Texas Longhorns vs. Texas A&M Aggies: Game Review

The Longhorns came into this game needing to win, not only because they wanted to become bowl eligible but also to get above .500 and salvage what has been a poor season.  Texas A&M came into the game playing some great football while positioning themselves for a strong finish in the Big 12.  It was a great matchup going into the game.

In the end, the Aggies would come out on top and beat the Longhorns 24-17.  Texas will not make a bowl this season and will fall below .500 for the first time in years.

So how were the Aggies able to beat the Longhorns?  How did Texas lose this game?

Let’s find out in this extended game review of Thursday night’s Texas vs. Texas A&M game.

Scoring Summary

The Longhorns scored the first touchdown of the game when Marquise Goodwin caught a 31-yard pass from quarterback Garrett Gilbert to put the Longhorns up by seven.  Texas A&M’s Cyrus Gray would tie it up in the second quarter after an 84-yard touchdown run.  

There wouldn’t be any additional scoring in the first half, as the halftime score would be 7-7.

The Aggies would tack on a 50-yard field goal by kicker Randy Bullock to go up by three in the third quarter.  A&M then made it 17-7 when Jeff Fuller caught a two-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Tannehill.  Texas would answer with a one-yard touchdown run by Gilbert to make it 17-14, still in the Aggie’s favor.

Texas A&M would put some distance between themselves and the Longhorns after Gray ran for his second touchdown of the game, this one a 48-yarder to put the Aggies up 24-14.  Texas would get the final score of the game, a 24-yard field goal by kicker Justin Tucker to make it 24-17.

Stud of the Game

Cody Johnson was just about the only consistent player for Texas in this game.  He rushed for 107 yards and helped keep the ball moving for the Longhorns, but his effort, like the rest of the team's, fell short of fans' expectations.

Dud of the Game

The Longhorns defense was unable to corral Grey, letting him run for 223 yards and two touchdowns.  Had they been able contain Grey they probably would have won this game.  The failure of the defense to play at a higher level this season is one of the many reasons the Longhorns struggled this year.

Analysis

This game clearly went to the team that wanted it more—which was not the Longhorns.  Had they wanted to win this game, their defense would have played much better than it did and would have helped the offense win this game.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

The buzz around the Longhorns is that things haven’t quite been right since spring practices, and perhaps they should have been correcting their problems much earlier than trying to fix them during the season.  They tried to fix things just a little too late, and now they are paying the price.

Texas turned the ball over three times in this game, ruining any chance that they had to win.  They gave the Aggies a lot of opportunities on offense as well and couldn’t stop them at critical times in this game.  

This was the first time since Mack Brown took over the head coaching job at Texas that the Longhorns have had a losing season.  They finish the season on the bottom of the Big 12 South standings and will not go to a bowl game this season.  

In the coming weeks, it’s possible that there could be some changes on the Longhorns coaching staff, which include the possible dismissal of head coach Mack Brown.  At the very least, we could see some new looks on the offensive coaching staff, but overall, the Longhorns struggled on both sides of the ball so there could be changes across the board.

Stay tuned for a much more in-depth look at the Longhorns season and what changes may be coming for this team over the course of the offseason.