5 best Texas vs. Texas A&M football games of the Big 12 era
By Jeff Shull
4. November 27, 1998
The Aggies only won five games in the 16 times they met as members of the Big 12, so it’s difficult to list all wins here. In 1998, Texas A&M had already locked up a spot in the Big 12 Championship game and were playing for pride.
A&M was undefeated in conference play and No. 6 in the AP poll. Texas was 5-2 in conference play and looking to win a rivalry matchup that was mostly dominated by A&M in the late 80s and early 90s.
The Aggies came out completely flat on offense. At the end of the game, they had -7 yards rushing and only 173 yards of total offense. The Longhorns rode their thoroughbred Ricky Williams, who ended up with a ridiculous 44 carries for 259 yards and a touchdown. He broke the all-time record for career rushing yards, passing the legend Tony Dorsett.
Texas jumped out to a big lead early in the fourth quarter, going up 23-7 with 9:46 to play after a 10-yard touchdown pass from Major Applewhite. The Aggies would come storming back to make it a game, scoring three straight touchdowns thanks to short fields.
The third gave them the lead but they were unable to stop the Longhorns offense, who drove down the field late to set up the game-winning field goal with five seconds left.
The loss turned out to be motivation. Texas A&M would go on to defeat Kansas State to win their first and only Big 12 Championship.