Longhorns edge Aggies in State Farm Lone Star Showdown, 27-25

Thursday, November 24

College Station, Texas

7:00 PM

University of Texas

7-4 , 4-4

Texas A&M

6-6 , 4-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Texas

Texas A&M

Longhorns edge Aggies in State Farm Lone Star Showdown, 27-25

11.24.2011 | Football

Box Score

Nov. 24, 2011

Box Score | Notes |

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas senior Justin Tucker booted a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give Texas (7-4, 4-4 Big 12) a 27-25 victory over Texas A&M (6-6, 4-5 Big 12) Thanksgiving Night in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown at Kyle Field.

Texas A&M took a 25-24 lead inside the game's final two minutes behind a 16-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to Jeff Fuller, but the Longhorns, behind quarterback Case McCoy, drove down the field and positioned themselves to win the game.

Texas took the ensuing kickoff to its 29-yard line, and after the Horns took a five-yard penalty on a substitution infraction, UT picked up 15 yards on a Texas A&M personal foul penalty. From the UT 39, McCoy hit wide receiver Jaxon Shipley to the 41, and McCoy found wide receiver Marquise Goodwin for seven yards to set up third and one from the UT 48.

McCoy found wide receiver Miles Onyegbule for four yards and a first down to the A&M 48 before McCoy tucked the ball and ran for 25 yards to the Aggies' 23-yard line with 44 seconds remaining. Goodwin and running back Cody Johnson each ran for no gain, and Texas called for time with three seconds left in the game. Texas A&M burned its final timeout just prior to the field-goal attempt, but Tucker converted moments later to give Texas the victory.

Texas A&M took a 7-0 lead on its opening series as Tannehill hit running back Ben Malena for a seven-yard touchdown with 11:31 remaining in the first quarter. The Aggies assumed a 10-0 lead two drives later when Randy Bullock connected on a 49-yard field goal with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter.

Bullock extended the Aggies' lead to 13-0 when he booted a 52-yard field goal with 10:50 left in the first half. But Texas kept fighting and quickly cashed in on an Aggies' miscue to score its first points of the game. UT's Tucker punted into Aggie territory, and the ball bounced off of A&M's Dustin Harris and into the hands of UT's Jamison Berryhill at the Aggies' 41-yard line.

On the next play, McCoy threw a lateral to Shipley in the left flat. Shipley promptly threw downfield to tight end Blaine Irby, who hauled in the Shipley pass at the Aggies' 15 and took it into the end zone untouched to cut the deficit to 13-7 with 9:10 left in the half.

Texas immediately got the ball back on the Aggies' next series, as UT cornerback Quandre Diggs picked off A&M's Tannehill at the Aggies' 47-yard line with 8:57 left in the half. But a UT fumble gave the ball back to the Aggies on their own 41-yard line. The Aggies then drove into Texas territory and took a 16-7 lead on the strength of a 29-yard Bullock field goal with 4:18 left in the half.

Texas A&M took the second half's opening kickoff and drove to the Texas 48, but UT cornerback Carrington Byndom picked off the Aggies' Tannehill at the UT 42 and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown to cut the A&M lead to 16-14.

Texas forced Texas A&M to punt on its next possession. Diggs gathered in the punt from the Aggies' Ryan Epperson at the Texas 10 and returned it 81 yards to the Texas A&M nine-yard line to set up first and goal for the Longhorns. Carries from running backs Malcolm Brown and D.J. Monroe put Texas at the Aggies' six-yard line, but a third-and-goal pass from McCoy to Shipley fell incomplete in the end zone. Tucker punched in a 23-yard field goal to give Texas a 17-16 lead with 7:44 left in the third quarter.

The Texas defense forced another turnover on the Aggies' next series, as safety Kenny Vaccaro picked off Tannehill at the A&M 24-yard line. Carries from McCoy, Goodwin and Johnson set up first and 10 from the A&M 13. Quarterback David Ash carried two yards to the Aggies' 11 before Brown ran over an A&M tackler on his way to the A&M one-yard line to set up first and goal. Johnson plunged into the end zone on the next play, as Texas took a 24-16 lead with 4:04 remaining in the third quarter.

Texas kept Texas A&M off of the scoreboard until 5:56 remained in the fourth quarter, when Bullock knocked in a 32-yard field goal to cut the Horns' lead to 24-19. The Aggies took the lead with 1:48 left in the game behind Tannehill's touchdown pass to Fuller before Tucker responded for Texas with the game-winning field goal as time expired.