It may be time to accept that this A&M team is not the Aggies of the past as they continue to stack mature wins at home and on the road in a tough SEC conference.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For the first time since 1994, the Texas A&M Aggies have finally got over a hurdle that no other team in the program has been able to get over in the past 30 years: Start a season with seven-straight wins.
Head coach Mike Elko has set a standard and the players have bought in as the offense and defense both passes not only the eye test, but on paper as well.
Marcel Reed currently sits at the sixth best odds to win the Heisman Trophy as he as two of the best targets in all of college football on each side of him in Mario Craver and KC Concepcion.
The defense has been stout, holding SEC opponents to 2-of-33 on third down conversions over the last three games.
The college football world has asked the Aggies to win a big game against a top-ranked opponent, They did that. The college football world has asked the Aggies to protect Kyle Field and win big SEC matchups in front of the 12th Man. They did that. But can this A&M team answer the call and win an SEC matchup on the road?
Lets find out!
Arkansas started the game with the ball and almost mirrored the first drive from the Florida Gators last week as they were clicking on all cylinders and marched down the field with ease before the Aggie defense tightened up and held them to an eventual field goal. (0-3)
Once it was A&M’s turn with the rock, Reed handed the ball off and the Aggies converted on a risky 4th-and-1 called deep in their own territory, giving new life to a drive that looked like it was going to end with a punt.
The rest of the drive was a lot of what we’ve seen all year with the run and passing game, just taking away chunks of the field at a time with big plays.
The drive capped off by a 24-yard touchdown pass from Reed to Ashton Bethel-Roman, who wasn’t going to let Craver and Concepcion to have all the fun. (7-3)
After the defense forced a punt on the next Razorback possession, the offense didn’t waste any time and added another seven points to the scoreboard after Reed tricked everyone in Razorback Stadium after pulling the read option for his 12th rushing touchdown of his college career. (14-3)
After the Razorbacks added a field goal, the Aggies responded with a methodical 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive that ate up almost eight minutes of game time. (21-6)
Arkansas had a 75-yard scoring drive of their own but did it just a little faster after Taylen Green found pay dirt and galloped 27 yards for the first Razorback touchdown of the day late in the first half. (21-13)
The Razorbacks weren’t done as their defense forced a quick three-and-out, giving the offense a chance to score again before intermission.
And that’s exactly what they did when Green only needed 41 seconds to throw a touchdown pass to O’Mega Blake, bringing the Razorbacks within one point before the end of the first half. (21-20)
Arkansas exposed A&M’s defense a little bit after scoring 14 points in the final 1:49 seconds of the 2nd quarter.
Just like they did last week the Aggies came out of the locker room on a mission, needing only three plays for Reed to connect with Concepcion for a 17-yard touchdown pass. (28-20)
A&M continued to chew the clock, ending their next possession having added another nine offensive snaps before Randy Bond came out to boot his first field goal of the game through the uprights. (31-20)
Green kept responding and did everything he could to claw his team back into the game after scoring his second rushing touchdown of the day. (31-27)
But Reed wouldn’t let the Razorbacks back in the game and led the offense all the way down the field, setting up Ruben Owens II to find green grass and truck a defender as he scampered into the endzone. (38-27)
The fourth quarter saw both offenses going blow for blow as Green responded with his fourth touchdown of the day before the Razorbacks added the two-point conversion. (38-35)
Bethel-Roman started to make a case for possibly being the third number 1 type of WR on this Aggie squad as Reed went to him all night to advance the sticks, but none more important than this wild catch you would see on a “You got Mossed” segment if this were the pros.
Owens capped off the drive with his second rushing touchdown of the night, officially notching the Aggies fourth 40+ point performance of the season. (45-35)
Reed almost put the nail in the coffin when he broke away for a long touchdown run that was erased by a holding penalty.
Green continued to try and get his team back in the game but ultimately, the defense closed the door on the game after etching a few more sacks into the stat line.
The Razorbacks added a garbage-time touchdown late, but there was not enough time to mount a comeback. (45-42 | FINAL)
Marcel Reed eclipsed 4,000 career passing yards in the victory.
The Texas A&M Aggies are now 7-0 for the first time since 1994 and will possibly move up in the rankings after a few other top 10 teams lost this week.
The Aggies will continue their road trip by paying a visit to Tiger Stadium in hopes of beating the #10 LSU Tigers and continuing their historic season.