Can we say with a fair bit of confidence that Arkansas-Texas A&M was the best game of the year so far? Honestly, this game couldn’t have gotten any better. It was great from the opening kickoff. Texas A&M got a close call today and boy was it ever close. Arkansas came into this game unranked and on a thirteen game losing streak in the SEC which dates back to 2012. Texas A&M hasn’t had much trouble against Arkansas since joining the SEC, but that really changed on Saturday. Now for the recap:
Arkansas came into this game on a 13 conference game losing streak and unranked. In the last two years Arkansas has struggled immensely with a total of seven wins in that time. With a three win season last year, all the Razorbacks were after this year was a .500 season. They kicked off the season against Auburn and almost knocked off the defending SEC champions. Despite falling to the Tigers 45-21, it was tied at halftime and everyone knew this Arkansas team was much better than in previous years.
After Auburn the Razorbacks won three straight games to equal their win total from last season . In two of those three games they rushed for over 400 yards. Their running backs, Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams led the SEC in rushing touchdowns and rushing yards. They had the third highest scoring offense in the country, averaging almost 55 points per game. The Razorbacks boast the biggest offensive line in the nation (both college and pro). Their enormous offensive line complements the explosive running game perfectly, opening holes for the speedy backs to take advantage of. People need to take Arkansas seriously, because they are turning the corner. The Razorbacks have the chance to become a legit threat in the SEC once more and showed it today against the Aggies.
Aggies Survive Arkansas in Overtime Thriller
Texas A&M headed into this game with their heads held high and pretty confident in themselves. They were 4-0 and looking to start the season 5-0 for the first time since 2001. Since joining the SEC, in my opinion, Texas A&M has boasted the best offense in the SEC and a top 3 offense in college football. Of course, that was with Johnny Manziel under center, but nonetheless it was a great offense. This year there was no more Johnny Football and instead it was time for Kenny Hill to lead the Aggies. The opening game was against South Carolina and it was a blowout victory for the Aggies. With three straight wins over cupcake teams, Texas A&M headed back into SEC play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX against Arkansas. Texas A&M was a nine-point favorite over Arkansas and to many that line wasn’t big enough. That turned out to not be the case on Saturday. Like I said, this was one of the best games of the season and it couldn’t have gotten any better.
Texas A&M started off with a bang, scoring just sixty-five seconds into the game. Arkansas would answer back with a touchdown of their own. With the game tied at seven, A&M knew that they had their hands full on this day. After all, this was the first decent team they have played since South Carolina. After a few bad drives by Texas A&M, Arkansas took advantage and gained the lead and for the first time all season, the Aggies would trail a game. Texas A&M was in deep trouble now, trailing against an unranked team in their division. They did manage to tie things up at 14 with a pass from Kenny Hill to Edward Pope. The next two quarters would be all downhill for the Aggies. With less than two minutes left in the first half Arkansas brought out the trickery with a fake punt which was good for a 51-yard touchdown run and just like that the Razorbacks went right back on top 21-14. Late in the third quarter, Arkansas executed a perfect play action pass on third down that went for a touchdown to give them a 28-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
It was at this point that the comeback would begin. With 12 minutes left in the game, Hill launched an 87-yard touchdown pass to Pope once again, bringing the Aggies back within a touchdown. Arkansas was forced to punt on the very next drive. However, Texas A&M could not capitalize. After a series of punts Arkansas would eventually have the ball, with a chance to run out the clock and upset the Aggies. Almost immediately, Arkansas converted three straight first downs and moved the ball into field goal range. A stop from the Aggies defense would force Arkansas to settle for a field goal attempt to give the Razorbacks a ten point advantage over A&M. However, the kick was wide left and Texas A&M had life.
Texas A&M went down the field and Hill found wide receiver Josh Reynolds wide open and he took it all the way for a touchdown to tie the game up at 28 late in the fourth quarter. To make things even more interesting, the Aggies made another huge stop and would get the ball with over a minute left in regulation. The Aggies would move the ball down the field, before being stopped on third down. Instead of taking a risk on fourth down, the Aggies let the clock run out, sending the game into overtime.
With Arkansas on defense first, A&M would have to score to be safe. The first play of overtime was a 25-yard touchdown pass from Hill to Malcome Kennedy and the Aggies had their first lead since early in the first quarter, going up 35-28. Arkansas would have to answer. After three plays the Razorbacks were forced into a 4th and short situation with the game on the line. The Aggies defense showed us a little glimpse of the wrecking crew and stopped a Razorbacks run, to cap a thrilling comeback. With the win Texas A&M moves to 5-0 and keeps their national championship hopes alive.
This game was down to the wire, but it really shouldn’t have been at all. Texas A&M had many opportunities to finish the job, if not for their own mistakes. Josh Reynolds dropped two key passes in the game, one when A&M was knocking on the door and he dropped a sure touchdown in the endzone. On the second he was wide open and could have easily run to the endzone after the catch. These two drops cost the Aggies 14 points. Later in the game, another pass from Hill was dropped by a wide open Malcome Kennedy, which also would have been a touchdown. In keeping with this trend, Hill threw a dart to Edward Pope who caught the ball and tripped over his feet which would have been a walk-in touchdown if he stayed up. That’s a full 28 points left off the board due to miscues from the wideouts. If you take into account a missed Josh Lambo field goal you can up that total to 31. This game easily could have been a blowout for the Aggies if not for so many unforced errors.
Texas A&M fans, calm down over how close this game was. It was a phenomenal game but there’s no reason to fear every single team in the SEC now. It was just an off-day for the boys from College Station, and they escaped Jerry World with a win.
As for Arkansas, I have changed my mind on how they will do this season. I truly expect this team to rattle off a few big wins this season because of the home games they have, with Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and LSU all be coming to Fayetteville. I look forward to Arkansas winning at least two of the four big games and getting their first winning season since 2011. Arkansas is back on track to become one of the SEC’s most dominant football programs in Brett Bielema’s second year as head coach.
Thanks for Reading. Please take moment to follow me on twitter @gigemross. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For more on sports injuries, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
