I haven’t heard many spurs on the freshmen cadets’ shoes around campus this year, but they’re still noticeable and you know what that means.
It’s Southwest Classic week.
Riding a three-game winning streak and coming off of a hard-fought win against Bowling Green, Mike Elko’s 24th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies head to AT&T Stadium for the final time in this rivalry to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in one last neutral-site game before it switches to on-campus games from 2025 onwards.
It feels like weird stuff always happens in this game, and I’d be shocked if something strange didn’t happen again here on Saturday afternoon. It’s always been that way in this rivalry. Trends and past history and all that go out the window (although, Texas A&M has won 11 of the last 12 against the Hogs, so that’s a nice thing to hang one’s hat on, at least).
Arkansas has had a decent start to the year at 3-1 after a dismal 2023 campaign (with the one loss being an inexcusable blown lead at Oklahoma State) and the Aggies have rattled off three straight wins as well. Two solid teams set to do battle - let’s talk about it.
What to Expect
The unexpected. There’s always one or a few wacky, game-changing plays that turn the tide in these matches. From the wild 99-yard fumble recovery touchdown and the oink doink in 2022 to Ainias Smith's game-sealing punt return last year, there will be something that will be surprising.
Two bruising run games. We know that Texas A&M’s bread and butter on offense is running the football - they have a top-ten rushing offense in the nation and a trio of talented backs (and Marcel Reed) that can do some serious damage on the ground, and they’ve been heavily wearing down teams that way recently. However, Arkansas may have one of the best running offenses in the SEC. Running back Ja’Quinden Jackson is the conference’s leading rusher through four games and QB Taylen Green is seventh in the SEC in that same stat - as a quarterback. Those two make the rest of the offense go - this run defense is going to have to significantly tighten up like they have the last few weeks.
Arkansas to try and get some big plays. Their receiving corps is better than years past, and A&M has been susceptible to giving up some chunk plays at times to the opposition as evidenced on some long touchdowns given up against Bowling Green and Notre Dame. Their quarterback has a strong arm and their receiving corps has some decent speed, so preventing those big plays will be critical.
One way to try and limit that is getting to the quarterback, so I’m looking for the defensive line to have a big day against pass protection. Arkansas is tied at 100th in the country in fewest sacks given up, with Taylen Green already having gone down nine times this season. If A&M can generate some consistent pressure and make Green’s internal clock speed up, that could be big to try and limit their offensive impact.
For as long as I can remember, Arkansas has prioritized the usage of the tight end spot, and they have a good one in Luke Hasz. He got injured early in the A&M game last year, but he was a main target for the Razorbacks in that one before he left - I expect him to be pretty involved again; don’t let those six total catches fool you. I’m waiting to see how Jay Bateman schemes against him.
Likely more continued usage of Theo Melin Öhrström and increased playing time. He’s starting to put it together on the field with a touchdown grab in back-to-back weeks, and the 6’6”, 265-pound behemoth has also been good in run blocking as well. His athleticism and physicality present a mismatch at the tight end spot, and it feels like his confidence and the team’s confidence in him continues to just grow week after week.
I feel like A&M is gonna come out angry after somewhat of a relaxed showing last week against Bowling Green. Mike Elko didn’t sound like he was too happy with the way they played even after the win, and it feels like a lesson that this team learned was that they can’t relax in any week, against any opponent. Hopefully that’s been drilled into their heads heading into this rivalry and that they come out swinging and start fast.
Who to Watch - Arkansas
QB Taylen Green - Dual-threat quarterback that really prides himself on being able to create plays with his legs. The Boise State transfer has struggled at times passing the ball and limiting turnovers, but he also has a cannon of an arm. Have to contain him on the ground, though.
RB Ja’Quinden Jackson - Utah transfer and former tu recruit has developed into a big, bruising running back that paces this offense. Averages almost seven yards a carry and leads the SEC in rushing yards (425 and 8 touchdowns through four games). Stopping him is the priority.
WR Andrew Armstrong - 6’4”, big-play threat at wideout that leads the Hogs in receptions (23) and receiving yards (348) by a lot. One of two main threats in the passing game, I’d say, but he leads an Arkansas wideout group that’s better than it’s been the past few seasons.
DL Landon Jackson - NFL Draft buzz for probably their best defensive player, who’s yet to have recorded a sack (and hopefully won’t tomorrow) but is still really good. He likes to line up on the left side, so him versus Trey Zuhn - who’s had a tremendous start to his season - is gonna be cinema.
LB Xavien Sorey - Georgia transfer that leads their team in tackles to begin the season. Former top-35 recruit has the size and athleticism to have been a sideline-to-sideline presence this year.
S TJ Metcalf - Rangy safety has three interceptions in his last two games, including a pair against Auburn last week, while also being tied for first on Arkansas in tackles to start the 2024 campaign.
Who to Watch - Texas A&M
QB Marcel Reed - Likely gonna get his third career start, but this will be against his toughest opponent yet. We know the value he adds as a runner and has shown some flashes as a passer, but if he can show some improvement in accuracy and processing that will go a long, long way.
