A late night game in College Station said farewell to a century-long rivalry between Texas and Texas A&M in 2011. The Aggies were set to move from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference the following year and wouldn’t face their in-state rivals for a then-unknown amount of time.
The Aggies led the game 25-24 with a little less than two minutes on the clock. Cade McCrary, a fifth-year holder for the Longhorns, stepped on the field with kicker Justin Tucker for the play that would decide the game.
“I was extremely nervous,” McCrary said. “I think we all kind of knew what that moment was. It was a 108-year-old rivalry, I believe, and that was going to be the last time we played for the foreseeable future. So we knew we wanted to go out with the wind, but I think we all knew what was riding on it.”
Kyle Field is known for being loud and energetic, but at that moment, it went silent.
“It was a small section of UT fans kind of stashed in the corner,” McCrary said. “But when that kick came off Justin’s foot and went through, it was very quiet, except for our team rushing the field.”
Texas won the game 27-25.
With A&M leading the game in the final minutes before the winning kick, Aggie fans were excited.
“It’s a wild, very energetic, exciting atmosphere,” McCrary said. “I guess that was before they did the renovations, and it was crazy loud back then. I can’t imagine what it’s like now, especially in the, I don’t know which direction is the one end zone that has the triple decks right there … if you’re down on that side of the field, it’s extremely loud, luckily for that last kick it wasn’t.”
McCrary is a good example of someone who grew up in a split family. Though he played for the Longhorns and his family moved to Austin after his dad Hardee McCrary took a job as the program’s defensive ends coach in 1998, a big part of his family wore maroon and white on Thanksgiving weekend.
If the game was in Austin, his house was crowded. If it was in College Station, he would take the two-hour trip and stay with some family.
“It was a big family event for us,” McCrary said. “And obviously, half the family was gonna be disappointed, and I was gonna be super happy.”
Not every Texas fan has a background so closely related to the rivalry. Many students are coming from other states or even countries and are just now growing this strong connection with the Longhorns.
When asked to describe the rivalry to someone who didn’t grow up wearing burnt orange, McCrary said “fierce.”
“It’s similar to Texas-OU, but in the same breath, they’re both teams from Texas,” McCrary said. “It’s like you’re battling to be the premier team of Texas…It’s very much like the OU game. As far as you know, both teams usually have pretty good teams, and it’s a great rivalry, but it’s exciting. It’s very exciting.”
For 13 years, McCrary’s hands have been the last to touch the ball in the iconic rivalry.
