COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- This one was much tougher, but far sweeter, for Oklahoma.
Jason White threw five touchdown passes, including the decisive one with 6:43 left, and the second-ranked Sooners overcame Texas A&M's explosive offense and special teams trickery for a 42-35 victory Saturday.
Oklahoma handed Texas A&M a loss for the ages last season -- 77-0, the worst in the 108-year history of Aggies football. But the rematch was a battle from start to finish for the Sooners (9-0, 6-0 Big 12).
White, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, was 19-of-35 for 292 yards, taking control of the offense as the 22nd-ranked Aggies swarmed to star freshman running back Adrian Peterson.
Peterson still managed to run for 101 yards and a touchdown on a tough 29 carries, his ninth straight 100-yard game. He went to the locker room on Oklahoma's go-ahead drive with an apparent arm injury, but returned to help the Sooners run the clock down on their last possession.
The Aggies (6-3, 4-2) finished the game without their best offensive weapon. Reggie McNeal left with an apparent injury in the third quarter after throwing for 213 yards and two touchdowns and running for a score.
With the Aggies trailing 35-28, McNeal was relieved by Ty Branyon. The former walk-on led Texas A&M on a long drive with five completions, but the march stalled at the Sooners 4.
Already having used a faked punt to score a touchdown, Aggies coach Dennis Franchione pulled another fast one on the Sooners. A&M set up for a field goal, but holder Chad Schroeder took the snap, rolled left and flipped a TD pass to Joey Thomas to tie the game.
White, Peterson and the Sooners went right to work getting the lead back. Peterson converted a third down with a tackle-breaking 8-yard run and the Sooners were aided by a pass interference call.
On third-and-10 at the Aggies 39, White stepped up and away from pressure to deliver a strike down the middle to Mark Bradley, who slipped a tackle at the 15 and went in for a 42-35 lead.
A&M and its little-used quarterback got one more shot with just over a minute left and the ball at the 13.
Branyon scrambled and passed the Aggies to the Sooners 33 with 9 seconds left and no timeouts. His first Hail Mary went out of the end zone, and his final heave was tipped and fell just out of the reach of Schroeder in the end zone.
The Aggies showed just how far they have come since last season's 4-8 record, twice taking a 14-point lead on the Sooners in the first half and scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions.
But the Aggies couldn't shake the Sooners, who took A&M's best shots and trailed by 28-21 at the half.
Much like last week, when the Aggies turned the ball over three times and let Baylor snap their six-game winning streak, Texas A&M couldn't deal with prosperity.
The Aggies turned the ball over three times in the first 6:10 of the second half, including two fumbles deep in their own territory. White followed the fumbles with touchdown passes.
His 2-yard toss off play action to James Moses gave the Sooners a 35-28 lead, their first of the day, midway through the third quarter.
But just when it seemed the Sooners had seized momentum, the Aggies got a spark from the most unexpected source. Branyon had thrown only 17 passes, all in garbage time, but he went 7-for-12 for 72 yards and ran for 38 yards.
The Aggies stopped Oklahoma on its first possession, took over on their 24, and began the first of several long marches. McNeal put the Aggies on top, rolling to his left and finding Terrence Murphy in the front of the end zone for 18 yards.
In one drive, the Aggies had more yards (76) than they had last year (54) all game against the Sooners.
Were these really the same Aggies that lost to Baylor in overtime last week? It was more like 2002, when McNeal as a freshman threw four TDs against the Sooners and the Aggies knocked off the No. 1 team in the country 30-26.
Just when it looked like Oklahoma had forced A&M's first punt, the Aggies took a huge gamble and hit the jackpot in the second quarter.
On a fourth-and-1, punter Jacob Young took two steps and chucked a short pass to Earvin Taylor, who got a great block from Jason Jack to get the first down, then broke a couple of tackles and sprinted down the sideline for a 71-yard touchdown.
The teams combined for 626 yards in the first 30 minutes. Their final combined total was 922 yards.