House Speaker Paul Ryan tried to make a point about party unity Tuesday morning to Texas delegates by using an analogy that rouses as much passion in their as the presidential election – football.

The Wisconsin Republican, speaking at the Texas delegates’ breakfast, said the University of Texas and Texas A&M my be rivals on the field. But when one plays a school from another state, he asked, wouldn’t fans of the other school root for the Texas team?

“No,” most delegates said, to laughter.

Ryan, who’s urging the GOP to come together after a grueling primary campaign, laughed and said, “This explains a lot.”

He rebounded from the football faux pas and drew cheers when he said, “At the end of the day, we want to win the game, don’t we?”