This time Arkansas wanted the win more than Texas A&M and made the plays to do it.
For the first time in a decade, the Razorbacks held the trophy for winning the Southwest Classic in Arlington, Texas, and most of the current team was in junior high at best.
Ranked No. 16 coming into Saturday’s game against the seventh-ranked Aggies, most weren’t giving the Hogs much of a chance.
Except in Arkansas where it was almost unanimous expecting a win. Nobody thought it would happen, though, with KJ Jefferson getting banged up and Treylon Burks getting helped to the locker room with some sort of injury.
By the time both got dinged up, they had made enough plays to put this one in the hands of the defense, which held up.
And an experienced offensive line that handled another test this season.
Arkansas’ offense put up 443 yards on a highly-regarded defense, including 197 on the ground that allowed them to grab control early … and keep it.
The Hogs finally broke a scoreless first quarter, driving 57 yards in eight plays before having to settle for a 3-0 lead with 8:20 left in the first period.
Arkansas’ next score didn’t take as long when they got the ball back from a stingy defense that allowed the Aggies just 272 yards in total offense and only 121 on the ground.
On first down Jefferson fired an 80-yard bomb to Burks, who got some separation from the defensive back, caught the ball and ran away for the score with 2:27 to go in the first period.
It got better for Arkansas.
The Hogs took a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 48-yard scoring pass that was mostly run by running back AJ Green with 13:55 left before halftime.
A&M finally got on the board with 21 seconds left in the half on a 49-yard field goal by Seth Small.
The Hogs’ defense wasn’t giving up much the rest of the way. Oh, Isaiah Spiller broke free for a 67-yard scoring run on a busted call defensively with 7:51 to go in the third that cut the lead to 17-10, but that was the only play the Aggies mustered all day.
Jefferson suffered a leg injury in the third quarter when he was scrambling and knocked out of bounds by an Aggies defender, banging his leg on the turf.
Enter Malik Hornsby, the redshirt freshman that may have been the fastest guy on the field, and after a shaky first series, settled in and kept moving the sticks enough to keep the A&M offense on the sideline.
Burks was injured when a trick play fell apart and he scrambled for a first down up the middle. He didn’t come back.
Jefferson came back when the Hogs’ defense shut down A&M and produced enough first downs to clinch the win and move the Hogs to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2003.
Arkansas will likely take a serious leap in the polls Sunday and set up a huge matchup with Georgia in Athens next week in an 11 a.m. game televised on ESPN.
