Primetime College Football: Horns vs Aggies
In Spirit Of Thanksgiving Wanted To Give Back To Aggie Fans
Texas star Colt McCoy finally ended his hex against Texas A&M last season. Getting his first victory at Kyle Field would have a great deal more meaning than just beating a heated rival again.
Texas (11-0, 7-0) clinched the division with a 51-20 win over Kansas. The Longhorns will face North Division champion Nebraska in the conference title game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Dec. 5. With victories over Texas A&M (6-5, 3-4) and Nebraska, the Longhorns will gain a spot in the BCS championship game.
The Aggies have the 11th-worst pass defense in the nation, allowing 259.0 yards, and that looks like a favorable matchup for McCoy. McCoy is the nation’s most accurate passer with a 73.0 completion percentage. The quarterback, though, completed 56.7 percent of his passes and had one touchdown and four interceptions in losses to Texas A&M in 2006 and ’07. McCoy was much sharper in last season’s 49-9 win in Austin, going 23 of 28 for 311 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
McCoy became the winningest quarterback in NCAA history Saturday with his 43rd victory as a starter, completing 32 of 41 passes for 396 yards with four touchdowns to earn Big 12 offensive player of the week honors. Jordan Shipley and Malcolm Williams each had over 100 yards receiving and James Kirkendoll added 86 on eight catches two for touchdowns. Shipley has a school-record 1,204 receiving yards, but just 146 yards and one touchdown in three career games against Texas A&M. Earl Thomas is second on the team in tackles, and he has recorded a stellar total of seven interceptions. As for Roddrick Muckelroy, he leads Texas with 69 total tackles.
The Longhorns should be tested by an Aggies offense that ranks seventh nationally at 459.3 yards per game. The unit is spearheaded by record-setting quarterback Jerrod Johnson.
A Houston native who grew up rooting for the Aggies, Johnson will be making his first start against the Longhorns. The 6-foot-5 junior has set single-season school records for completions 241, passing yards 2,875, touchdown passes 24 and 4 300-yard games. He has thrown five interceptions.
Johnson helped the Aggies become bowl eligible and avoid a third straight loss in a 38-3 win over Baylor on Saturday. He went 19 of 25 for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Christine Michael ran for 116 yards and two scores while Cyrus Gray added 107 yards rushing for Texas A&M, which went 4-8 in 2008 in its first season under coach Mike Sherman. Gray has posted 741 rushing yards and five touchdowns to lead the ground attack and Ryan Tannehill paces a balanced group of receivers with 40 catches.
Mack Browns Longhorn’s rank third in the country in total defense, giving up an average of 238.7 yards.
Texas owns a 74-36-5 advantage in the all-time series with Texas A&M, including a 49-9 triumph over the Aggies last season.
PICK: University of Texas Longhorns
