“Arkansas and A&M at AT&T Stadium, how else would you expect it to go?”
Mike Elko couldn’t have said it better if he tried.
In a crazy, stress-inducing, frustrating-at-multiple-times, weird game - which has basically become the norm in this series in Arlington - the Fightin’ Texas Aggies let a national audience know about that “Fightin’” part, scratching and clawing their way to a well-earned 21-17 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the final contest between the two sides at AT&T Stadium.
Behind some air-tight defense and a fourth quarter where the Maroon and White dominated, the Aggies won a true battle of wills, outlasting the Razorbacks from a physical and mental standpoint late in this one. The Southwest Classic trophy will stay in College Station, with the Ags having won 12 (branding!) of 13 in Arlington and the last three in a row. Now, A&M is riding a four-game winning streak and is the only SEC team to be 2-0 in conference play with the biggest game of the season to this point on deck - a home date with the #9 Missouri Tigers.
Before we discuss that, though, let’s debrief some talking points from this Arkansas game, a wild one in the last installment of the neutral-site contests before the Southwest Classic moves to the campuses in 2025.
The Fourth Quarter
Through three quarters, I honestly thought Arkansas was playing like the better team. After a fast start from both squads, both defenses settled in and it was a grind-it-out affair from then on. Texas A&M struggled to get yards, while the Razorbacks just couldn’t finish drives and made mistakes thanks in part to an insane effort from the Aggie defense. When the Hogs booted a field goal to make it 17-14 in the fourth quarter, it looked bleak for a moment.
But the Aggies played some of their best football when it mattered most - late in the game. That’s the Tommy Moffitt effect. They didn’t seem tired, they weren’t disillusioned, and they made the adjustments to go and take it.
And they did.
All of a sudden, the Aggies started to physically and mentally overwhelm Arkansas. The offensive line, headed by strong efforts from Chase Bisontis, Trey Zuhn, and Koli Faaiu, among others, began to push the Arkansas defensive line around and pave ways for Le’Veon Moss to get going and take control. That scoring drive was really a big “f you” possession from the Maroon Goons and Moss, just completely marching all the way down the field before Marcel Reed hit Tre Watson in the flat to put the Ags on top for good.
The defense continued to fly around like they had been for the good majority of the game up to that point, headlined by a stellar defensive line putting the finishing touches on a great day at the office with Nic Scourton icing the game with a strip-sack of Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green.
From there, it was more of the same on offense in the fourth with Moss bursting through a gaping hole in the defense for a Fightin’ Texas Aggie First Down to effectively end the contest and make sure that the Southwest Classic trophy stayed in Aggieland.
We heard all the hype about what Tommy Moffitt’s strength and conditioning program would bring to this team. How, like for teams throughout his career, they weren’t tired late in games. That there was continuous effort and strain throughout the contest, no matter what. That’s what Mike Elko, Moffitt, and this entire coaching staff has preached to the Maroon and White throughout the offseason, and now the fruits of their labor were realized on Saturday.
That is Fightin’ Texas Aggie football. That is the way this team is supposed to finish games now. For a team that’s seen some collapses in second halves of past, this is a really, really encouraging sign.
Everyone say thank you, Tommy Moffitt.
Noah Thomas
We’ve been waiting for Noah Thomas to break out this year after a quiet first third of the season.
Boy, did he pick a great time to have one of his best games as an Aggie.
With six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, Thomas emerged in this contest as the number one option that the Aggies have been hoping he’d be this entire season, making big catch after big catch, showing his versatility, and regularly being the go-to guy if Marcel Reed needed a completion, especially late in the game. It’s been an underwhelming start to 2024 compared to last year, where he caught three touchdowns in the opener, but maybe this could be the start of his emergence and regular contribution in this offense.
For a team searching for more playmakers at wide receiver, or just in the passing game in general, this game from the third-year pass-catcher was sorely needed, and this could signal better days ahead as the Aggies continue to get more comfortable in this Collin Klein offense. Great way to boost some momentum heading into a big, big game.
Tyler White
Dude, Tyler White is a legit weapon at the punter spot.
White was a massive reason why the Razorbacks couldn’t get much going even when the Aggies were stymied for most of the game, really, especially during the middle of the contest. Named as the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Week, White had nine boots for an average of 43 yards per, pinning the Hogs inside the 15-yard line seven times, with five of those going inside the 10.
That led to an average starting position for Arkansas from their own 14-yard line. That field position really matters - they couldn’t really open up the playbook a whole lot because the defense was suffocating them in that short field. White consistently pinning them so deep in their own territory was a serious factor in the defense feasting after the first quarter.
The redshirt freshman was an unsung hero against the Razorbacks, and it was his best game in the Maroon and White. He’s had a good season so far, and this performance was really a coming-out party to the 12th Man (although it’d be nice if the offense was rolling so that he wouldn’t be out there much, but whatever. A good performance is a good performance).
Multiple Impact Defensive Playmakers
This defense played out of their minds yesterday.
When the offense couldn’t generate really any momentum, especially throughout the second and third quarters, the reason Arkansas didn’t pull away was because of how incredible the defense was in the middle of the game. They barely bent and didn’t break until the Razorbacks converted a long field goal that was eventually answered by Tre Watson’s game-winning touchdown in the fourth before sealing the deal with a turnover.
10 tackles for loss. 8 QB hits. 3 sacks. 3 forced fumbles. 1 interception. Crazy numbers from Mike Elko and Jay Bateman’s group.
And contributions came from all three phases of the defense, I thought, but we’re primarily going to highlight some guys on the d-line and secondary here.
