AUSTIN, Texas — Arch Manning threw a touchdown pass and ran for the clinching score late in the fourth quarter, and No. 16 Texas rallied to upend No. 3 Texas A&M 27-17 on Friday night, spoiling the Aggies' undefeated season and knocking them out of the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Manning's 29-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo in the third quarter gave Texas (9-3, 6-2 SEC) a 13-10 lead in what had been a tight, defensive game. His 35-yard run up the middle on third down with 7:04 left to play put the Longhorns up 27-17.
Texas, which started the season No. 1 and, at one point, was unranked, defeated a top-10 opponent for the third time this season to keep alive any faint hopes of making the College Football Playoff for the third consecutive time.
«In the locker room, you could see it, that we had 30 minutes together to see if we can keep playing this season,» Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told ESPN's Molly McGrath in his postgame, on-field interview, referring to his halftime speech. «And they sure played like it in the second half.»
The Aggies (11-1, 7-1) are all but assured their first playoff berth, but the loss to their biggest rival will sting 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've made their case for a playoff berth, 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 the pundits out there think they are the No. 1 team in the country,» Sarkisian said when asked if his team's win over the Aggies should push Texas into the CFP. «We just beat them by 10.»
The Aggies led 10-3 at the half.
«These
Read more on espn.com
espn.com
