Tag: Southwest Classic

Photo gallery: Arkansas’ 34-22 loss to Texas A&M

Here are the best photos from Arkansas’ 34-22 loss to Texas A&M in the Southwest Classic on Saturday.

Death. Taxes. Arkansas ripping its fans’ hearts out in Jerry World against Texas A&M.

The Razorbacks have now lost 10 of 11 to the Aggies. The 34-22 loss on Saturday was just another exercise in what has become a yearly tradition almost.

Arkansas scored first, but lost Luke Hasz on the first drive and then couldn’t get untracked offensively.

Defensively, they forced three turnovers and the pick-six right out of halftime looked to get them back in it, but A&M had other ideas. The Aggies went and got a field goal and then got a pick six of its own to go back up double digits and never looked back.

Now Arkansas turns its attention to Ole Miss next week.

Morgan III carted off and taken to DFW hospital with neck issue

John Morgan III suffered a neck injury late in the fourth quarter of the Southwest Classic and was taken to a local hospital for precautionary reasons.

Football is a physical, violent game, and it’s never more apparent than when a player is lying on the grass or turf motionless and they bring the medical cart out for said player.

It happened in the fourth quarter of Arkansas’ 34-22 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday at AT&T Stadium to defensive end John Morgan III.

Luckily, his neck just popped out of place and they loaded him on the cart for precautionary reasons and he should be fine.

Morgan III had been having a strong year through five games, compiling four tackles with two sacks and a forced fumble.

Defensive line is luckily one position group where the Razorbacks have actually accumulated some depth. He should be able to return at some point this season, as well.

Could 2023 mark the final Texas A&M vs Arkansas football game played in Arlington?

With big changes coming to the SEC in 2024, this year’s Southwest Classic could mark the final meeting between Texas A&M and Arkansas at AT&T Stadium.

The saying goes that all good things must come to an end, but will that phrase soon pertain to the Southwest Classic?

Texas A&M’s series with Arkansas began as a non-conference affair in 2009 at AT&T Stadium via an arrangement between both schools and the Dallas Cowboys. Arlington has hosted the classic every year since (with lone exceptions being 2012 and 2013). The payout for both teams equated to that of a bowl game, hence the motivation for the neutral site.

But as the college football landscape has evolved the schools agreed that they both outgrew the current contract and would not renew it in 2024, thus shifting the series to a home-and-home contest. Now with the announcement that the SEC would be playing an eight-game schedule in 2024 upon the arrival of Texas and Oklahoma, it throws a bit of a wrench into the future of the Southwest Classic.

With the SEC’s shift toward one permanent rival for each team, the odds of the Aggies and Hogs facing off on an annual basis have slimmed. The Aggies’ permanent rival is expected to be LSU.

In comments shared via Matt Jones with Whole Hog Sports, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek added context on the predicament while at the State of Athletics luncheon hosted by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce:

“If we do play A&M in 2024, what the league has agreed to is that it will be A&M’s home game and that it would be played at AT&T Stadium to fulfill that last year of that contract.”

Most notably, Yuracheck highlighted that if the Hogs and the Aggies do not play in 2024, then their matchup upcoming matchup on September 30 of this year would be the final game of the series played in Arlington.

The Southwest Classic between A&M and Arkansas is just one of the many rivalries that make college football as thrilling of a sport as it is. The Razorbacks won the first three games since the series resumed in 2009. Since then, the Aggies have had Arkansas’ number, having taken 10 of the last 11 matchups.

But much like how this matchup has evolved from a neutral-site out-of-conference contest to a conference rivalry, so have the financial implications.

With college stadiums consistently improving, it begs the question of whether neutral-site games result in lost revenue. This is a discussion found in the NFL as well, where teams sometimes play a “road game” across the pond in London or in Mexico City.

The conclusion of this series being played across the backdrop of AT&T Stadium, and the end of the Southwest Classic’s annual cadence, will be bittersweet of course.

But if it’s a small price to pay to ensure an Aggies-LSU remains intact every year, while giving way to more games being played in front of the 12th man, then the opportunity cost feels minuscule in the grander scheme.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Pete on Twitter: @PeteThreee.

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Opinion: Don’t blame Cam Little or KJ Jefferson for Arkansas’ loss

KJ Jefferson and Cam Little are two of the best players on the Arkansas roster. They deserve praise, not derision.

Where would Arkansas be without quarterback KJ Jefferson?

Not sitting at 3-1. Not three inches from being 4-0 with Alabama visiting in a week. Jefferson remains one of the best quarterbacks in the country and against the Aggies, he had all three of Arkansas’ touchdowns: two through the air and one on the ground.

Yes, it should have been two on the ground. But, seriously, what are the odds the big man who is nearly impossible to bring down with one player would fumble? Then, for Texas A&M to take it back 97 yards? C’mon. It was a freak play.

And the same is true for Cam Little, whose year-plus with the Razorbacks have already launched him into the top 10 in Arkansas kicker history. He very well may be the best kicker the school has had before he’s done.

He pushed a field goal, a 42-yarder, mind you, just slightly right and it clanged off the top of the upright. It was inches, literally inches, from giving Arkansas a victory.

No one on the Arkansas roster is coming for either Jefferson’s or Little’s heads. Nor should any fan. In fact, like Jadon Haselwood said after the game, you should lift their heads.

Everyone gets to make mistakes. Arkansas’ loss wasn’t on either play. It’s just easier to find a scapegoat when emotions are running hot.

Live. Learn.

