The last Southwest Classic in Arlington, at AT&T Stadium, between Texas A&M football and Arkansas was a show-stopper from start to finish. Every aspect — from turnovers to air-raid bombs — had the 60,928 fans attending whooping Pig Sooie and waving towels.
Three takeaways and four quarters later, the Aggies are holding the Southwest Classic trophy after a hard-fought, 21-17 win.
“Anytime you play a trophy game, anytime you play a rivalry game, you know you want to walk away with that,” coach Mike Elko said. “And you know that thing sits in your building for a year. And so that certainly means a lot to our players and our team. If this is the last time we play this series up here, then we’ll know we’ll have left with the trophy.”
Once again for the second week in a row, the quarterback debate was settled right before kickoff with Elko and coach Collin Klein agreeing to start redshirt quarterback Marcel Reed.
The first drive for Arkansas lasted four plays but went 75 yards to the house after a major defensive breakdown in the secondary for A&M. After two back-to-back tackles for loss, the Aggie defense appeared confident out of the gate. However, the momentum was short-lived as Boise State transfer junior QB Taylen Green aired out a 75-yard touchdown grab to senior wide receiver Issac TeSlaa.
“I wish we didn’t start by giving up a 75-yard touchdown on third and 11,” Elko said. “ I thought the way we played through the middle part of that game on defense when the offense wasn’t able to put drives together, the defense just kept going … there was no panic.”
The Maroon and White continued to press Green, amassing two sacks, nine tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, an interception and eight quarterback hurries throughout the evening.
Reed answered the Hogs in the first quarter with a 58-yard bomb to junior WR Noah Thomas along the sideline, capping off a short three-play drive to even the score at seven.
“For us to be an explosive offense, we need Noah to be a dynamic playmaker, and he certainly was that today,” Elko said. “It’s great to get him over 100 yards. It was great to get him in the end zone. Those are things we need to do moving forward, for sure.”
After a forced fumble by graduate defensive back Jaydon Hill off a sack on Green, the Razorbacks recovered the ball and went for a first on fourth down the following play. Junior punter Devin Bale then received a direct snap and burst down the middle for a first down and a 25-yard gain to set up Arkansas on A&M’s 29-yard line.
The Hogs ended the 10-play drive with senior running back Ja’Quinden Jackson barreling through the Aggies for an 8-yard touchdown run.
A&M got their big defensive break in the middle of the second quarter after senior defensive tackle Shemar Turner broke through the line and caused the second forced fumble of the game. Junior linebacker Scooby Williams recovered the ball for the Aggies, setting the offense up on the opposing 10-yard line.
After the takeaway, Reed earned his second touchdown of the game — this time with his legs — on a 5-yard rush to the endzone, evening the score at 14.
The Wrecking Crew forced another turnover right before the end of the half when freshman DB Dezz Ricks picked off Green on the A&M 34-yard line.
In the middle of the third quarter, Arkansas tried to go for the first on fourth down with Bale for the second time this game. Instead of a first down, he was met by the dominant D-line led by junior defensive end Shamar Stewart and sophomore DB Marcus Ratcliffe who took him down for a combined tackle-for-loss.
The Razorbacks began to march down the field at the end of the third quarter with the help of three 10+ yard plays from Green, Jackson and TeSlaa.
However, the Wrecking Crew finally brought a stop to coach Sam Pittman’s offense by standing strong against Jackson’s run attack. They took down the running back on the A&M 27-yard line and forced Arkansas to kick for three, putting the Hogs in the lead 17-14.
Junior RB Le’Von Moss helped fuel the following drive for the Aggies with a 23-yard run, a 8-yard and a 15-yard dash to help set up Reed’s touchdown pass to senior tight end Tre Watson, pushing the Fightin’ Farmers ahead, 21-17.
“When it was time, [Moss] was able to go out there and rip off some really big runs,” Elko said. “He’s a talented back. He runs hard. He runs behind his pads, and he certainly put the game on ice for us.”
After another big-time gain for Moss for 30 yards, A&M failed to get the ball close enough to the endzone to squeeze out more points, leaving the game’s fate in the hands of the Wrecking Crew.
After the Razorbacks converted their second fourth down attempt on a QB push, the Maroon Goons struck again, this time behind junior DE Nic Scourton, who forced a team fourth fumble — the second recovery for the defense.
Next, Texas A&M will return to Kyle Field for a Top-10 matchup against Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 5. at 11 a.m. on ABC.
