ARLINGTON, Texas -- The University of Arkansas had the ball late trailing Texas A&M by a touchdown in the Southwest Classic on Saturday.
Not bad for the Razorbacks after allowing a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown to open the game. But not good enough for Arkansas (1-4, 0-2 SEC), which could not end its slump against the Aggies as safety Donovan Wilson intercepted Ty Storey's deep throw at the Arkansas 26 to seal the Aggies' 24-17 victory.
"That's all you can ask for as a quarterback, as an offense ... to be put in a position where you can win the ballgame for your team," Storey said. "We were right there. We got some momentum going and we were feeling good, and then I messed it up. It's on me."
A crowd of 55,383 at AT&T Stadium, the smallest in the eight-year history of the renewed series, saw Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC) win its program-record seventh game in a row over the Hogs. Arkansas lost by seven points against the Aggies for the fourth time in the past five years.
"I'm upset about the loss," Arkansas linebacker De'Jon Harris said. "But I'm proud of my teammates. We keep fighting and we keep building as a team. As a program, we're getting stronger."
The Razorbacks trailed 17-0 three minutes into the second quarter before outscoring the Aggies 17-7 the rest of the way behind another strong defensive showing.
"I cannot be more proud of the players in that locker room, the coaches in that locker room and their fight," said Arkansas Coach Chad Morris, who lost in his first game against his alma mater. "These guys have continued to show up every day and continue to hit that tree in the same spot. As I shared with them in that locker room, if you'll continue to do that, it's going to fall."
Texas A&M had 148 total yards after going up 17-0 on Seth Small's 30-yard field goal at the 12:36 mark of the second quarter. The nation's No. 6 total offense finished with 377 yards, 168 yards short of its season average.
"We probably played our worst football game of the year by far and need to get things fixed," Aggies first-year Coach Jimbo Fisher said. "You've got to take the air out of people. You got to take their hope away. As long as there's hope, that gives momentum and that changes games."
Trailing 24-10 late in the game, Arkansas put together one of its best drives of the season. The six-play, 75-yard series started with Rakeem Boyd's 11-yard gain on a screen pass, then Storey ran 11 yards to the Arkansas 47. After tight end Cheyenne O'Grady had a 24-yard catch over the middle, Storey connected with Mike Woods on a 29-yard touchdown pass to pull the Hogs within 24-17 with 3:16 remaining.
Woods' first college touchdown came on a post pattern on which he got a step on Texas A&M cornerback Charles Oliver.
Arkansas got one last shot with 1:51 remaining at its own 26 with no timeouts left.
"Down by seven, the ball in your hands ... the only thing in my mind was we're fixing to tie this thing up or give us a chance to win it with a two-point conversion, who knows," Morris said.
Storey said he thought he had looked the safety Wilson off on a deep corner route for De'Vion Warren, but he was still lurking.
"Then I floated it," Storey said. "I've got to just drill it, put it outside. We work on stuff like that every day. It's on me. It's as simple as that."
After Texas A&M's rousing start on freshman Jashaun Corbin's 100-yard kickoff return on his first career return, the Razorbacks played to a tie.
Arkansas linebackers Dre Greenlaw and Harris led the defensive effort. Harris had 16 tackles, 12 of them solo, including a sack. Greenlaw added 13 tackles and a career-high two interceptions.
"I think the care factor is strong," Greenlaw said. "A lot of guys are realizing there aren't too many more games after this, especially a lot of the seniors."
Texas A&M showed more firepower, racking up a 377-248 edge in total offense and winning the time of possession battle 36:56 to 23:04. However, between Greenlaw's two interceptions, two missed field goals and other mistakes, the Aggies couldn't convert their offensive edge into a commanding lead.
Trayveon Williams rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns as the Aggies gashed some holes in the Razorbacks' No. 7 rushing defense, which had been allowing 88.3 yards per game. Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond did not get cranked up in the running game and was sacked three times, but the sophomore completed 17 of 26 passes for 201 yards.
The Razorbacks lost a tight end because of Jeremy Patton's lower leg injury in the first half, but they rediscovered another as O'Grady had his first catches of the season and totaled three receptions for a game-high 77 yards.
Storey overcame five sacks and a couple of drops to complete 14 of 26 throws for 193 yards and a touchdown. He complimented the Arkansas defense for keeping the Hogs in the game while the offense tried to right the ship.
"The defense is playing as good as any I've ever been a part of," Storey said. "We've got to win ballgames, and that's what they're going to judge us on at the end of the day. Moral victories aren't really a thing. We've got to win some ballgames."
O'Grady's 36-yard catch and run gave Arkansas its initial first down at the Aggies' 39 early in the second quarter. Boyd, the former Aggie, followed with a 16-yard run, then O'Grady had another big pickup, a 17-yard catch that reached the 6.
Backup quarterback Cole Kelley used all of his 6-7 frame to bring in a high Shotgun snap -- after T.J. Hammonds took a pitch play 5 yards to the Aggies' 1 -- and stormed into the end zone to pull Arkansas within 17-7 at the 9:35 mark of the second quarter.
The Razorbacks drove 46 yards on their first possession of the second half. Boyd had a 25-yard breakaway run down the left sideline, and Jared Cornelius caught an 11-yard pass to get Arkansas in scoring range. Connor Limpert's 47-yard field goal made it a one-score game with 11:16 left in the third period.
Texas A&M extended its lead to 24-10 with 5:03 remaining on Williams' second score, a 4-yard run at left end. The 61-yard sequence included a 15-yard personal foul on Arkansas defensive tackle Jonathan Marshall for illegal hands to the face, the Hogs' second of the game.
"The guys were playing extremely hard," Morris said. "They did come at a very inopportune time. But, you know, you got to go the next down and you got to play."
Boyd led the Hogs with 47 rushing yards and 80 all-purpose yards, but Texas A&M limited Arkansas to 55 yards on the ground, an average of 2.1 yards per carry, and sacked Storey 5 times for 25 lost yards.
Sports on 09/30/2018