FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KBTX) – No. 4 Texas A&M moved to 7-0 for the first time since 1994 with a 45-42 win over Arkansas in Fayetteville.
The defense was uncharacteristically shaky against the running prowess of Razorback quarterback Taylen Green, but the offense put enough points on the board to secure the win.
“We picked a really, really bad night to play bad football,” Elko said of the defense. “We played bad football. We didn’t play anywhere near the standard of Texas A&M football, ever, at any point during the course of teh game.. We battled, but it just wasn’t good enough and when you do that against a really good offense, that’s what happens.”
Why did A&M win? The Aggie offense took no time settling into the game, jumping out to a 21-6 lead with three minutes to play in the second quarter.
Aggie wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman started off the scoring with a great first step in press coverage and a strike thrown by Reed with his wide out behind the defender on the 24-yard score. Reed used his legs on the second score, pulling a read option and running three yards untouched around the outside early in the second. Nearly a quarter later, Reed pulled a handoff and floated a pass over a defender to a wide-open Nate Boerkicker for the Aggies’ third score of the game.
Twice, the Arkansas offense had first and goal inside the 10 and A&M’s defense held them to field goals on both.
However, the final three minutes of the first half belonged to Green. After spending a portion of the second half in the training tent, Green reentered the game and led a five-play, 75-yard drive that ended on a 27-yard rushing touchdown from the quarterback. Then, after forcing the first Aggie punt of the game, the Razorbacks marched 71 yards in less than a minute and punched in a 7-yard touchdown from Green to O’Mega Blake. Green stepped out of the pocket and shook defensive tackle Albert Regis before launching the touchdown strike. Arkansas trailed by one heading into the intermission.
The Razorbacks were able to post 204 rushing yards on the Aggie defense in the first half.
“I would say it was a wake-up call,” A&M safety Marcus Ratcliffe said. “I think maybe we relaxed a little bit, stated giving up some stuff and then, second half, halftime adjustments, tightened it up. Second half, came in, got the stops.”
However, Reed proved he could match step-for-step with Green on the first drive of the second half. On the Aggies’ first drive of the second half, Reed set up a 17-yard touchdown catch by KC Concepcion with a 46-yard scramble deep in to Razorback territory. The Aggies extended the lead to two scores with a 29-yard field goal by Randy Bond.
The Arkansas ground game continued to find success and pulled back within four on a 1-yard rush by Green up the middle with four minutes to play in the third.
A&M put depth running back EJ Smith in the backfield through the end of the third quarter, using the power rusher to take air out of the game. He should have gotten a touchdown for his efforts, but his score was called back due a holding penalty. On the next play, running back Rueben Owens II finished his work with a 14-yard rumble up the middle.
A&M’s possession wouldn’t hold the Razorback offense down long. Green led a 10-play, 75-yard drive through the beginning of the fourth quarter that came to a head on a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jaden Platt. Green lobbed a perfect throw toward the back corer of the end zone where the A&M transfer could only reach the pass on a diving effort.
Owens picked up his second score of the game on what would-be the game-winning score on a 12-yard rush with six minutes to play.
Who stood out? In A&M head coach Mike Elko’s estimation, Reed had his best game of the season. The stats back up the claim.
Reed completed 72% of his 32 passes in the game for 280 yards and three touchdowns, tallying the best completion percentage of his career in games he attempted more than two passes. The three passing touchdowns is tied for second most in his career.
“I thought he was calm in the pocket,” Elko said of Reed. “I thought he delivered the ball where it was supposed to go. I thought he was really good in his reads and his progressions and his checks. Got us in the right play a lot of the time. Just think he played a really, really clean game tonight.”
Two depth players had their break out games of the season for the Aggie offense in Bethel-Roman and Smith.
Bethel-Roman, who was once committed to play for the Razorbacks, led the Aggies with 83 receiving yards on four catches and a touchdown.
Smith, who has been A&M’s closing back over the last two games, used powerful running to take air out of the game in the third quarter. He was one of three Aggie rushers with more than 50 yards on the ground (52 yards), averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Owens led the Aggies with 69 and two touchdowns on 14 attempts and Reed had 55 and a score on six attempts.
A strong offensive performance was needed to keep the Arkansas offense in the rear-view mirror.
Green finished the game with 86 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 11 carries to go with a 19 for 32 night with 256 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air.
“He’s a superior athlete,” Ratcliffe said of Green. “Super fast, super quick, super long. Obviously, that gave us some trouble.”
Arkansas running back Mike Washington added 147 yards on the ground as well, averaging 9.2 yards per carry.
What was a key stat? Arkansas’ total 268 rushing yards was the most A&M’s defense has given up this season, well more than the 203 yards UTSA posted against the Aggies in the season opener.
Understandably, the last time A&M gave up more rushing yards was in a loss to South Carolina last season. Gamecock quarterback LaNorris Sellers rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown in that game.
“A lot of things [need to be fixed in rush defense],” Elko said. “Obviously, we miss fit a lot of runs. Whenever you see a running back come running out of there like they did so many times tonight, those are all miss fits… It’s a different offense with the quarterback run element and it creates more stress. We were just very, very poor.”
What was a key play? The Aggies finished 3 for 3 on fourth down conversions in the game, rolling out their “power T” offensive set.
None was more important than the fourth-down conversion picked up by Smith with 10 minutes to play in the fourth that ultimately led to the game-winning touchdown.
“It was great to see EJ Smith step into a really strong role tonight,” Elko said.
What does this mean moving forward? The Aggies are one of five remaining undefeated teams to come out of Week 8 unscathed, nationally. (BYU, a sixth, is still playing Utah at the time of publication).
A&M is also the only remaining undefeated in the SEC after Ole Miss lost to Georgia Saturday, 43-35.
Position Breakdown:
OFFENSE:
Quarterback: A+
Reed had his best game as an Aggie.
Running backs: A
This game, more than most this season, truly proved the depth of this unit. Three rushers with more than 50 yards Four backs get carries.
Receivers: A-
Another outstanding performance from the unit as a whole. Nine pass catchers for 280 yards and three touchdowns. Seven had 20 or more yards. Had a touchdown taken off the board due to a holding call.
Offensive line: A
No sacks allowed and no tackles for loss. Had a late touchdown taken off the board due to a holding call.
DEFENSE
Defensive line: B
Played a role in all of those rushing yards against, however did account for three sacks and two tackles for loss.
Linebackers: D
So much of the problem with rushing defense was miss fits, which falls back on linebacker play.
Defensive secondary: C-
Made some big plays, but were also involved with rush-game issues. Just not a good game all-around for the Aggie defense.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
Mostly a non-factor in the game, though Bond’s 29-yard field goal ended up being a must. Tyler White had an important punt late in the fourth quarter.
What’s next: The Aggies travel to No. 10 LSU to take on the Tigers in Death Valley at night. LSU dropped its game to No. 17 Vanderbilt Saturday, 31-24.
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