South Bound & Down
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Texas A&M beats Arkansas behind a defensive touchdown and Devon Achane

By Jonathan Lurensky

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 24: Wide receiver Evan Stewart #1 of the Texas A&M Aggies celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the fourth quarter of the 2022 Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium on September 24, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 24: Wide receiver Evan Stewart #1 of the Texas A&M Aggies celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the fourth quarter of the 2022 Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium on September 24, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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The Texas A&M Aggies beat the Arkansas Razorbacks, 23-21. In a game where Devon Achane went off, the Aggies were behind a strong rushing attack, defensive turnovers, and some luck. This game proved that the defense and running game could still be enough for Texas A&M to be a playoff contender after their historic loss to App State in week 2.

The game started with the Razorbacks offense humming along and the Texas A&M offense struggling. On Arkansas’ second offensive drive of the game, the Razorbacks went down the field for a touchdown. The Razorbacks scored off a wide receiver screen that went for 32 yards. Ketron Jackson Jr, the wide receiver that scored on the play, got excellent blocking from linemen and playmakers.

After another three and out from Texas A&M, Arkansas drove down the field again for a touchdown. Warren Thompson snuck behind coverage, and KJ Jefferson threw it to him for a 56-yard touchdown. Again, the Aggies went three and out on offense. Although Arkansas almost muffed the ball on the punt return, it seemed like the Aggies had no real life.

The game would continue to be short drives and punts by both teams until Achane decided to unlock the offense for Texas A&M. Achane ran for 63 yards on the drive’s first play and pretty much carried the Aggies into the red zone. Max Johnson would throw a touchdown to Evan Stewart near the back of the endzone to get the Aggies on the board. Texas A&M has life. All it needed was for the Razorbacks to mess up.

Arkansas did mess up on the next drive after putting itself in the red zone. On a QB dive, KJ Jefferson ran over the top of the pile and tried extending the ball. Extending the ball was a mistake. Texas A&M was able to force a turnover, and Demani Richardson would end up taking the ball for an Aggies touchdown. No one would score for the rest of the half.

Things started to go their way on the first drive of the second half for the Aggies. Max Johnson started to get his grove going and was solid enough that the passing game could support the running game. Texas A&M scored a touchdown on that drive and took the lead. Arkansas couldn’t get the offense going on the next drive and went three and out.

Texas A&M kept the good times rolling and went down the field for a field goal to keep it a two-possession game. After punts by both teams, Arkansas went down the field to score a touchdown with a collection of KJ Jefferson passes, and AJ Green/Rashod Dubinion runs.

The Aggies got something going on offense but only settled for a field goal attempt. They ended up missing that 59-yard field goal attempt and gave the ball back to Arkansas with a chance to win the game.

It seemed like Arkansas was going to at least take the lead in this game. Their offense certainly got them an opportunity to lead this game by driving the field to get into field goal range. Cam Little had a chance to take the lead for Arkansas by making a 42-yard field goal. The kick certainly had the distance, but it went up and bounced off the uprights. Texas A&M won the game.

While I certainly wasn’t very impressed with the Aggies’ offense this week, Texas A&M still has a chance to reach their goals this year. Texas A&M will be near the top of SEC West and undoubtedly be in the playoff discussion. Considering the loss to App State was two weeks ago, that is a great position to be in.

Texas A&M hasn’t improved their offense since their loss to App State. Still, they beat two teams that were ranked in the top 25 when they played them. While Miami losing to Middle Tennessee certainly devalues that win a lot, their goal is back on track. I don’t think the Aggies are going to competitive in the CFB or the SEC West race (because they haven’t really improved since their loss to App State), but for now they are still in both of them.

The Razorbacks certainly have things to work on. Turnovers are an issue, as they have been for a while. While Arkansas has to work on some things, their season goal isn’t out of reach for now. They are still competitive in the SEC West and CFB race for now, and that’s still worth something. They will need one loss (more) from Texas A&M (this is written just in case A&M runs the table) for the SEC West title, but that isn’t too unlikely.

Next. Looking back at the Texas A&M career of Ricky Seals-Jones. dark

In one of the most high-profile games of the week, A&M kept themselves in the playoff and SEC race. None of their issues have been solved since their loss to App State, but at least for now, they are still in those races. Arkansas showed they have holes that the Razorbacks need to fix.