Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

No. 18 ARKANSAS 42, No. 14 TEXAS A&M 38 

OFFENSE – B-minus
HIGHLIGHTS: First, the obvious: Tyler Wilson and Jarius Wright played their you-know-what’s off against the Aggies. They both finished with record-setting days, including 510 yards passing from Wilson and 281 yards receiving from Wright. They delivered strong play after offering strong words to teammates in the days leading up to the game. Don’t forget Wright’s recovery of a Cobi Hamilton fumble in the end zone. A first-half catch and run for a touchdown from Ronnie Wingo was good to see. He initiated contact, then dove for the end zone to score and keep Arkansas in the game early. When Arkansas absolutely had to have a running game, Dennis Johnson and Broderick Green delivered. Johnson ran for 43 yards in the fourth quarter and had 17 to keep the chains moving on the game-winning drive. Green, five months removed from ACL surgery, punched the ball in from three yards out for the game winner to end a nine-play, 80-yard drive.

LOWLIGHTS: Where was everybody else while Wilson and Wright were doing their thing? They combined for 227 of the team’s 271 yards at halftime. It took entirely too long for the running game to make an impact. Arkansas had 13 rushing yards on 11 attempts. Protection and run blocking improved after halftime, but there was little push upfront early and Wilson was sacked four times. Joe Adams’ only chance at a catch was dropped in the end zone as he took a hard hit from an A&M safety. That hit kept Adams off the field in the second half. Greg Childs had one catch and continues to be a non-factor. Cobi Hamilton fumbled away a catch that might have gone for a touchdown. If not for Wright’s heads up play, that could have cost the Razorbacks significantly. There were far too many penalties. 

DEFENSE – C-minus
HIGHLIGHTS: Give the defense credit for making stops when needed. They forced some key three-and-outs in the fourth quarter and even had a stop on fourth down to preserve a 42-38 lead. Those stops are even more impressive when you factor in how depleted the defense is right now because of injuries. Tevin Mitchel (fumble) and Greg Gatson (interception) gave Arkansas its first multiple-turnover game.

LOWLIGHTS: Let’s keep this simple: Arkansas allowed 628 yards of total offense. A&M had five rushing touchdowns. By halftime the Aggies had scored 35 points. Yes, the Razorbacks are down playmakers because of injury, but to get gashed for 381 yards on the ground? Tevin Mitchel had a strong showing with 13 tackles, but his spearing of A&M’s Cyrus Gray when Gray was on the ground was a silly penalty.

SPECIAL TEAMS – A-minus
HIGHLIGHTS: Dylan Breeding averaged 48.4 yards per punt and the team netted 41.4 yards per punt. Zach Hocker booted a couple of field goals to keep the Razorbacks perfect on their red zone scoring. Hocker also put a pair of kickoffs into the end zone.

LOWLIGHTS: Dennis Johnson continued an alarming trend of Razorbacks misjudging the ball when trying to field kicks/punts. His longest return was 20 yards, which is fine, but not great. Cyrus Gray returned a kickoff 35 yards for A&M, which Arkansas can’t have.

OVERALL — B-minus
WHAT WE LEARNED: For a team that looked so soft — especially in the trenches — at times in the first half, it’s a tough, resilient bunch. Arkansas could have folded when down 18, but chipped away at the Aggies’ lead and made plays at the right times. There are numerous issues with this team that have to get corrected. Such as? A run game must develop. For a team supposedly full of playmakers on offense, Wright seems to be the only consistent skill player. Tackling is problematic and the fact depth is being tested by so many injuries is no excuse. Yet, there were the Razorbacks at the end of Saturday’s game, hoisting the Southwest Classic Trophy. Considering how they started and the obvious issues on the team, beating A&M was no small feat. It’s still hard to know just what to make of this bunch. 

PLAYERS OF THE GAME
OFFENSE: No way this goes to one player this week. Tyler Wilson and Jarius Wright were equally important to this week’s victory. Wilson threw for 510 yards, while absorbing a repeated beating from the defense, and Wright caught 13 passes for 281 yards, almost singlehandedly keeping the passing offense going in the first half. Both set school single-game records in the process.

DEFENSE: Greg Gatson isn’t flashy. He’s not the most talented player in the secondary. But he’s always willing to fill in admirably when called upon. Gatson finished with eight tackles and an interception return. Gatson’s interception resulted in a touchdown for the Razorbacks, who were without starters Isaac Madison (arm) and Darius Winston (knee) most of the day.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A&M piled up a ton of yards and plenty of points on the Razorbacks, but had to work for them thanks to punter Dylan Breeding. He averaged 48.4 yards per punt on eight attempts in the first three quarters.