The No. 17 Texas Longhorns close out the regular season at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Friday against the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies as 2.5-point underdogs, according to FanDuel on Monday.
Texas enters the first Lone Star Showdown played on the Forty Acres since 2010 needing a win to keep its slim playoff hopes alive at 8-3 with a bad road loss to 3-8 Florida in Gainesville serving as a significant blemish on the CFP resume for the Horns.
The Aggies have a chance at an undefeated regular
season after escaping Kyle Field with a comeback win over the 4-7 Gamecocks on Nov. 15. The rally from a 27-point deficit at halftime was the largest A&M has overcome in school history, surpassing the 21-point margin overcome by the Johnny Manziel-led team in the 2013 Chik-Fil-A Bowl win over Duke.
In the all-time series between the two longtime rivals, who first played in 1894, Texas leads 77-37-5 with the 17-7 win last year in College Station representing the first matchup between the Horns and Aggies since Justin Tucker’s game-winning field goal at Kyle Field in 2011. The last time Texas hosted A&M in Austin, the Longhorns lost 24-17 to close the season 2-7 over their final nine games.
Kick is at 6:30 p.m. Central on ABC.
