No. 4 Texas A&M football’s offense has been a special unit this year. It came into the season with a lot of questions and now six games in, there’s more answers than the 12th Man could have ever asked for as it prepares to fight against Arkansas’ defense. This offense is loaded with weapons to silence opponents through the air and on the ground. Even slow starts like the one the group had against Mississippi State don’t stop this unit. 

The Fightin’ Farmer offense has always been a run-first group, focused on dominating the ground game in order to open up opportunities for explosive pass plays. Last year we saw beginnings of what this offense could look like under new offensive coordinator Collin Klein, but this year the offense is fully fleshed out and is executing Klein’s vision with precision. 

The players that make the world go around for the ground game are senior running back Le’Veon Moss and sophomore RB Rueben Owens II. Moss went down with an ankle injury against Florida, so his absence for Arkansas and in the weeks to follow will be a big hit for the offense. However, Owens is averaging almost six yards per carry and had an impressive game against Mississippi State, rushing for 142 yards on just 21 carries. Even without Moss, the ground game is in good hands with Owens and redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed to lead the way.

“It is what it is, I love Le’Veon,” coach Mike Elko said. “Hopefully he’s okay, but we’ve got to be able to play.” 

Moving onto the Aggie passing attack — the part of the offense that everyone was unsure about going into the season. Reed has had a dominant showing in his first six games, throwing for almost 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns, with only four interceptions. 

The Nashville, Tennessee, native’s completion percentage sits at 60%, just below last year’s  making accuracy a concern — especially deep-ball accuracy which sits at 32.1%. However, the ability to produce yards on the ground remains his superpower, being able to slither through open spaces for an easy first down, or on a touchdown like he did on the Aggies’ second offensive play against Florida to tie the game, 7-7.

Last up for the Aggie offense is the standout play of the offensive line. This group is dominant, only allowing Reed to be sacked six times through as many games. One of those matchups came against a Florida defensive line that sacked Texas’ redshirt sophomore QB Arch Manning six times, and an Auburn unit that ranks 14th in the country with 18 sacks as a group. They are also allowing the Maroon and White offense to run for 193.3 yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry, which both rank in the top 40 in the country. 

“Those kids are doing a really good job,” Elko said about his offensive line after the press conference following the win over Florida. “Marcel was really clean most of the night. We talk about how much that matters, keeping your quarterback from getting hits. … He sits in some really clean pockets to deliver the football.”

PFSN, or Pro Football & Sports Network,  gave the O-line a 95.2 overall grade — the highest in all of college football. The line is allowing Reed 3.08 seconds to throw on average, and only allows pressure on 23.5% of non-blitz defensive snaps.

Now, for the Hogs’ defense. It is not a pretty sight as they’re allowing a Southeastern Conference worst 435 yards per game. Passing defense? Page not found as the Razorbacks currently sit at second-worst in the SEC at 251 yards per game, making this an important game for Klein to open up opportunities for sophomore wide receiver Mario Craver and junior WR KC Concepcion. The story for run defense is the same, ranking in as the SEC’s worst with 184 yards per game. Points per game doesn’t change the narrative either, SEC worst at 30.7. 

Arkansas’ unit only gets worse the more we dig in, sitting at 50.79% on third down conversion rate allowed, 91.67% in opponent redzone scoring rate and a 5.52% sack rate which is good for 78th in the country.

With only 6.1 yards per play for the Razorbacks, it’s looking like this defense will make a nice fit for a thriving A&M offense to take full advantage of. Arkansas is coming off of four-straight losses and the firing of their head coach Sam Pittman. Its interim head coach, Bobby Petrino, is a familiar face for A&M as a former offensive coordinator in 2023 under Jimbo Fisher.

“Now we’ve got to become road warriors and go on the road for three straight, starting with a really talented Arkansas team next week,” Elko said after the win against Florida. “And I’m sure they’ll be fired up for the return of coach Petrino back [in] Fayetteville. That’s a tough place to play.”