The No. 3 Texas Longhorns picked up right where they left off after a 13-year layoff with a 17-7 victory over the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday at Kyle Field.

The last time these two teams met, Justin Tucker left the Aggies with a dagger as time expired in College Station. This time, Texas physically dominated its in-state rival in a low-scoring contest that officially spelled the end of any postseason ambitions the Aggies might have.

This game had so much excitement and the buildup was absolutely everything you would expect considering how long it took between these two programs on the gridiron. The atmosphere was electric, but this team didn’t become stars and the moment wasn’t all that big for them. Kyle Field has one of the biggest home field advantages in the country, but wasn’t fazed in the slightest by the crowd and atmosphere. Kudos to Steve Sarkisian and his staff for preparing this team as it showed in how they maintained their composure throughout the game.

Texas has kept its head down and chipped away since the setback against Georgia. And that is now being rewarded with meaningful December football. For the first time in 13 years, let’s get into the observations and takeaways from the Longhorns’ win over Texas A&M in the Lone Star Showdown.

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The Texas offensive line physically dominated Texas A&M

After putting up a test against Kentucky last week, Kyle Flood’s offensive line definitely took the fight to a Texas A&M defensive front that features some real NFL talent. This was one that I highlighted in my matchups leading up to this game, and it was a matchup that absolutely worked in Texas’ favor on Saturday night.

The Texas offensive line continually pushed defenders away from the line of scrimmage throughout the contest and continually created gaps in the A&M defense through the zone running game. With the way they were running the football, I was just waiting for Quintrevion Wisner to break out on a huge, explosive run because he was getting closer and closer to that goal as the game went on.

The big guys up front beat Texas A&M for 240 yards on the ground on FIFTY carries, with Wisner getting the majority of the work. The Texas offense generated 26 first downs and was 8 of 16 on money downs. They were able to hold off the Texas A&M offense for most of the contest, and you could see the wear and tear on the Aggie defense as the second half wore on.

In addition to performing well in the run game, the offensive line was fantastic in pass defense and did a great job of absorbing the pressure and blitzes that Mike Elko sent at them early and often. Despite Kelvin Banks leaving early in the game and being replaced by Trevor Goosby, you couldn’t see any real decline in their ability to guard Quinn Ewers. A&M had a sack early in the game, but it didn’t come at the expense of the offensive line as running back Jaydon Blue snuck into protection, so that group as a whole kept Ewers clean and gave him time to operate knowing he was on a bag was a bad bike.

This means the offense has been able to flex its muscles and threaten a defense for three weeks in a row. Don’t look now, but they could be close to a rematch with Georgia. Getting Banks back for this game will be crucial, so it will be something to keep an eye on next week.

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Treat yourself to a night out, Tre Wisner!

Get yourself a game ball, Mr. Wisner! Over the last two weeks, Wisner has absolutely carried the post for Texas, taking on the role of RB1 heading into the postseason.

Wisner showed good vision, patience and determination all night and was fantastic after contact. A&M struggled to get him on the ground consistently, and he flirted hard with getting 200 yards on the ground. Wisner rushed for 158 yards on 26 carries against Kentucky and, for good measure, racked up 186 yards on 33 carries against Texas A&M on Saturday night.

When Texas gets the running game going, it pays off down the stretch as it allows Texas to be more effective on the play-action shot plays that Sark likes to run, and it also allows them to be more balanced offensively . They really struggled to get the run game going in the first game against Georgia, so I’ll be watching closely to see if they can do it in Atlanta.

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Say it again: Texas’ defense is ELITE

I’ve had enough of the chatter from people trying to throw stones at this group. The Texas defense has been fantastic all year and they capped the regular season by pitching a shutout on Saturday night and giving Marcel Reed a miserable football experience in College Station.

This group has been one of the best in the country at breaking turnovers week in and week out, and they were at it once again as Michael Taaffe picked off Reed early and then Trey Moore got a strip sack to open the door to the game late to strike in the fourth quarter.

Speaking of Moore, he has a lot to offer in the home stretch after doing a lot of thankless work in the defensive structure at the beginning of the season. Plays like that strip sack are exactly why you brought him to Texas, and he’s starting to get hot at just the right time.

