Renewing Texas football’s long and bitter rivalry with Texas A&M brings a lot at stake for both teams Saturday night. If No. 3 Texas (10-1, 6-1 SEC) wins, the Longhorns will face Georgia in the SEC championship game, where they will try to earn a spot in the CFP top four and a bye in the playoffs to secure the first round. The Aggies have even more at stake as a berth in the SEC title game against Georgia would give them a chance to clinch a playoff spot.

We ask Texas three key questions before the game against the Aggies. After the game we will have some answers.

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Will Texas win the possession battle?

Question before the game: Texas A&M excels at a key component of complementary football. The defense has many holes, as evidenced by its SEC rankings of 10th against the run and 12th against the pass. But the Aggies protect that porous defense by ranking third in the SEC in time of possession, averaging 32 minutes and 14 seconds per game. If dual-threat quarterback Marcel Reed and running back Amari Daniels can help the Aggies put the ball on the ground, that will leave Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and a potent Texas offense on the sidelines.

Answer after the game: We will give an answer after the game.

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Will Texas A&M rediscover its pass rush?

Question before the game: In the last five games, Texas A&M’s starting defensive line has produced just half a sack. This is particularly concerning for the Aggie faithful because A&M has two NFL-level pass rushers in Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart. The Longhorns’ offensive line, which entered 2024 expecting to win the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s best, has given up 21 sacks, including seven in the team’s only loss to Georgia. But left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. and his team have been better in recent weeks, allowing just four sacks in the last three games.

Answer after the game: We will give an answer after the game.

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Will Texas maintain its current identity as a run-first team?

Question before the game: In Texas’ first five SEC games, the Longhorns never had more running plays than passing attempts. But over the past two weeks, they have run the ball 88 times compared to 63 passes. Will this newfound run-first identity hold against the Aggies after Quintrevion Wisner posted a career-high 158 yards rushing in last week’s win over Kentucky as Jaydon Blue added another 96 yards to help the Longhorns take a Achieving a season-high 250 yards rushing? ?

Answer after the game: We will give an answer after the game.

This article originally appeared on the Austin American-Statesman: Texas Football vs. Texas A&M: 3 questions we answer in the Week 14 game