ARLINGTON, Texas -- Arkansas punter Sam Irwin-Hill had the longest rushing attempt Saturday in AT&T Stadium, edging teammate Alex Collins.
Collins had a 50-yard run, but Irwin-Hill topped that with a 51-yard touchdown run on a fake punt that still wasn't quite enough for the Razorbacks, who lost to Texas A&M 35-28 in overtime.
Irwin-Hill, a senior from Bendingo, Australia, took a snap on a fourth-and-10 play from the Arkansas 49, ran to his left, picked up some blocks and broke a couple of tackles in the final few yards to give the Razorbacks a 21-14 lead with 1:03 left in the second quarter.
"It was play we've scripted quite a bit," Irwin-Hill said. "It was very well-executed by our special teams guys, so I definitely have to give credit to my special teams' mates."
Irwin-Hill said he picked up a particularly good block by deep snapper Alan D'Appollonio, who took care of Aggies punt returner Speedy Noil at the 10.
But what about breaking those tackles like a running back?
"It comes naturally," Irwin-Hill said. "I played Australia rules football back home. I'm kind of used to it."
14 and counting
The Razorbacks lost their 14th consecutive SEC game, including an 0-2 start this season after going 0-8 a year ago. Their last SEC victory came over Kentucky, 49-7, on Oct. 13, 2012.
"I'm not even looking at that," Arkansas senior defensive end Trey Flowers said. "We're just trying to figure out how to get the first one in a long time."
Hairy situation
Alex Collins gained 9 yards on a run to the Texas A&M 38 in the first quarter, but he could have gotten a lot more if Aggies cornerback Deshazor Everett hadn't tackled Collins by the dreadlocks hanging out of the back of his helmet.
It was a legal tackle because a player's hair is considered part of his uniform.
The Razorbacks scored five plays later to tie the game 7-7.
Penalties hurt
Arkansas sophomore offensive tackle Dan Skipper was called for two penalties that negated 99 yards gained by the Razorbacks.
A holding penalty on Skipper negated a 44-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Allen to Hunter Henry. Then Skipper was penalized for tripping, calling back a 55-yard run by Jonathan Williams to the Texas A&M 1.
The Razorbacks finished with eight penalties for 76 yards, including a personal call on senior offensive tackle and team captain Brey Cook.
"We had too many penalties," Cook said when asked about Skipper. "That starts with me. It starts up front. I take that upon myself as a senior. That's fully my responsibility. I've got to come back and be better."
Coach Manziel?
Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, now a rookie with the Cleveland Browns, attended the game -- the Browns have an open date today -- and helped encourage Kenny Hill, his replacement as the Aggies' starter.
"Johnny was there on the sideline with Kenny helping him stay calm," Aggies receiver Malcome Kennedy said.
Hill said Manziel talked to him at halftime and at times in the second half.
"He was just trying to get us pumped," Hill said. "At the end he was saying, 'You got this. Go lead this team.' "
For starters
Arkansas sophomore defensive end Deatrich Wise made his first start of the season, replacing JaMichael Winston.
It was Wise's second career start. He also started against Texas A&M last year.
Senior Tevin Mitchel, who started at Texas Tech two weeks ago, was back in the lineup as a nickel back and freshman Henre Toliver made his second start at cornerback.
Razorbacks Coach Bret Bielema said Toliver didn't play in the second half because he was scratched in the eyeball.
Sophomore receiver Cody Hollister made his second consecutive start for Demetrius Wilson, who has been slowed by ankle injury. Wilson dressed out Saturday but didn't play. He didn't dress out last week against Northern Illinois.
Rankled
Arkansas lost to a nationally-ranked team for the 10th consecutive time. The Razorbacks' last victory over a ranked team also was at AT&T Stadium when No. 7 Arkansas beat No. 11 Kansas State 29-16 in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 7, 2012.
In addition to losing at Auburn and to Texas A&M -- both ranked No. 6 at the time -- this season, the Razorbacks lost to No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 18 Florida, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 1 Alabama, No. 8 Auburn and No. 15 LSU last season.
In 2012, Arkansas lost to No. 1 Alabama, No. 12 South Carolina and No. 8 LSU.
Honorary captains
Jim Williams, a defensive tackle on Arkansas' 1964 team that won a share of the national championship, and Kevin Smith, an All-American cornerback for Texas A&M who played for the Dallas Cowboys, served as honorary captains.
Williams is a longtime member of the Cotton Bowl board of directors and was inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2012.
Not a sellout
There was a loud announced crowd of 68,113 for Saturday's game, but that was about 12,000 shy of a packed house with AT&T Stadium's listed capacity of 80,000.
Prices ranging from $300 to $85 likely dissuaded some fans from buying tickets.
It was the second-smallest crowd in four Arkansas-Texas A&M games at the stadium. The game drew 71,872 in 2009, 65,622 in 2010 and 69,838 in 2011.
Vs. the Aggies
Arkansas fell to 41-27-3 against Texas A&M and has lost the past three games in the series, which dates to 1903, when the Aggies won 6-0 in College Station, Texas.
At Jerry World
Arkansas is 4-1 at AT&T Stadium, the house built by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The Razorbacks previously beat Texas A&M there three times and beat Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl.
Sports on 09/28/2014