COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas has taken control of its annual series with Oklahoma, gone 15-3 against ranked opponents since 2005 and won its last five bowl games.

Texas A&M, though, has been a troublesome opponent for Mack Brown's Longhorns.

The Aggies have twice upset the heavily favored Longhorns in the last three seasons. The victories have been the highlights of an otherwise forgettable decade for A&M, which hasn't finished a season in the Top 25 since 1999.

The archrivals meet again tonight, and if Texas A&M (6-5, 3-4 Big 12) can pull off another shocker, it'll probably cost No. 3 Texas (11-0, 7-0) a shot at the national title and cripple Colt McCoy's chances of winning the Heisman Trophy.

The losses to A&M in 2006 and '07 erased Texas' chances of winning the Big 12 South, but the Longhorns don't have to worry about that happening this time. They locked up their first berth in the Big 12 title game since 2005 with a 51-20 win over Kansas last week, and Brown acknowledged that's a relief heading to Kyle Field.

"Sewing up the Big 12 South title really takes a lot of pressure off this week, so we can go play and enjoy the game," Brown said. "It is a national game, a rival game again. It is important regardless of the records of the two teams and what's at stake. This lets us focus on this game and not look at all the other stuff around us."

Texas handled last year's meeting just fine, routing the Aggies and new coach Mike Sherman, 49-9, in Austin.

But two years ago in College Station, A&M delivered its most inspired performance of the season and knocked off the 13th-ranked Longhorns, 38-30, the Aggies' most significant victory — and last game — under Dennis Franchione.

In 2006, the Aggies toughed out an equally unexpected 12-7 win in Austin. McCoy threw for only 160 yards and was picked off three times, and A&M rushed for 244 yards against the nation's top-ranked run defense.

McCoy, who set an NCAA record last week with his 43rd career victory, said the Longhorns have hardly mentioned either game since they happened.

"We don't really talk about '06 and '07. We don't like to think about that," McCoy said. "We talk about being the best we can be and finishing what we started. That's enough motivation for us. We've got a lot at stake."

Since squeezing past Oklahoma, 16-13, on Oct. 17, Texas has rolled past its last five opponents by an average score of 43-12.

"We feel like this team is having fun," Brown said. "Whatever pressure the team had at the first of the year that was on them, they seem to have that off. They are relaxing and really enjoying each other, and enjoying playing."