COLLEGE STATION – Leadership cost Texas A&M the Cold War against Texas despite a 12-year head start in the SEC. But it was the Longhorn defense that made the Aggies pay in the reunion, shutting out the Texas A&M offense in a 17-7 win in front of 109,028 in Kyle Field. 

“Our defense was fantastic all night,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said to ABC postgame. “We really shut’em out.” 

Texas A&M was one yard away from cutting the Texas lead to three points in the fourth quarter as Longhorn mistakes mounted up. Quinn Ewers threw a pick-six and fumbled in the red zone. Jahdae Walker then blocked a punt with 7:48 left to set up the Aggie offense inside the Texas red zone. But the last yard proved to be the hardest after Amari Daniels was stuffed by Texas on 4th and goal. 

“It’s just like a common theme at this point, they continue to save our butts on offense,” Ewers said about his defense after the game. 

The Texas defense registered three sacks, six tackles for loss, one fumble, and an interception. Vernon Broughton recorded two of those sacks and tackles for loss as well as recovering the game-ending fumble. Michael Taaffe picked off Reed early in the game to set the tone and had a TFL. Linebackers Liona Lefau and Anthony Hill Jr. combined for 11 tackles. Trey Moore added a sack and a forced fumble. 

Sarkisian inherited a program ill-equipped for the move. The Longhorns were soft. Underachieving. Weak-minded. A team that had lost its way after nine 10-plus win seasons in a row from 2001-2009. The only 10-win season between 2009 and Sark’s arrival was in 2018. They lost games like this one since the Aggies left the Big 12. Not anymore. Texas has won at Alabama, at Michigan, at Arkansas, and now in College Station over the last two seasons. 

“I don’t think the environment caused us any issues,” Sarkisian said after the win. “And I’m not trying to demean anything. I was probably anticipating more. I mean, I built it up in my head to make sure we could handle whatever it was.” 

Sark’s job No. 1 was to sign large humans. His next job was to get the Texas defense back on a conference contending level. The Horns were 61st in scoring defense in 2020 while allowing 28.5 points per game. Year 1 saw an even bigger drop, falling to 99th nationally in scoring defense with 31.1 points per game allowed. 

Texas didn’t panic. The program bet on continuity and an improved roster. A bet that cashed in 2024. The Longhorns jumped to 28th in scoring defense in 2022 and 15th in 2023. The missing piece was in the secondary. They were 116th in passing defense in 2023 while winning a conference and reaching a national semifinal. 

Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski was one of Sarkisian’s first hires as head coach of the Longhorns. He’d get the offense right, but he needed a trusted, and proven, steward for the defense. Texas entered the Week 14 contest with Texas A&M ranked third in scoring defense and second in passing defense. 

The Aggie defense is known as the “Wrecking Crew”, but it was the Longhorns defensive unit that deserved a moniker. The only points Texas A&M scored came on an interception return for a touchdown. The Aggie offense was hapless. They ran the ball 38 times for 98 yards with quarterback Marcel Reed leading the way with 56 yards on 14 attempts. Texas A&M running backs combined for 35 yards on 17 carries. 

The passing offense didn’t enjoy success, either. Reed completed 16-of-23 passes for 146 yards and an interception. No Aggie wide receiver caught more than three passes for more than 40 yards. The long pass to a wide receiver was 12 yards. Of the three pass completions that recorded more than 10 yards, one was to a tight end and one was to a running back. 

Texas A&M is on its fourth athletic director and third head coach since leaving the Big 12 after the 2011 season. The program capitalized right away in a new conference, riding Johnny Manziel’s Heisman season to an 11-2 season in 2012. The stadium was improved. New facilities were built. And recruiting in College Station reached new levels. 

The roster and the budget made clear that the SEC move could help the 12th Man close the gap on the Horns. Texas A&M landed a national championship coach in Jimbo Fisher and signed the highest-rated recruiting class in modern history in 2021. The gamble busted, however, and Fisher was paid roughly $76.8 million to leave town. 

Meanwhile, Texas was righting its ship after a decade lost at sea. The Longhorns hired Chris Del Conte as athletic director in 2017 to stop its own revolving door at the top. Del Conte tabbed Steve Sarkisian the head coach after the 2020 season. The moves stabilized the football program on the Forty Acres as the Horns won the Big 12 and reached the College Football Playoff in 2023 as the school transitioned to the SEC. 

The Longhorns didn’t join the SEC to take part, they joined to take over. Mack Brown's favorite memory of his time playing against Texas A&M was when the Longhorn fans chanted "S-E-C, S-E-C" in a mocking fashion after Justin Tucker's kick beat the departing Aggies. The Texas faithful, now willingly drinking the Kool-Aid as conference mates, belted out the same "S-E-C, S-E-C" chants as time ticked off the clock. This time, there was no added irony. 

Texas clinched a spot in the SEC championship game and a rematch with Georgia next weekend with the 10-point road win over its rival. The program has also assuredly punched its ticket back to the CFP regardless of the outcome in Atlanta against the Dogs. 

“I’d probably be surprised if we didn’t get in,” Sarkisian admitted after the game. “But really, I want to go try to win an SEC championship. And if we can do that, then you get a bye.”