FAYETTEVILLE - When Texas A&M opened against Arkansas by moving 75 yards for a touchdown in 2:39 - including a 49-yard completion from Johnny Manziel to Mike Evans on the game’s first snap - it looked like another rout might be on Saturday night at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
But Arkansas responded to the Aggies’ punches this time, unlike last season when Texas A&M rolled to a 58-10 victory at Kyle Field in the teams’ first SEC meeting.
The Aggies made it two ina row over the Razorbacks, but this time Texas A&M hung on to win 45-33 after Arkansas tied it 7-7 after its first drive, pulled within 24-20 at halftime and within 31-27 and 38-33 in the second half.
“We showed we’re not the same team we were last year,” Arkansas senior linebacker Jarrett Lake said. “We’re competitors.
“I feel like this game showed we can compete with anybody.”
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said he was disappointed to lose his first SEC game, but encouraged by the Razorbacks’ effort.
“I’m excited about this group,” Bielema said. “If they continue to give me the effort they did this week during practice and the way that they played … we’ll be able to win some games.”
Texas A&M, which rose from No. 10 to No. 9 in Sunday’s Associated Press poll, was the first of four consecutive teams on Arkansas’ schedule that are currently ranked 18th or higher in the most recent Associated Press poll.
Arkansas plays at No. 18 Florida on Saturday night, No. 13 South Carolina in Fayetteville on Oct. 12 and at No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 19.
The Razorbacks also play road games against No. 10 LSU and No. 24 Ole Miss later in the season.
“Obviously, the schedule doesn’t get any easier with Florida coming up,” Bielema said. “But I think they understand the effort they have to put in to try to go out and win.”
Bielema said midway through last week he hoped quarterback Brandon Allen could return from a shoulder injury at Florida, but Allen started against the Aggies and gave the Razorbacks a shot to win, as he completed17 of 36 passes for 282 yards and 3 touchdowns with 2 interceptions.
“As a whole team, I thought the big thing was we competed to the end,” Allen said. “There was no letdown.
“I was proud of how we played. We obviously didn’t do enough, didn’t get the win, but we’re headed in the right direction. That’s for sure.”
Arkansas came into the A&M game after a 28-24 loss at Rutgers in which they Razorbacks blew a 24-7 lead in the third quarter. Allen missed the game while AJ Derby started at quarterback.
“We hope that we showed them the tape from the previous week that the effort and the details of our assignment wasn’t what we needed to do to get the production that we needed, and they learned,” offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said. “If you can learn, that’s a good deal.
“We hope that’s taking place here.
“That we’re continually changing that culture. That we’re through that ‘play hard’ stuff. That’s our job. Our job is to go play hard. Now we’ve got to advance the game.
“How do we play when we’re playing hard? Do we play smart? Do we play technically sound? Do we play disciplined?
“For us to maximize our production, that’s where we have to go. We have to become better at what we do.”
The Razorbacks finished with 483 yards in total offense against Texas A&M after having 283 at Rutgers.
“I thought we did just a bunch of great things,” center Travis Swanson said. “There’s a lot to build on from this.”
Sports, Pages 13 on 09/30/2013