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11/29 00:29 CST Texas A&M's perfect season spoiled by rival Texas, but playoffs
await for the Aggies
Texas A&M's perfect season spoiled by rival Texas, but playoffs await for the
Aggies
By JIM VERTUNO
AP Sports Writer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) --- Texas beat Texas A&M again in a bitter rivalry. And
while any loss to the Longhorns stings, this one is likely to stick with the
Aggies for a long time.
Texas' 27-17 victory Friday night doomed Texas A&M's Southeastern Conference
title hopes, spoiled the Aggies' undefeated season, upended their potential
seeding in the College Football Playoff and dinged quarterback Marcel Reed's
late-season surge as a Heisman Trophy contender.
But the playoffs and a chance to play for a national title still await.
"There's (still) a lot right now to be proud of," Reed said, noting the Aggies
won 11 games in the regular season for the first time since 1992. "There's
still a lot to work for ... I think we believe that we can make it to the
national championship. And so we're just going to put our heads down and grind."
The Aggies (11-1, 7-1 SEC, No. 3 CFP) are a solid bet to make the playoff for
the first time. But a special season has definitely been saddled with a sour
note after a second straight loss to the Longhorns after the rivalry resumed
following a decade-long break.
"We're just thinking about not getting the job done tonight," Texas A&M coach
Mike Elko said. "Maybe coming out of this weekend, maybe we'll regroup and
figure out moving forward what the positives are of 11-1. Right now it just
hurts that we lost to our rival."
The Aggies had never been to the SEC title game since joining the league in
2012. Texas made it last season in its first year in the conference.
Texas started this season No. 1 and the Aggies had a chance to bury the
Longhorns' playoff hopes once and for all. By winning, the Longhorns can start
lobbying to be let in.
"We want to go to the SEC championship. We're tired of losing to the same team
back to back years, tired of not winning that trophy," Texas A&M linebacker
Taurean York said. " But, you know, (the playoffs), that's the bright side, so
we'll look at it that way."
Reed had a chance to solidify his Heisman resume, and looked like he might do
it when he shook off an early ankle injury scare and led the Aggies to a 10-3
halftime lead.
But he was ultimately outplayed by his Texas counterpart Arch Manning. It was
Manning who started the season as the Heisman favorite only to go through a
stretch of poor games at the beginning of the season.
Reed's star rose when he led the Aggies to a shock comeback against South
Carolina two weeks ago. There was no rally in A&M this time.
The Aggies cut the Texas lead to 20-17 before Manning scored his clinching
touchdown. Reed then threw two late interceptions that sealed it. He finished
with 180 yards passing.
___
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