Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M's 2010 win stands out in an otherwise lopsided rivalry with OU

“Just shooting ourselves in the foot,” Lamothe said. “Turnovers, penalties. Whatever games we lose, it's usually turnovers and penalties. Luckily, we've been able to take advantage of that in a few games. This year, the games we did win, like Alabama, we didn't have a lot of turnovers and penalties.”

Said Swope, “What it comes down to, just not beating yourself. Penalties. Taking care of the ball. No turnovers. Doing the little things that win football games. That's going to be crucial for us on Friday.”

A&M almost always has been led by a talented quarterback. Ryan Tannehill, Jerrod Johnson, Reggie McNeal, Stephen McGee. But now the Aggies have Johnny Manziel, the redshirt freshman phenom who won the Heisman Trophy.

“We're looking forward to trying it out with this new offense we've got and how much success we've had with it,” said A&M offensive tackle Jake Matthews. “They're a great team. That's for sure. They have a lot of great athletes. Guys that can rush the pass and get all around the field.”

The Aggies, despite their avowed affinity for the SEC, still talk glowingly about their old adversary.

“They're an athletic bunch,” Joeckel said. “They get a lot of athletes at every position. They're a lot like an SEC defense.

“They've got a lot of confidence in the Big 12. They're a very confident group. They've won for a long time. They kind of bring that intimidation factor, because they've won for so long.”