ARLINGTON, Texas -- Arkansas nearly completed a Texas two-step back to national prominence Saturday, but three late touchdowns by Texas A&M abruptly ended that quest.
Two weeks after thumping Texas Tech on the road, the Razorbacks (3-2, 0-2 SEC) saw a 28-14 fourth-quarter lead turn into a 35-28 overtime loss to the Aggies before a crowd of 68,113 at AT&T Stadium.
The big-play passing attack of Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0 SEC) and a handful of crucial penalties cost Arkansas the upset and extended the Razorbacks league-leading streak of SEC losses to 14 games.
"We know we can play with anyone," said Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen, who passed for 199 yards and a touchdown on 15 of 27 passing. "We're a good team, but we're not going to win many ballgames if we hurt ourselves like we did today."
Arkansas was denied four victories in September for the first time since 2003 as Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill threw touchdown strikes of 86 yards to Edward Pope, 59 yards to Josh Reynolds and 25 yards to Malcome Kennedy in overtime to complete the comeback.
"I think A&M is a pretty good football team," Bielema said. "Some people were talking about them being one of the top four teams if you had that playoff right now, and we were right there," Bielema said. "And you give me another year, we'll look forward to seeing those guys again next year."
The game's momentum, which Arkansas had done a good job of dictating through three quarters, turned on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Arkansas was leading 28-14 at that point, sparked by punter Sam Irwin-Hill's 51-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter and a 44-yard play-action touchdown pass from Allen to AJ Derby midway through the third.
Jonathan Williams took a toss play over the right side, breaking tackles, spinning past defenders and fighting all the way to the Texas Tech 1 on a 55-yard carry. The huge gain was nullified by a tripping call against tackle Dan Skipper on the back side of the play, which pushed Arkansas back to its own 29 and ultimately snuffed the drive.
"We had a chance to make it a three-score game, and I thought when we weren't able to do that we could kind of feel that momentum slide," Bielema said. "When you've got your foot on somebody's throat, keep it on it. I think we need to have that killer mentality, to put that thing away."
Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin improved to 3-0 over the Razorbacks with the great escape, which prevented the Aggies from being bumped out of the top 10 and off a potential track for the first College Football Playoff.
"When you're down 14 with ... eight minutes to go in the game, in order to win a game like that, it takes a complete team," Sumlin said. "There wasn't a lot of panic. There wasn't a lot of finger pointing. Coaches did a great job keeping the guys calm."
The Razorbacks were done in by a few plays that might have made the difference.
• Arkansas had an apparent 34-yard second quarter pass for a touchdown to wide-open Hunter Henry called back for holding on Skipper.
Defensive captain Trey Flowers jumped offsides on a failed third and 10 in the second quarter that kept alive an Aggies drive that led to a touchdown and a 14-14 tie.
"Everybody that watched that game knew we were in the game, we just have to learn how to finish," Flowers said. "I had one of the penalties on their second touchdown drive. We've got to play clean."
Said Allen, "The plays we got called back were tough. ... Any time you get those big plays called back, from stuff you're doing to yourselves, not something the defense is doing to you, it's tough to win ballgames like that."
Texas A&M's Hill, who had been considered a leading Heisman Trophy candidate through the first month of the season, overcame a rocky first half and finished 21 of 41 for 386 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Hill's 86-yard throw down the left sideline to Pope, who had gotten a step on cornerback Jared Collins before Collins tripped, brought Texas A&M to within 28-21 with 11:59 left in the game.
Arkansas cornerback Carroll Washington intercepted a deep Hill pass midway through the quarter to keep the Aggies momentarily at bay.
The Razorbacks, leading by seven, mounted what might have been a game-clinching drive with the clock winding down. Three consecutive runs by Williams and Alex Collins, who both had first-half rushing touchdowns, went for 12, 17 and 17 yards and carried Arkansas to the Texas A&M 31. However, Allen lost a yard corralling a muffed snap and the series fizzled at the 27.
Kicker John Henson came on to try a 44-yard field goal with 2:29 left, but he pulled the kick wide left, giving the Aggies life.
"We had them where we wanted it, but we let it go in the end," Derby said.
"Arkansas, they're a great team," Texas A&M receiver Malcome Kennedy said. "We didn't play our best game, but we came out and we persevered."
The Razorbacks still had a chance to tie in overtime after Texas A&M's one-play touchdown drive.
Allen's 7-yard pass to Derby on third down set up fourth-and-1 from the Aggies' 16, but Texas A&M defenders swarmed to snuff Alex Collins on a run to the right side, ending the game.
Sports on 09/28/2014