WR Jahdae Walker - Caught his first touchdown of the season last week and looked pretty involved against Bowling Green throughout the duration of the contest. If he can take another step forward, it’d be a massive development for this passing game.
OL Chase Bisontis - He’s really improved from last year as a true freshman, and he’s gotten a lot of praise for his ability to really finish through blocks and be really physical inside. He’ll be important in setting the tone against the Razorback defense.
DL Shemar Turner - Voted as last week’s defensive player of the game from the team, Turner is starting to really find his footing as a great presence on the interior of the defensive line and got his first sack of the season against Bowling Green. The Aggies will really need him to have a good game like he did last year.
LB Taurean York - The captain of the defense has had kind of a quiet start to this year compared to his star freshman campaign, but his leadership and effort continue to set the tone for this defense. Against a stout running game and in a rivalry game nonetheless, his leadership and toughness will be vital to guide this defense to a good game.
CB Will Lee - A&M’s best corner has been really impressive to start the 2024 season, and he’ll now go and likely be matched up with Andrew Armstrong, the Razorbacks’ best receiver by far this year. He has the size (6’3”) to match up with the 6’4” wideout, and the Aggies are looking for him to have yet another good performance.
What to Watch For
My big burning question for this game is can the Aggies limit explosive plays? Against a solid offensive play-caller in Bobby Petrino (former A&M OC btw) and a solid group of receivers, the A&M secondary let up a couple of big passing plays last week. Has me concerned, but not worried. We’ll see if they can clean that up and limit the Razorbacks - it’d go a long way to winning this game.
In a similar vein, can the Maroon and White create some big plays on a somewhat consistent basis? A big weakness for Texas A&M this season has been that they’ve given up more big plays than they would’ve liked to while not matching that on offense, really. If they can take the top off the Razorback defense through the air or get a big run in the ground game, that could jumpstart this offense for the future.
Battle in the trenches, yet again. Texas A&M’s offensive and defensive lines I’d say have been pretty great so far, but this game will be won on physicality. Arkansas coach Sam Pittman was a former offensive line coach, so he gets that physical mindset and is trying to build that identity in his team. It’s up to the guys in the Maroon and White to outmatch that on Saturday, especially up front.
Another main point I want to see is how this A&M run defense will match up against another team that prefers to run the football. Arkansas can do that at a really high level and really lean on that. If the Ags can hold up like they have been the last few weeks and force the Razorbacks to throw the ball, I’ll feel a lot better about this matchup.
With some of the speed Arkansas has at wideout, I want to see how defensive coordinator Jay Bateman will handle calling plays in the passing game tomorrow. He played a lot of deep zone coverage and quarters against Bowling Green especially late, which allowed for them to just dink and dunk their way down the field at times. Intrigued to see if Bateman will let these defensive backs, who I think are better in man coverage, run with the Hogs’ pass-catchers. Arkansas had some issues against man coverage last week, so maybe that could be a new plan for Texas A&M to use.
Marcel Reed and his willingness and ability to attack the middle of the field against an Arkansas defense that had five interceptions last week. Yes, Marcel Reed is better than the Auburn quarterbacks because they’re pretty dreadful and basically gave the game away to the Razorbacks last week. I have full confidence that he’ll be sharper than what the Hogs faced last week and present some challenges with his legs like he has throughout the season.
I’m intrigued to see how this A&M defensive front will try to contain Arkansas QB Taylen Green and his running ability. He’s a great runner and the Razorbacks do a lot to try and keep the ball in his hands, so this defensive line is going to have to turn in a great performance to try and limit his yardage or force him to get the ball out quickly in hopes that he’ll make a mistake. Keeping a big eye on the edge rushers - Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart, Cashius Howell, Rylan Kennedy, etc. - in this game.
Final Prediction
I can’t lie - I’m pretty nervous for this game.
Rivalry games are always nerve-wracking, way more so than just a normal game. It amplifies when there’s always weird stuff that occurs in these games, inexplicably, for some random reason. It’s always against Arkansas.
The past history has been very favorable for A&M - they’ve won 11 of the last 12 against the Hogs in Arlington, so AT&T Stadium has been kind of a friendly confine for them in this game. But in rivalry games, history and past numbers are thrown out the window. It’s going to be a tough game - Arkansas looks decidedly improved and deeper from a season ago and have really battled in all their matches, while we’ll see if the Aggies cleaned up a good number of issues that arose from last week’s game.
This game will be won and lost in the trenches - it’s a battle of physicality, as it usually is in football. With two coaches that heavily emphasize that to their teams, it’ll be that way more than ever in this last neutral-site game between the two schools. In that department, though, I think Texas A&M has the advantage there. I think Arkansas’ weaknesses on offense, particularly in pass protection, match up horribly with A&M’s strength at pass rushing and just collapsing the backfield with that menacing front.
Also - physicality and effort travel, and we’ve seen that from this Mike Elko team. It happened against Florida, and I’m confident it will here. Give me the Aggies in this one.
That’ll do it for this one. Good luck to the volleyball ladies when they take on tu in a few hours - I wish I could go, but I’ll be supporting from home as I do homework.
With that being said, it’s time to keep that Southwest Classic trophy.
BTHO arkansas.
-Sourav