The Burnt Orange Alpha and Omega

http://www.bevoball.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lss.jpgOK, I’ll go ahead and say it.  The final game between rivals Texas and Texas A&M morphed into a spiritual performance of sorts.  There was laughter, sportsmanship (good and poor), crying and just about every other emotion that one can possess.  While the two schools couldn’t be more different in every aspect of their respective beings, the one thing they did share was a passion and desire to beat one another on an annual basis.  Bragging rights for the state, as well as an inside track on the state’s hottest recruits were always at stake.  The teams played for the first time in 1894 and it was Texas, under coach R.D. Wentworth, that claimed a 38-0 victory.  There’s the Alpha.  With the formation of the Southwest Conference in 1915, the Longhorns and Aggies would continue to play in what would be an annual rivalry game that would last for 118 years.  This rivalry more than likely ended last night with a 27-25 victory by the Texas Longhorns.  There’s the Omega.

Texas began the night in bad shape, managing very little offensively and did not have a first down until the end of the first quarter.  Texas A&M running back Ben Malena, substituting for an injured Cyrus Gray, scored a touchdown late in the first quarter on a 7 yard pass from Ryan Tannehill.  The Aggies would add 3 field goals in the first half and Texas would score on a trick play in which Blaine Irby catches a 42 yard touchdown pass from Jaxon Shipley. Halftime brought a nice presentation by the Longhorn Band in which they thanked Texas A&M for all of the fantastic memories.  To no one’s surprise, the Aggie Band performed by forming a Longhorn and “Sawing Varsity’s Horns off.”  Again, big surprise.

In the second half, the Texas defense picked up right where they left off before halftime.  The ‘Horns cut the Aggie lead to 16-14 as Carrington Byndom picked off Tannehill and marched for a 58 yard touchdown.  Texas would expand on their lead in the third with a Justin Tucker field goal and a Cody Johnson 1 yard rumble into the end zone for another Texas touchdown.  Texas lead A&M at the end of the third quarter 24-16.

The Aggies played with determination in the 4th quarter and eventually took a 25-24 lead on Texas on a Tannehill to Fuller 16 yard touchdown reception.  With 1:48 left in the game, the load was placed squarely on youngster Case McCoy’s shoulders.  Prior to McCoy taking the field Mack Brown gave McCoy a few words of encouragement, which the youngster evidently took to heart.  McCoy, who had struggled for most of the game, positioned his team within Justin Tucker field goal range on a gutsy 25 yard scamper.  The McCoy run was made possible by a personal foul on Texas A&M’s safety Trent Hunter.  Tucker nailed a 40 yard field goal as time expired to push the Longhorns to a 27-25 victory.

The Longhorns stormed the Kyle Field in joy for one last time while the Aggie fans in the stands swiftly moved for the exits.  Texas ends the series with a commanding 76-37-5 record, a record that will most likely annoy the Aggies indefinitely like a herd of gnats on a dog that hasn’t bathed in months.

As far as this long standing rivalry is concerned, Texas was the beginning AND the end for the Aggies.

Hook ‘Em Horns