Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed isn’t exactly handing Texas its flowers after going 0-2 against the Longhorns.
With the rivalry set to return in the SEC’s third edition of the Lone Star Showdown on Nov. 27 in College Station, Reed was asked on SportsCenter about his record against Texas. The answer leaned hard toward self-critique from the Aggies’ side rather than praise for what Texas has done in those games.
“I think we just have to focus. I mean, we lost the game ourselves,” Reed said. “Whenever we lose, it's not because any team necessarily beat us, it's because we didn't do the things we were supposed to do.”
Reed kept the same tone when he talked about the rivalry itself.
“But yeah, it's a big rivalry,” Reed said. “It's important to me.
It's important to our fans, and you know we're really excited to play it. Obviously, we're not focused on them right now.
They're down the road, but in order to win that game, you know we got to be on our P's and Q's.”
That’s a respectful nod to the stakes, but not much in the way of credit for Texas. And right now, the Longhorns have earned plenty of it. They’re coming off an epic comeback win over Ohio State on Saturday, a result that pushed them to No. 1 in the country.
Reed’s history against Texas has not gone his way, either. In two games against the Longhorns, he has zero total touchdowns, three interceptions and one lost fumble. Two of those interceptions came in the fourth quarter of last year’s matchup, when Texas A&M was trying to mount a comeback.
Texas didn’t need Reed to beat itself. The Longhorns made the plays, and that’s what ended those two meetings with double-digit losses for the Aggies, including the defeat that handed No. 3 Texas A&M its first and only loss of the regular season last year.
Now the conversation shifts to whether Reed can flip the script when the teams meet again, or whether Texas will make it three straight since the rivalry renewed.
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