That defensive line made Arkansas QB Taylen Green’s life absolutely miserable on Saturday. He was the 10th-most pressured QB in the country, and they were able to also bottle him up in the run game too (just 6 yards on 13 carries). Speaking of bottling up the run, this front six did it again, the third straight week they’ve limited that. They held the SEC leader in rushing yards in Ja’Quinden Jackson to just 37 yards on 10 carries, while the Hogs only got 100 yards on the ground… with 20 of them coming from their punter on a trick play.
I thought Nic Scourton in particular was the defensive MVP of this one, turning in his best performance as an Aggie by far with 4 tackles (all of them TFLs), 2 sacks, and the game-clinching strip-sack to hand the Maroon and White the win. He was a man possessed in this one, showcasing the traits and ability that put him in first-round draft talks right now. Shemar Stewart played as fast and violent as he’s been all year, emphasized by this monster hit to completely blow up a read option and force a fumble, likely the turning point of this game. Cashius Howell continually brought pressure and almost had a pick-six to boot; those edges wreaked havoc on the Arkansas offensive tackles. Scooby Williams had a nice game at linebacker.
Dezz Ricks! First career start, first career interception! Had some warts, but overall I thought the redshirt freshman played really well on the outside. Will Lee continues to thrive and prove why he’s the best cornerback on this team, and dare I say one of the best in the SEC. They just keep testing him with no success - he only allowed two catches and broke up four pass attempts. He’s been unreal to start the season. Marcus Ratcliffe made some big plays on special teams. BJ Mayes shored up that nickel spot in coverage (more on that later). So many dudes were able to make timely plays when they mattered most, and that was the lynchpin to getting this victory.
Nickel
For an up-and-down game, the nickel cornerback spot was certainly a rollercoaster ride for this game with Tyreek Chappell out for the season.
Jaydon Hill has seen the majority of snaps in his place and has made some good plays but also some pretty horrid ones as well. The good - the Florida transfer is a solid blitzer. He racked up a ridiculously high blitz grade from Pro Football Focus (even though he blitzed twice and was unblocked on both of them) and was seen in the backfield on a number of occasions to help out in run support or to try and get to quarterback Taylen Green. He rebounded solidly after his rough start.
The bad was primarily in coverage, and that was punctuated by giving up a 75-yard touchdown pass to Arkansas wideout Isaac TeSlaa on the first drive of the game - he just got flat-out beat in man coverage. Hill is just better in run support than in coverage, and that’s how he is as a player. It’s up to Jay Bateman and Mike Elko to play to his strengths and not leave him on an island a whole lot.
Based on the early returns, though, I think the Hill experiment should probably come to an end pretty soon.
I think BJ Mayes should probably get the start at nickel heading forward. While Hill may be better in run support and I think that bringing him in on blitzes and other special packages for that skillset will be beneficial, the UAB transfer is just a better cover corner than he is at the moment, and in an A&M defense that has given up a lot of big passing plays, that is sorely needed at the moment.
When he arrived in Aggieland, I thought his aggressiveness and ability to press and stick to opposing wideouts in man-to-man coverage would allow him to see an instant impact, but he’s been working his way back to full health after an injury. He’s been getting more and more snaps as the weeks have progressed, and I think after a few weeks of trying to find a solution to replace Tyreek Chappell, Mayes should be the starter at that spot moving forward.
Le’Veon Moss
The engine that drives this Texas A&M offense is Le’Veon Moss.
As Arkansas put a lot of emphasis on stopping the ground game, he, Amari Daniels, EJ Smith, and even Marcel Reed were heavily limited in what they could do running the football. They made Texas A&M try to beat them through the air, and even limiting what Marcel Reed likes to do best in the passing game - making plays over the middle. The Razorbacks made him throw outside and/or deep, and he struggled for the most part.
But the fourth quarter came, and Collin Klein got back to pounding the ball inside, primarily with inside zone. From there, Moss was able to completely take over the ball game, gashing what had been a stout Razorback run defense up to that point with chunks of yardage on every carry. I think he had 90 yards in the fourth quarter alone? Anyways, he finished with 117 yards and averaging nine yards a pop, out-rushing the entire Arkansas team by himself and putting the team on his back to seal this one.
The junior is really starting to make some strides, and he’s evolved into I’d say the focal point of this offense. Now sitting at third in the SEC in rushing yards on the season, Moss will look to build off of a couple strong performances. He’s been awesome this year.
Shoutout to the offensive line, too. They were moving people in the fourth quarter.
That’ll do it for this game and a massive win heading into the biggest game of the season thus far. Some other quick takeaways to conclude:
Marcel Reed was kinda more of the same that we’ve seen. He hit some throws he needed to, but his struggles with passes outside the hashes and on deep balls still persisted. It feels like defensive coordinators are figuring out how to attack Reed and make him try and beat them with his arm, which was somewhat noticeable last Saturday. But, he played clean football, avoiding a turnover and staying mature, and that’s what A&M needs from him. Hoping that the things that need to be fixed will with continued time, and hey, he just continues to win games.
I wish A&M would utilize Terry Bussey more creatively. His involvement seems very formulaic and it’s obvious what they’re trying to do - just wish they’d find better ways to get him the football.
Glad to see the offensive line improving throughout the game. Arkansas’ d-line put some pressure on them early, but they completely took over late, like I mentioned above. Good effort from the Maroon Goons.
Dalton Brooks looked really good as the safeties tried to replace the snaps that Bryce Anderson normally would’ve took (he was on a snap count). He’s getting better and is validating the hype he got from the coaching staff this summer.
Also encouraged by the increased involvement of Jabre Barber, although there were some catches I would’ve liked to see him make. It’s obvious that the Aggies are trying to make him more involved in the offense as the season progresses, and he’s recovered well from his injury in the spring.
See you all soon for the Missouri preview! Big one on deck.
-Sourav