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Texas A&M Football: 3 takeaways from clutch win over Arkansas

By Shelbie Warr

Sep 24, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Evan Stewart (1) is tackled by Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Hudson Clark (17) during the second quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Evan Stewart (1) is tackled by Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Hudson Clark (17) during the second quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Texas A&M football found itself in an early 14-0 hole, but due to some fancy play calls gone wrong for the Hogs and some defensive intelligence, they won the game. Texas A&M still showed quite a few flaws and the loss of Ainias Smith for a bit is going to hurt, but a win is a win and that is what matters for them at this point in the season.

So, what did we learn from this one?

3. Texas A&M football’s defense made the plays when it mattered most

It seemed to take a whole quarter for them to really wake up, but once the Aggie defense did wake up, things got better for A&M. They were able to bend, but not break and the biggest play of the game is shown below. Tyreek Chappell and Demani Richardson got all of Aggieland on their feet with this big-time play, returning the fumble to the house when Arkansas was knocking on the doorstep of a 21-7 lead.

Even though they almost allowed a game-winning field goal — and don’t get me wrong that miss was lucky for the maroon and white — overall this was a good game for Texas A&M on the defensive side of the ball.

There were quite a few guys that hand themselves a strong game, but none more than Chris Russell Jr. at linebacker. Give that kid a medal, he was in on so many game-changing plays that kept Texas A&M in the game and that is irreplaceable. The senior is going to be extremely important going forward.