ARLINGTON, Texas -- Quarterback KJ Jefferson set two University of Arkansas career records on Saturday against Texas A&M, but they didn't come easily in the Aggies' 34-22 victory.
Jefferson absorbed seven sacks, but still managed to set records for touchdown responsibility and total offense.
For much of the game it looked like Jefferson, a fifth-year senior, might not set either record, but his 48-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Armstrong with 3:53 left in the game broke both.
It was the 78th touchdown Jefferson has been responsible for, breaking the mark of 77 he had shared with Matt Jones, who starred at Arkansas from 2001-04.
Jefferson finished with 129 yards in total offense for a record 8,408 that passed Jones' mark of 8,392.
Jefferson had minus-3 rushing yards because of 41 lost on sacks, but he completed 9 of 17 passes for 132 yards.
It was the 16th consecutive game in which Jefferson has thrown at least one touchdown pass. He has 58 touchdown passes for his career along with 20 rushing touchdowns.
Jones had 53 passing touchdowns and 24 rushing.
Make it three
Arkansas scored a touchdown on an interception return for the third time this season when nickel back Lorando "Snaxx" Johnson picked off a pass from Max Johnson and returned it 20 yards to pull the Razorbacks within 17-13 in the third quarter.
Linebacker Brad Spence had an 85-yard return for a touchdown in the Razorbacks' 56-13 season-opening victory over Western Carolina and linebacker Antonio Grier had a 25-yard pick-six when Arkansas beat Kent State 28-6.
The Razorbacks have returned three interceptions for touchdowns in the same season for the first time since 2020, when Greg Brooks did at Mississippi State and Jalen Catalon and Grant Morgan did it against Ole Miss.
For starters
Arkansas junior running back Raheim Sanders was back in the starting lineup after missing three games because of a knee injury.
Redshirt sophomore Devon Manuel made his first career start for the Razorbacks at left tackle. He was working on the first-team offense when preseason camp started, but injuries have caused him to miss numerous practices, though he has played off the bench.
Redshirt freshman Andrew Chamblee started the first four games at left tackle.
Sophomore defensive tackle Cam Ball made his first start of the season in place of senior Taurean Carter, who started the first four games.
Big foot
Arkansas junior Cam Little hit a career-long 52-yard field goal on the Razorbacks' first drive to give them a 3-0 lead.
Little's longest field goal had been 51 yards, which he hit against Mississippi State in each of the past two seasons.
Flying high
Arkansas sophomore Isaiah Sategna -- who was a hurdler at Fayetteville High School as well as a star receiver -- jumped over Texas A&M kicker Randy Bond on a kickoff return in the second quarter.
Sategna's right knee hit the ball and knocked it loose, but it went out of bounds and Arkansas retained possession at its 39.
It was the longest kickoff return for Sategna, who also is a member of the Razorbacks' track and field team.
Fashion statement
Arkansas wore its fifth different uniform combination in the Southwest Classic with white helmets, red jerseys and white pants as the home team.
It's the first time the Razorbacks have worn that combination since 2018 when they lost to Ole Miss 37-33 in Little Rock and lost 52-6 at Mississippi State.
Arkansas is 0-4 all-time in that uniform combination, starting with a 35-26 loss to Rutgers in 2012 in Fayetteville.
The Razorbacks are 2-12 in white helmets since 2012 when they began wearing them again for some games. They're 0-4 in white helmets against Texas A&M with other losses in 2012, 2014 and 2022.
Honorary captains
Barry Foster, an All-Pro running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, served as Arkansas' honorary team captain for the pregame coin toss.
Foster was a fullback in Razorbacks Coach Ken Hatfield's Wishbone offense and played on back-to-back Southwest Conference championship teams in 1988-89.
Edd Hargett, who played quarterback at Texas A&M from 1966-68, was the Aggies' honorary team captain.
Bus incident
One of the buses in the UA team traveling party was involved in an accident between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and the team hotel on Friday, UA officials said. None of the UA traveling party was injured and the bus did not include any Razorback players.
According to people who were on the scene, a car that was weaving in and out of traffic clipped a truck, which then spun into the lane in front of the fourth of five UA buses. There was contact between the truck and the bus, which came to a stop and featured paint from the truck on its front.
Rick Schaeffer, the long-time Arkansas sports information director who is now on the Razorback Sports Network broadcast team, said it was only the second such incident he can recall in his time at Arkansas. The first came during a drive to a game against Ole Miss when the Razorbacks were still in the Southwest Conference.
Roster notes
Defensive end Jashaud Stewart was the most prominent scholarship player not on the Arkansas travel roster. Stewart had a heel injury that sidelined him during camp and for the first two games. The Jonesboro native worked with the injured players on the side for parts of this week.
Other scholarship players who did not travel were injured receiver Sam Mbake, tight end Shamar Easter, wide receiver Dazmin James, offensive linemen Cole Carson, Joey Su'a, Eli Henderson, Terry Wells, Luke Brown and Paris Patterson, defensive backs RJ Johnson, Dallas Young and Christian Ford, linebacker Carson Dean, and defensive linemen JJ Hollingsworth, Marcus Miller and Kaleb James.