Arkansas vs Texas A&M Recap: 3 Things we Learned

It looked like the Arkansas Razorbacks would run away with this game but the Texas A&M defense had other plans. The Aggies used a huge defensive stop to gain momentum and do enough to pull out the victory…

The Razorbacks jumped out to an early lead before the Aggies answered to close out the half. Texas A&M scored 17 points in the second quarter, including a 48-yard run by Trevor Knight to tie things up at 17 at halftime.

Arkansas looked good on offense, controlling the time of possession all game, but they couldn’t score when needed. The Razorbacks drove 19 plays down the field for 89 yards in 9:55 but failed to score on fourth and goal early in the fourth.

That drive shifted all of the momentum. Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight threw a 92-yard strike to receiver Josh Reynolds on their very first play of the next drive.

The Aggies scored 31 straight points despite all the offense the Razorbacks accumulated in the game.

Trevor Knight is a Leader, But Don’t Sleep on Trayveon Williams

Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight looked stellar in his team’s second SEC game but so did their running back Trayveon Williams.

Knight was 12 for 22 with 225 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air. On the ground, Knight ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns as well.

It was a day to remember for the Texas A&M offense as the Aggies are off to a 4-0 start and are now 2-0 in the SEC. Knight showed poise when it looked like Texas A&M would falter and Williams did the dirty work when he was needed.

The Aggies had 366 yards rushing in the game. Running back Trayveon Williams ran the ball for 153 yards and two scores. Williams averaged 12.8 yards per carry in the game. The freshman running back is averaging 8.4 yards per carry on the season.

The Aggies were 7-11 on 3rd down efficiency, had over 482 yards of total offense, and averaged 8.9 yards per rush. The Aggies had the ball for only 16:20 in the game.

The Texas A&M Aggies Red Zone Defense is Stout

Coming into the game, the Aggies have allowed seven red zone scores all season. They have only allowed three touchdowns to opponents in 11 attempts, 27.3 percent.

Arkansas got within their own 10 yard line five times in the game. One of those redzone trips, the Aggies forced a fumble at the one yard line. A 4th and goal stop by the Aggies when the Razorbacks went for it proved to change the momentum for Texas A&M.

The Razorbacks controlled the ball for 39:45 while the Aggie offense was only on the field for 20:15.

The red zone defense was a key turning point. The run defense for A&M was the key factor as the Razorbacks averaged just 3.5 yards per rush on 35 attempts.

The Razorbacks Offense Has to Score When In the Redzone

The Razorbacks offense looked great until it came time to put points on the board. They scored just seven points in the second half and turned the ball over three times, all by way of fumble.

Arkansas ran 19 plays inside the redzone and only managed to score 17 points.

In the SEC, this won’t get the Razorbacks victories. They will have to convert plays into points, especially considering they held the ball for over 39 minutes in the game. The Razorbacks have lost five straight games to the Aggies.

Three fumbles lost won’t help the Razorbacks’ cause either. The Razorbacks gave up 17 points off turnovers to the Texas A&M Aggies.

Up next is Alcorn State for the Razorbacks before they play Alabama, Ole Miss, @ Auburn, Florida, and LSU all in that order. They’ll definitely want to fix the scoring offense before then.

Up next for the Aggies: @ South Carolina before facing off against Tennessee then visiting Alabama. The Texas A&M defense should be prime for each matchup as well as they find themselves as a possible

Highlights

The Aggies will look to continue their success next week against South Carolina.