B&S SEC Game of the Week: Red hot A&M hosts sneakily good Arkansas team
A&M looks to roast the Hogs and make it 9-straight wins against Arkansas.
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By: The Waco Kid
Photo: Tim Heitman, USA TODAY Sports
In 2009 Texas A&M and Arkansas agreed to start playing each other on a yearly basis and bring back a storied rivalry that used to be played year in and year out in the Southwest Conference. That’s right you youngins’ like me, before the Big 12, before C-USA, or the AAC there was the Southwest Conference composed of the best collegiate teams throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The conference featured Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma, Rice, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma A&M before they found their own identity, as Oklahoma State, and stopped trying to emulate their counterpart south of the Red River. This was a conference that embraced the southern way of football, a hit hard or forever hold your peace mentality, and turned it into multiple national championships. As fate would have it, both A&M and Arkansas won their last national football championships while competing in this outdated conference.
Hit hard or forever hold your peace.
At the time of this rivalry revival (say that three times fast), Texas A&M was still playing in the Big 12, adhering to the acceptance of mediocrity that coursed through the veins of a conference barely holding on to life. For the first three years it seemed as if the matchup with Arkansas was an inevitable loss for A&M, scheduled undoubtedly due to the amount of money Jerry Jones was willing to pay to see his Razorbacks win a game. For those who aren’t keyed into this rivalry, the A&M v. Arkansas game is typically played in AT&T Stadium so that Jones can watch his alma mater, Arkansas, play a good old fashioned SWC game. However, the tables turned in 2012 when the Aggies entered the SEC, once again becoming conference rivals with Arkansas and introduced them to a kid from Kerrville, Texas by the name of Johnny Manziel. Johnny Football had his way with Arkansas that day, putting up 58 points, and began a new tradition of roasting that Razorback hide and letting the hills of Fayetteville wonder when a day would come that the Ags would slip up.
Manziel magic and another John L. Lewis dud started off the A&M-Arkansas rivalry in the SEC.
Since that 2012 showdown, Texas A&M has yet to lose a game against the Hogs, but there were no easy triumphs. The Aggies have pulled off wins by an average of only 9 points throughout this time and three of these games ended up as victories in overtime. No matter the skill level on either team, this game is always a close one. Both teams seem to understand what the other is trying to do and adapt to the game plan accordingly. That is what makes this game interesting, there is no other rivalry that knows the ins and outs of the competition like A&M and Arkansas. The coaches and players are students of history they know the opponent and no longer can a check keep the other team in reach, with these two programs it can only end in a checkmate or a loss.
For A&M there are multiple aspects of the team that will have to function together to produce a win against an overlooked Arkansas team. For starters we want to see a continued, productive defensive effort coming from the D-line, backers, and secondary. Yeah, I am talking about you, Bobby Brown III, Buddy Johnson, DeMarvin Leal, Leon O’Neal Jr. and McKinnley Jackson, these are some of the nastiest players in the SEC and can determine the outcome of a game with their play. They just need to play to their potential, potential which we are all aware of. When I say nasty I mean players that put their knuckles down in the dirt and will compete for the team no matter what the situation. I love watching these guys play because their main concern is not you or I, it is taking care of business on the field, no matter the repercussion and no matter what the offense brings. Shoutout @bobbyiii5, we would love to speak with you about this long awaited reincarnation of the Wrecking Crew that seems to be upon us, and if you wanted to bring Buddy, DeMarvin, Leon, or McKinnley we would certainly have no objections. I have been watching you for three years now and think you deserve a little more of the national spotlight. Plug over. The defense will have to pressure Feleipe Franks into making bad throws and stop the ground game of A&M defector, Rakeem Boyd. If Franks is uncomfortable in the pocket, the Aggies have the potential to run away with this one.
Photo: Daniel Dunn, Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
That is a baaaad man.
The next key to a win against the Razorbacks is surprise, surprise Kellen Mond. Mond needs to continue his progression into an elite quarterback this weekend. The Aggies cannot afford subpar quarterback play against a defense whose last outing forced 6 interceptions from a high powered Ole Miss offense. If Kellen comes out the way he did against Florida, this game could be over in the first half. The passing game will be highly influenced by the presence of Isaiah Spiller. Spiller has the talent to freeze the defense and take pressure off of Kellen Mond by pounding an Arkansas defensive front that has given up an average of 177 yards rushing per game. Isaiah is one of the best backs in the SEC; give him a lane and he will make you pay. I believe the Razorbacks will be paying the piper come Saturday evening.
Photo: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
If Arkansas has a chance on Saturday, Rakeem Boyd have to turn in a big game against his former school.
Arkansas will need for everything to go right in this game to have a chance at a victory against #8 A&M. Feleipe Franks will have to exploit a younger, inexperienced secondary and Rakeem Boyd will have to try and make things happen against a stout defensive line. I think it is a long shot for the Razorbacks, but it is 2020, this game always proves to be a tricky one, and it is a Halloween matchup so maybe an abnormal outcome would be a normal one given the situation. While the Arkansas offense seems to be clicking, they do not have the offensive firepower that Florida had that allowed them to keep pace with the Ags.
Texas A&M’s offense will be too much for the Arkansas defense to handle. The Aggie defense will stop the run and force Franks into making throws that are inadvisable. Arkansas will make it interesting in the first half, but expect the Ags to pull away in the third quarter and leave the Razorbacks with no hope by the middle of the fourth.
#8 Texas A&M 38
Arkansas 17