COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns finally stumbled with a sub-par game. Lucky for them, the missteps against Texas A&M won't derail their march toward the Rose Bowl and a possible national title.

For the first time since Texas won at Ohio State way back in September, the Longhorns had to put in a full 60 minutes of work to get a 40-29 victory over a fierce rival intent on spoiling their season.

Ramonce Taylor ran for two touchdowns and Cedric Griffin returned a blocked punt for a score for the Longhorns (11-0, 8-0), who survived Young's shakiest game of the season at quarterback.

"I think I was the only one in the country who anticipated this," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "I told the guys ... they're going to pull it all out because they've got nothing to lose. I was really, really not proud of myself that I was right."

The Aggies (5-6, 3-5) finished with their second losing record in three seasons under coach Dennis Franchione, but put a huge scare into the Longhorns, who had won five in a row in the rivalry and had cruised through the Big 12 schedule.

"I was never nervous. That's not me," Young said. "Nervousness, scariness, that's not even in our vocabulary."

Young is one of the leading contenders for the Heisman Trophy, but Texas A&M freshman quarterback Stephen McGee made the plays and provided the inspirational leadership the Longhorns usually get from their star player.

Starting in place of injured senior Reggie McNeal, McGee ran for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jorvorski Lane, also a freshman, ran for 104 yards and also threw a 35-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.

"I wanted to have fun and lead these guys. I want to do it with everything I have," said McGee, who raised his arms after both of his touchdowns to whip up the excited home crowd. "I'm already sore. I know I'll be sore tomorrow."

Young came in likely needing a big game to keep pace with USC's Reggie Bush in the Heisman chase — and his penchant for making big plays in Texas' biggest games seemed to guarantee it.

Instead, he struggled against a defense ranked 109th in the country with 162 yards passing, 19 rushing and two turnovers that led directly to Aggies' touchdowns. He did throw for a touchdown and led two key late drives for field goals.

"There are some great guys in the running," for the Heisman, Young said. "I just want to keep playing and keep winning ... may the best man win."

Texas moves on to the Big 12 title game next Saturday against the winner of the North Division. Win that game and the Longhorns are a lock for a return trip to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4 to play for the Bowl Championship Series title.

Behind McGee and the punishing running of the 265-pound Lane, the Aggies had the Longhorns reeling before finally running out of gas late in the fourth quarter.

Taylor ran for 102 yards on 15 carries for Texas. His second touchdown, an 8-yard scamper through the right side in the third quarter capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive after the Aggies had taken a 22-21 lead on McGee's 11-yard touchdown run.

The Longhorns got the critical blocked punt on A&M's next possession when Michael Griffin crashed over the left side. Cedric Griffin snared the ball in the air and cruised into the end zone for a 34-22 lead.

McGee's second touchdown — a 1-yard run — got the Aggies within five before the Longhorns stretched the lead on David Pino's 41-yard field goal. Pino also kicked a 29-yarder with 2:22 left for the final points.

While the Longhorns own a six-game winning streak over their rivals, they had to feel lucky to get out of this one.

The Aggies outgained Texas 395-336, had more first downs (22) and found a weakness in Texas' run defense by chewing up huge chunks of yards and time. The Aggies held the ball for 35 minutes.

"They played their hearts out," Longhorns defensive tackle Rod Wright said. "They ran a whole lot of options and the quarterback was able to scramble."