out there think they’re the No. 1 team in the country,” Sarkisian said when asked if his team’s win over the Aggies would push Texas into the CFP. “We just beat them by 10.”
The Aggies led 10–3 at halftime.
“These guys fought. We were physical, we were tough,” Sarkisian said. “We created turnovers, we ran the ball and we made plays when we had to in the passing game. It was amazing.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
