The season’s three-game road stint commences as No. 4 Texas A&M football heads to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to face the Razorbacks on Saturday, Oct. 18. The Aggies will return to Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, back on Southeastern Conference turf after last year’s AT&T Stadium neutral-site matchup.
Following a 34-17 victory over the Florida Gators last week, the Aggies are now riding a 6-0 start for the first time since 2016. After wrapping up a stretch of games in front of the 12th Man, they will now be tested on their capacity to consistently win on the road.
“Anytime you have to go play games on the road, you’re going to be dealt with a lot of challenges and a lot of adversity,” coach Mike Elko said in Monday’s press conference. “ … And you better be ready to overcome them.”
Its sole matchup on the road this season allowed A&M a chance to show off its offense against Notre Dame in a 41-40 victory that demonstrated its capability to secure a statement win away from home.
The Razorbacks have been off to a slow start, as they have yet to secure a conference win and are currently on a four-game losing streak. Entering the matchup, the Hogs stand at 2-4, with both of their wins captured on home turf. While the Aggies haven’t faced a full road slate just yet, they understand the challenges a road series poses.
“There’s no easy environments,” Elko said. “There’s no easy teams.”
For the Maroon and White, graduate defensive end Dayon Hayes came up big in his last outing. Against Florida, he notched one sack, two tackles — including one tackle for loss — and forced a fumble, which earned him SEC Defensive Line Player of the Week honors on Oct. 13.
Opportunity could be on the horizon for the Aggies’ defense as Razorbacks’ redshirt senior quarterback Taylen Green was sacked five times in his last game against No. 11 Tennessee, contributing to Arkansas’ 34-31 loss. However, the holes in Arkansas’ offensive line haven’t necessarily extinguished the fire Green has lit in his recent outings.
With 1,654 passing yards and 71 rushes for 504 yards coming from the Lewisville native, he could easily present a dual-threat danger against A&M.
“They’ve got a talented quarterback who can run and throw the football,” Elko said. “ … They present the challenges of a running quarterback and the challenges of a West Coast passing attack. That’s always difficult to go against.”
Redshirt sophomore QB Marcel Reed sits at No. 4 in the SEC for passing yards, and just ahead of him stands Green. Reed recently threw his second-longest completion of the season with a 67-yard launch over the Gators, which didn’t quite reach his season-long 86-yard completion on the road against the Fighting Irish. His 62% completion rate has been a big factor in their ability to construct scoring runs.
However, some uncertainty lingers for the Fightin’ Farmers’ offense after junior running back Le’Veon Moss exited last Saturday’s game with an apparent injury during the second quarter.
“It certainly will not end his season, but it’s going to be a significant amount of time,” Elko said.
With Moss currently leading the Aggies in rushing yards, his absence will certainly leave some crucial cleats to fill.
Sophomore RB Rueben Owens II is poised to refract the cacophony of color Moss once sported. The El Campo product has followed closely behind Moss all season on the ground, racking up 327 yards rushing.
The Aggies will have to hogtie the struggling Razorbacks to extend their undefeated record. The road to 7-0 for the Aggies begins this Saturday, Oct. 18 at 2:30 p.m. in Fayetteville.
