No. 4 Texas A&M football has continued to find ways to win after taking care of rival Arkansas in a 45-42 fashion. In the last 14 matchups, the Maroon and White have beaten the Razorbacks 13 times, and each game comes with a brand-new narrative.
It would take far more than a two-hour weather delay to set the Aggies’ ship adrift, as the A&M offense took the time to sharpen its resolve. After Arkansas’ field goal in its opening drive, redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed was eager to rise to the occasion.
Braving through a handful of penalties, Reed connected with redshirt freshman wide receiver Asthon Bethel-Roman for a 24-yard score for a 7-3 lead. The son of two outstanding LSU athletes, Bethel-Roman is a mismatch pass catcher who can take the top off the defense when overwhelmed.
The following two Maroon and White drives were beautifully engineered, combining for over 124 yards and two touchdowns thanks to Reed’s dual-threat ability. The Aggies appeared in control as momentum held to the visiting sidelines — until certain doom approached in the waning moments of the second half.
Massive chunk plays from the legs of redshirt seniors QB Taylen Green and running back Mike Washington Jr. provided the jolt the Hogs needed to score 14 unanswered points in less than two minutes, bringing the Aggies’ lead to a narrow 21-20 advantage.
While the moments of peril surely rattled the composure of the Aggie faithful, coach Mike Elko’s crew was not among those affected by times of adversity. Coming out of halftime, A&M received the third-quarter kickoff and wasted no time getting the job done.
Reed gave Razorback Stadium his best Green impression, putting together a three-play touchdown drive that featured his longest rush of the season. This 46-yard scamper set up his fourth touchdown of the night, which ended up in junior WR KC Concepcion’s hands and extended the Aggies’ lead, 31-20.
But in a rivalry game with as much storied history as the Southwest Classic, neither team would be so quick as to back down from a challenge, especially in the first on-campus iteration of the contest in five years.
Green worked his magic again after an errant kickoff gave the Razorbacks favorable field position to kickstart a commanding touchdown drive. In the blink of an eye, Arkansas seized an opportunity to make it a one-score game with a goal-line sucker punch for six more points.
A&M wouldn’t lose its physical edge along its defensive roller coaster ride, relying heavily on the expertise of one of the premier running back rooms in the country. Graduate RB EJ Smith showed flashes of his father Emmitt Smith’s legendary skill, dodging and powering through defenders to give his Aggie teammates every way to score.
It looked as if Smith had done the honors on a 15-yard would-be touchdown run at the end of the third quarter, but a holding call quickly ended the ceremony in the end zone. It would be of no consequence in the long run, as redshirt sophomore RB Rueben Owens II trucked a defender en route to his second rushing touchdown score of the season.
But the Razorbacks would still not back down from the fight, as they took advantage of more Aggie penalties and up-and-down tackling to put themselves in scoring position. Starting from the A&M four-yard line, it was up to the defense to hold strong.
The hopes did not last long, with redshirt sophomore tight end Jaden Platt hauling in a touchdown that paired with a two-point conversion to chop at the Aggie lead once again, 38-35. Platt, a transfer from A&M, caught his first touchdown for Arkansas versus his old team.
In a game of momentum, it is the little plays that add up for the ultimate victor, with perhaps no moment more crucial than a fourth-down conversion on the Aggies’ own 34-yard line. Smith played the role of hero after colliding with a shuffling junior offensive guard Chase Bisontis, picking up two yards to extend the drive.
Bethel-Roman saw Smith’s feat and felt determined to one-up him, tiptoeing along the sideline and emerging victorious in a handfight to pick up a 37-yard gain. Not too long after, Owens charged unopposed into the end zone, taking a 45-35 lead.
Recent memory would say that the Razorbacks jumped right back into the mix following their defense’s folly, but then the thought of redshirt senior defensive end Cashius Howell comes to mind, and it becomes obvious what happened — a critical sack pick-up.
Working in league with fellow redshirt senior DE Dayon Hayes, Howell buried Green in a blanket of defensive pressure, as the Razorbacks took a 20-yard loss on second down, effectively killing a chance for a timely response.
Though Arkansas kept kicking into the last two minutes of the game, history repeated itself as A&M came out with a 45-42 win, handing the Razorbacks their fifth consecutive loss of the season.
A&M improves to 7-0 for the first time since 1994, and hopes to continue its streak against No. 10 LSU on Saturday, Oct. 25, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at 6:30 p.m.
