In what may well have been the last meeting Texas and Texas A&M--the rivalry is one of many that has been destroyed by the ever-unfolding conference realignment mayhem--it was Texas who came out on top last night in College Station. The 27-25 win, sealed by a 40-yard field goal from Justin Tucker, upped Texas' record to 7-4 on the year.
Perhaps more importantly, it gives the Longhorns in-state bragging rights. Like, forever.
A&M coach Mike Sherman, who may not be around to see his Aggies enter the SEC, called the loss "devastating." His players apparently agreed. Safety Trent Hunter told the Associated Press that players were in tears after the game; they did grasp, it seems, the enormity of this loss, and the fact that it will live on forever in Texas football lore.
"This is by far the most painful loss I've had since I've been here," Hunter told the AP. "It's one of those things that we're going to have to live with for a while since Texas and Texas A&M aren't playing again."
The game served as a dramatic kick-off to what figures to be a fantastic weekend of college football. It's a weekend we'll look at more closely here, in this Thanksgiving edition of Games Worth Watching.
No. 3 Arkansas at No. 1 LSU (Friday, 2:30, CBS): Everyone is all in a tizzy, worried about What Happens Next if the Razorbacks somehow go into Death Valley and pull out a win. I'm not sure what the worrying is all about. Because the Razorbacks aren't going to go into Death Valley and pull out a win. Defense wins championships, and ain't nobody play defense like the Tigers. LSU 23, Arkansas 13
Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan (Saturday, Noon, ABC): OK, so it's not quite the standard that we've come to expect from this grand old rivalry series (still the best in the nation, by the way), but Ohio State-Michigan is still Ohio State-Michigan. Which means it's still worth watching. The Wolverines have been utterly transformed under the leadership of Brady Hoke, and a win here could propel them into the BCS. But they'd best be careful to not overlook the Buckeyes, a team that, in all honesty, is just one or two plays away from having eight wins instead of six. In the last game before Urban Meyer takes over in Columbus, the Buckeyes pull the upset in honor of Luke Fickell. Ohio State 17, Michigan 14
No. 19 Penn State at No. 16 Wisconsin (Saturday, 3:30, ESPN): You have to give Penn State--players, and coaches--for getting to this point. With their world literally falling apart all around them, the Nittany Lions have clawed and fought their way to the brink of the Leaders Division title. But this bunch of fighters simply won't have enough firepower to compete with Russell Wilson and the Badgers. Not up in Madison. Look for the Nits to hang around for a quarter or two before Wisconsin pulls away late. Wisconsin 24, Penn State 10
No. 22 Notre Dame at No. 6 Stanford (Saturday, 8 p.m., ABC): Basically, everything that Stanford was playing for was taken away with that humbling loss to Oregon two weeks back. The Cardinal looked sleepy and uninspired last week against Cal, and I expect more of the same this week against a dangerous Notre Dame team. Brian Kelly is going to deliver his breakthrough game eventually, right? Why not this week? Notre Dame 31, Stanford 30
Source: http://collegefootball.about.com/b/2011/11/25/games-worth-watching-thanksgiving-weekend-edition.htm
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