Aggies out to build off unbeaten start
SEC opener against Arkansas is rematch of turning point for both programs last season.
This time a year ago, Texas A&M was wildly celebrating a come-from-behind victory over Arkansas.
It took a fant astic late effffffffffffort from quarterback Kenny Hill to erase a two-touchdown, fourth-quarter Razorbacks lead. He threw touchdown passes of 89, 51 and 25 yards from the fourth quarter into overtime, pushing the Aggies’ record to 5-0.
Arkansas, which was trying to win its fifirst SEC game in almost three seasons, was left to bemoan what could have been. Coach Bret Bielema said his team needed to learn: “When you got your foot on somebody’s throat, keep
it on it.”
In hindsight, that A&M win at AT&T Stadium in late September was as good as it got for the Aggies in 2014. They were ranked sixth nationally. At one point in September, A&M was receiving firstplace votes in the polls.
Yet the Aggies won only three more times — just once in the SEC.
The Razorbacks, meanwhile, righted their season with terrific wins over Mississippi, LSU and Texas.
As the two teams meet again Saturday — it’s the SEC opener for both — the coaches have difffffffffffferent goals, although both need victories. A&M wants a win to prove a point. The Hogs must win to keep an entire season from slipping into mediocrity.
A&M coach Kevin Sumlin demands that his team change its mindset, stressing that September successes won’t automatically make the transition into October and November.
In the offseason, he reconfigured his team, hiring a new defensive coordinator and adding more physical running plays to his offffffffffffense to make the Aggies better suited for the rigorous SEC stretch.
They’re 3-0, including a season-opening victory over then-No. 16 Arizona State.
Bielema implores his Hogs to reignite the magic they had at the end of 2014. That’s when the unranked Razorbacks shut out Ole Miss and LSU in November, then in December limited the Longhorns to one touchdown in the Texas Bowl.
“That was an over- time game last year that took a lot out of our football team,” Sumlin said this week. “And (Arkansas) took it and moved forward, and they were a really good football team at the end of the year.
“For us, this is the beginning of conference play, and that’s the reality of it. Nothing’s changed from our point of view of how we feel about Arkansas or how we view Arkansas. As the fifirst game of the SEC and playing where we play, it’s going to be a big-time atmosphere, and it’s a game that both of us need to win.”
Bielema mentions the injuries his team has suffered. The biggest was to running back Jonathan Williams.
But the Hogs also have lost three receivers in two weeks. Jared Cornelius broke his arm in two places after a catch last week against Texas Tech.
“I can’t use it as a crutch; I can’t use it as an excuse,” Bielema said of the injuries. “If I did, the temperament of everybody right now, holy heavens, they’d be coming after me like gangbusters.”
The Razorbacks have lost two in a row despite being double-digit favorites over Toledo and Tech.
But the Hogs have the offfensive power to win SEC games; they’re averaging 7.07 yards per play, and the offensive line has yet to give up a sack.
So the pieces are there for an Arkansas recovery if the Razorbacks win.
The foundation also is there for A&M to be better in SEC play if the Aggies push past Arkansas.