While I give kudos to the high school students, I also want to give a shout out to my husband Vernon Broughton aka Big V. Broughton has made some money this year, but he was an absolute threat on Saturday as he produced several splash plays and was very disruptive.

Texas made life incredibly difficult throughout the game on Saturday night. The Aggies were only able to muster 248 yards of total offense, Reed accounted for 206. They struggled mightily to run the football, even though they signed Rueben Owens off the injured list and immediately sent him to the pressure cooker, and even when they were able to move the football They didn’t have to fight their way downfield on nickel and dime and couldn’t provide the Longhorns with any explosive plays.

The Texas defense was very good on money downs, as it held A&M to 4 of 11 on third-down attempts and fended off the Aggies three times on fourth-down attempts. The game’s biggest problem was a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter that left Ethan Burke looking like he had been shot out of a cannon.

This group has been tough as hell all season, only conceding 17 points in the final three games of the season. You can compare this Texas defense to any of the great defenses the program has produced recently. They are elite on paper and they are elite on tape.

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Miscues by Texas kept this game close

Now let’s get the ugly stuff out of the way before we bow out about the whole thing. Turnovers and mistakes by the Texas offensive and special teams were the only reason this game was close on the scoreboard.

First, it was Will Lee’s pick six off a deflection at the line of scrimmage that gave A&M its only points of the night.

Then there was another turnover in the red zone when Ewers put the ball on the deck in the same part of the court where he intercepted the ball while trying to make difficult yardage.

But wait, there’s more. Texas special teams made sure to contribute to the misses by blocking a punt. An A&M defender got off the edge unscathed and freshman Michael Kern couldn’t get the ball away, leaving the Aggies with a short field.

Yikes, yikes and BIG yikes. Texas should have had more than 30 points on Saturday and completely blown out Texas A&M in this game, but they seemed hell-bent on keeping the game close by giving away the football. The positive side of these unfortunate events is that A&M only scored seven points from these turnovers and misses. With that being said, these are the types of things that will beat you and cost you games in the postseason.

The Texas Special Forces haven’t been very good all year so they are what they are now, but this was a pretty routine operation and they just didn’t execute it well. Luckily the defense is really damn good because it definitely saved them after that sequence.

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Arch Manning in the “Tebow” package

Sark always keeps you on your toes. Given the uncertainty surrounding Ewers’ health this week, there have been rumors that we might see Manning in this game in some capacity. When you hear something like that, you’d think it meant Manning could potentially start or at least be heavily factored into the game plan.

What most didn’t expect was that Sark would come up with a Tim Tebow-style game package for Manning, where he could parlay his legs and athleticism into points early in the match.

This was a huge wrinkle and something we hadn’t seen from the Texas offense all year. We’ve seen Manning flash his wheels at various points in the year, but was the play factored into the matchup on designed quarterback runs in short-yardage situations? Sark is full of surprises. Waiting until Week 12 to show this is absolutely diabolical and I love it because you know Sark will be building out the package and planning in some throws of the run game package now that he’s shown it on film.

I guarantee Georgia is already working hard to factor this into the equation for next week in Atlanta. I can’t wait to see what Sark has up their sleeves for round two against the Bulldogs.

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11-1. 2-0 against your hated rivals north of the Red River and further east. The Texas Longhorns travel to Atlanta for a rematch with Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs with a chance to right the wrongs of their early-season matchup.

That’s why you don’t panic after a defeat in the middle of the season. This team kept their heads down and kept fighting after feeling the adversity. They have now been rewarded with the opportunity to mobilize some hardware and secure a bye in the College Football Playoff. All the goals you set at the beginning of the year are right in front of you. Postseason football awaits this team for the second year in a row and you really can’t say enough good things about the work Sarkisian and his staff have done since arriving in Austin.

Pack a hard hat and your lunch pail. Then be sure to book your flight and hotel to Atlanta. The 24-hour rule is officially in effect and then it’s time to talk about revenge on the damn Bulldogs from Athens.