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KJ Jefferson, Myles Slusher headline Arkansas’ Players of the Game against Texas A&M

Arkansas outplayed Texas A&M on Saturday night and these performances prove it.

Things did not go Arkansas’ way on Saturday. A field-goal attempt in the final two minutes clanged off the top of the right upright and fell harmlessly into the end zone as the 10th-ranked Razorbacks fell to Texas A&M, 23-21.

The good to take from it? Arkansas played poorly and still almost beat an awfully good team, a team that was picked to finish second in the SEC West at the conference’s media days over the summer.

Arkansas’ offense went over the 400-yard mark. Arkansas’ defense, which entered as with the bottom-ranked pass defense in FBS, gave up just 151 yards in the air.

But Arkansas’ dream of a College Football Playoff appearance and a matchup between two undefeated teams next week in Fayetteville was dealt a blow.

Our three Razorbacks Wire writers have selected their Players of the Game below.

KJ Jefferson will not let Arkansas quit against Texas A&M

Arkansas and Texas A&M down to the wire? It’s KJ Jefferson time.

KJ Jefferson, like he has since he has become the Arkansas starting quarterback, has carried the Razorbacks on his back.

Trailing by nine points early in the fourth quarter and desperately needing a score, Arkansas got one from its star quarterback. Jefferson led a 13-play, 74-yard drive capped by his six-yard scoring run to pull Arkansas within two, 23-21 with 10:05 left.

To that point, Jefferson had run for 94 yards with the score and was 11 of 18 passing for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

The drive was important not only because of the score, but because Arkansas had picked up just 19 total yards since his fumble near the goal line when it was 14-0, Razorbacks.

Arkansas, the No. 10 team in the country, was a two-point underdog entering the game.

Lee Corso, Marlon Humphrey pick Arkansas over Texas A&M

The college football legends and All-Pro Defensive back are running with the Hogs.

It is almost game time, and the Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas A&M Aggies are set to play in what could potentially be the game of the week.

There hasn’t been much banter coming from either side of the rivalry, but of course, gameday brings excitement to the party.

Lee Corso, early Saturday morning, was the only analyst on the College Gameday crew to pick Arkansas over Texas A&M. He went even further to say the Hogs will beat Alabama next week.

Speaking of Alabama, former Crimson Tide cornerback and current cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens also picked the Hogs over the Aggies during his “analyst Humph.”

This is an important game for both teams, who are trying to fight for a position to represent the SEC West in the SEC championship. The Aggies need a win to save their season and prove they are still one of the elites in the country.

For the Hogs, it’s about establishing themselves in the College Football Playoff conversation.

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The Southwest Classic is set to feature a solid coordinator battle

The battle between Arkansas OC Kendal Briles and Texas A&M DC D.J. Durkin will be a fun one to watch.

For the 79th time in history, No. 10 Arkansas will face No. 20 Texas A&M in a clash of two longtime Southwest Conference rivals on Saturday night.

One of the best matchups to watch for in the game will be the battle of wits between Arkansas offensive coordinator [autotag]Kendal Briles[/autotag] and Texas A&M defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin.

That matchup is listed among On3’s “Chess match” feature for week four.

Mike Huguenin of On3 is looking forward to seeing how Arkansas’ weapons matchup against Texas A&M’s solid defense.

A&M’s offense again was stuck in neutral last week, but Durkin’s defense did enough to help the Aggies beat Miami. Arkansas’ is a more explosive offense than UM’s because QB K.J. Jefferson is an effective runner and will put pressure on A&M’s linebackers, who are the weak spot on that side of the ball for the Aggies. In addition, RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders is off to a great start for the Hogs, and Arkansas coaches had to notice that Miami ran effectively on A&M last week. Expect A&M’s safeties to be extra involved against the run this week because Arkansas’ receivers, like Miami’s, don’t really scare anyone.

Briles’ offense averages 37.6 points per game while Durkin’s defense allows just 8.6 points per contest. Arkansas faces Texas A&M on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

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Arkansas football vs. Texas A&M: How to watch, stream, listen

Arkansas and Texas A&M play in the only dual-ranked game of the night in Week 4.

The Southwest Classic returns with some bite in 2022. Arkansas and Texas A&M kickoff in the top matchup of Week 4’s Saturday night at 6 p.m. from Arlington, Texas.

Arkansas is ranked No. 10 in the country and Texas A&M is No. 20. The Aggies had won nine straight in the series until last year when the Razorbacks’ win propelled the Hogs to a 4-0 start and a No. 8 ranking the following week.

An Arkansas win again this season would likely do the same this year. Next week Alabama visits Fayetteville and the nation’s eyes would be on the game if the Razorbacks were to get past Texas A&M.

The nation’s eyes will likely be on the game tonight, anyway, as it’s the only nighttime kickoff between two ranked teams.

Five reasons Texas A&M beats Arkansas on Saturday

We aren’t picking Texas A&M. Predictions hit tomorrow. But Texas A&M is favored and here’s why.

Before losing your mind, don’t think this is a prediction that Texas A&M will necessarily beat Arkansas on Saturday.

No, the official Razorbacks Wire predictions will hit the site on Saturday morning.

This is counter-programming to Taylor Jones’ Three Reasons Arkansas will beat the Aggies. And just because there are five here and three there doesn’t mean any of us are leaning toward Texas A&M, either.

But a bulk of the country seems to be. Reasons exist for that. None of them have to do with “no respect for Arkansas,” either, believe it or not.

So let’s take a quick look. Exactly why are the Aggies, a team that lost Appalachian State, predicted by a majority to beat Arkansas?