Horns outlast Aggies, to play UGA for SEC title

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Quintrevion Wisner ran for a career-high 186 yards and Quinn Ewers threw a touchdown pass to lead No. 3 Texas to a 17-7 win over 20th-ranked archrival Texas A&M on Saturday night, sending the Longhorns to the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Texas (11-1, 7-1 SEC, No. 3 CFP) will face No. 7 Georgia next Saturday in Atlanta for the SEC title, with the winner getting a first-round bye in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

The highly anticipated return of this rivalry, which dates to the 1890s, had all the hype of a heavyweight title bout. It looked to be headed for a blowout after Texas raced to a 17-0 halftime lead.

"Defensively tonight, it was just an absolutely dominant performance," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said in his postgame media availability. "We won the game in a physical manner, which is what we know we needed to do in the Southeastern Conference."

But Ewers turned the ball over in the red zone on consecutive possessions to keep the Aggies in the game. The first giveaway was an interception that Will Lee III returned 93 yards for a touchdown. The Longhorns also had a punt blocked in the second half.

Sarkisian acknowledged the miscues, but -- aside from Ewers' turnovers and the blocked punt -- "I really thought we controlled the game and dominated the game."

Texas A&M (8-4, 5-3, No. 20 CFP) had a shot to cut the lead to three with about 4½ minutes remaining, but Ethan Burke dropped Amari Daniels for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the 1. The Longhorns stopped the Aggies on three fourth downs on the night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.