Follow along as our Devon Messinger jots down notes from the press box during today’s matchup between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Texas Longhorns.
First Quarter:
The first drive for Texas had a dropped pass and, what appeared to be a misthrown ball from Arch Manning. The Longhorns can’t afford to suffer many dropped passes against a team that is more than capable of capitalizing.
Afterwards, Texas punter Jack Bouwmeester’s 58-yard punt helped to pin Texas A&M deep. And, just like the Texas offense, the Aggies were forced to punt after a failed series.
On two separate drives, Texas wide receiver Ryan Wingo has not benefitted from the officiating. The referees are letting the Aggie defensive backs be physical, missing blatant holding and defensive pass interference calls.
It will be difficult for the Longhorns to put up points offensively if they continue to find themselves in third-and-long. The Aggies have one of the best defenses in college football, and have been particularly tough at stopping teams on third.
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed suffered a non-contact injury on a rushing attempt but was able to hobble off of the field and into the Aggies medical tent. We will have to stay tuned to see if Reed will return to tonight’s game.
Second Quarter:
The Longhorns were the first team to get on the board with a 41-yard field goal by Mason Shipley. Leading up to the field goal, Arch Manning and Quintrevion Wisner had a series of positive plays on the ground that put Texas in good position.
Marcel Reed returned to the contest on Texas A&M’s first drive of the second quarter. This week, FanDuel has listed Reed as the athlete with the fifth-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy.
With 6:41 left in the first half, Texas A&M finally gets on the board via a Jared Zirkel 31-yard field goal.
Well, the first half did not end how the Longhorns hoped. Offensively, the team was unable to do any damage. Arch Manning was 8/21 which, and the Texas running game only amassed 61 yards. Meanwhile, on defense, the Longhorns allowed an 8-yard touchdown rush by Texas A&M receiver KC Concepcion before the half.
Obviously, if things continue the way that they have, this game will not be a close one.
Third Quarter:
The Longhorns get off to a solid start to the second half of action, tying their first half scoring production on one drive. To begin, Quintrevion Wisner had a huge 48-yard run which put the team in field goal position. Afterwards, Arch had a pair of blunders which forced Texas to settle for a 46-yard Mason Shipley field goal.
While Texas managed to score points on their first drive, they will need to do a better job of converting field goal attempts into touchdowns.
Speaking of converting touchdowns, the Longhorns finally found the end zone on a 29-yard pass from Arch Manning to Ryan Wingo. On the play, Manning was scrambling and found Wingo at the last second before passing the line of scrimmage. As a result of the play, Texas leads Texas A&M 13-10 with 7:12 left in the third quarter.
The Longhorns offense has really started to come alive, already out-producing their entire first half rushing total in the third.
Fourth Quarter:
How about some fourth quarter trickery for the Longhorns? After a big 54-yard reception by Jack Endries, fellow tight end Nick Townsend finds the end zone on a 2-yard rushing attempt.
After a big offensive pass interference penalty against Texas A&M, the Longhorns rewarded the Aggies with a first down via a penalty of their own. Afterwards, the Aggies marched closer to the end zone before running back EJ Smith was able to score from 13-yards out. With 9:15 remaining in the game, the score is 20-17 in favor of the Longhorns.
On the ensuing drive by Texas, Arch Manning answered the call with a 35-yard touchdown rush of his own. Given the scenario of the game & season, that may have been the Texas quarterback’s biggest play of the season.
In his last game at DKR-TMS, defensive back Michael Taaffe was able to intercept Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed near the end zone. The interception doesn’t necessarily seal the deal for Texas but, it’s surely going to make things difficult for the Aggies.
