COLLEGE STATION – During the worst feud in Lone Star State history, the 1940 game had long held the title of the biggest in the series between the flagship universities. A Texas touchdown in the first minute – the only score of the game – denied Texas A&M two consecutive national titles and sent the Aggies from the Rose Bowl to the Cotton Bowl.

He even delivered a punchline along the way.

The Aggies are the fastest team in the country. Went from the Rose Bowl to the Cotton Bowl in 57 seconds.

The “Impossible Catch” and “Immortal 13” ranks are long gone, and were confirmed Saturday by third-ranked Texas’ 17-7 victory over the 20th-ranked Aggies before 109,028, the third-largest turnout in Kyle Field history , repressed.

Neither school was scheduled to travel to Pasadena this time, but the winner received a ticket to Atlanta. A shot at the SEC title game distinguished this game from most others in series history. Only occasionally have postseason opportunities been mutual. The potential was offset by the motivation of all the players, to whom the rivalry had to be explained after a 13-year hiatus, a lifetime for a teenager.

The manner in which the Longhorns ended the Aggies’ playoff hopes and punched their own ticket to Atlanta reaffirmed the committee’s confidence in the Longhorns, whose credibility had been questioned all season.

On a day when South Carolina upset Clemson and police needed pepper spray to separate Ohio State from its tormentors in Michigan, defeating a ranked team in a historically feuding house should satisfy the Longhorns’ critics.

Especially after a heartbreaking, game-winning score in the fourth quarter.

The Aggies would vouch for them anyway.

Twice the Longhorns’ top-five defense stopped A&M on fourth-down plays. The first came on the Aggies’ first drive; the other on her penultimate.

Texas doubled A&M’s offensive output, rushing for 242 yards, twice the average output of Mike Elko’s defense. As one-sided as it looked on the stat sheet, you would have thought it looked worse on the scoreboard. After taking a 17-0 halftime lead, the Longhorns turned it over twice in the red zone in the second half, the first time on a pass from DJ Hicks that led to a 93-yard pick six from Will Lee III led.

A blocked punt by Trey Jones III put the Aggies deep in Texas territory with a chance to finish. But stops on third and fourth downs on two attempts from Texas’ 1 effectively ended the Aggies’ hopes.

From there, Steve Sarkisian, as he did most of the evening, used sophomore Quintrevion Wisner as a 200-pound hammer. The DeSoto product carried a whopping 33 times for 186 yards, making up for a typical Quinn Ewers night.

How slow was Ewers’ start? His first two passes missed by a combined 20 yards. His biggest contribution to Texas’ first touchdown was a 26-yard scramble with an ankle injury. Otherwise, he passed for minus-6 yards. Wasn’t even on the field for the touchdown. Arch Manning, the heir apparent, took the honors instead with a run around left end for 15 yards.

Then, quite simply, Ewers found his rhythm. On the Longhorns’ next two drives, he had completions of 44, 35 and 22 yards. Pass a 7-yard touchdown pass over the Aggies’ Bryce Anderson and into the arms of Jaydon Blue in the back right corner of the end zone.

Texas’ best hope against an uncharacteristically soft Georgia defense in the middle is a running game that has improved dramatically since the loss to the Bulldogs in Austin. The Longhorns could also do without a little drama. Two turnovers and a blocked punt are no means to inspire confidence in the mission.

But no matter what shortcomings Texas has on offense, defense is the real deal. Prevented Marcel Reed from gaining just 146 yards in the passing game and the Aggies’ running game from just 98 yards. Texas’ stops deep down the field – which included an interception by Michael Taaffe – also showed Texas was up to the challenge.

Texas has now won 11 straight games on the road, an impressive feat that should come in handy if the team loses to Georgia and is forced to travel to a first-round playoff game.

As far as the Aggies are concerned, this will be a tough loss. They’ve now lost two home games this year, but can take solace in the fact that both were likely playoff teams. At least they took it like gentlemen. Not like Ohio State. Then again, no one tried to put a Texas flag on the Aggies’ logo.

Last but not least, both sides learned what their ancestors had been talking about all these years. In any case, for the foreseeable future, this rivalry is likely to be more interesting than ever before. Two schools with national ambitions and the qualifications to match. One can only look back with joy at the resumption of the rivalry. As Tommie Vaughn, a center on the 1940 Aggies team, once told me half a century later, his old teammates never talked about the loss that cost them the Rose Bowl. He called it like a scar on his face.

Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN

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