Improved Hogs get closer, but fall to Aggies late in Arlington

This was a different-looking Arkansas team … providing you started watching about midway through the first quarter.

After digging an early hole, the Razorbacks bounced back and actually had a shot to at least send the game with Texas A&M to another overtime matchup, but fell late, 24-17.

The loss drops the Hogs to 1-4 on the season, but anyone who wasn’t buying into the improved team mantra after last week’s loss at Auburn, this team DID look better … much better.

Except on one special teams play. The Aggies’ Jashaun Corbin returned the opening kickoff 100 yards. Some Hog fans probably turned the TV off then.

After a quick three-and-out by the Arkansas offense, some more folks quit watching. They missed a booming 50-yard punt by Reid Bauer and returner Roshauud Paul was dropped for a 2-yard loss by De’Jon Harris. Some good things there.

Then A&M drove 79 yards in nine plays with Williams getting 33 on the ground.

Quarterback Kellen Mond, though, made the big plays. First, he scrambled for 12, then hit Paul with a 19-yard pass that set up Williams’ 1-yard scoring run and it was 14-0 for the Aggies.

At that point more Arkansas fans quit watching.

And they missed seeing a team improve steadily the rest of the way to actually have a shot at tying the game at the end.

Quarterback Ty Storey further solidified his hold as the leader of the offense by simply having a solid — not spectacular — day.

Storey finished 14-of-26 passing for 193 yards, one score and just one interception.

Mond was 17-of-26 for 201 yards, no touchdowns, but two interceptions by Dre Greenlaw.

Shoot, the way this game played out, it could be argued the Hogs played toe-to-toe with the Aggies for the last three quarters.

It helped that Cheyenne O’Grady came out of his month-long pouting spell and started making the plays his ability has shown him capable of.

After A&M went up 17-0 early in the second quarter, two passes from Storey to O’Grady — first for 36 yards, then a 17-yard later wrapped around a big-time 16-yard run by Rakeem Boyd — keyed a nine-play, 75-yard drive.

Cole Kelley came in and bulldozed his way into the end zone from a yard out, Connor Limpert added the extra point and it was 17-7 with 9:35 left in the first half.

For Arkansas, a team that has struggled to score offensively the last two weeks, it was a positive sign.

The Hogs took the second-half kickoff and made it 17-0 as Boyd ripped off a 25-yard run early, then Storey hit Jared Cornelius, then Deon Stewart with passes before the drive stalled. Limpert came on and nailed a 47-yard field goal and it was 17-10 with 11:16 left in the third.

As usual in this series, the fourth quarter got a little interesting.

A&M clanged a field goal off the right upright after Randy Ramsey was called for hands to the face of Mond on an incomplete third down. That would have gotten the Aggies off the field nine plays earlier deep in their own territory.

After a three-and-out by the Hogs, A&M put together another drive, aided again by a call for hands to the face of Mond, this time by Jonathan Marshall.

Mond got it in the end zone, though, with a big 20-yard pass to Cameron Buckley that set up Williams’ 5-yard run with 5:03 to play to give the Aggies a 24-10.

It looked like it might not be enough.

Arkansas came right back with Boyd scampering for 11, then Storey hitting O’Grady for 24 yards, then Michael Woods for a 29-yard scoring play down the middle.

That made it 24-17 with 3:16 to play and the Hogs still had life.

Arkansas got the ball back with 1:51 to play and 74 yards away from a tie to send the game to a fourth overtime in five years.

Storey passed first to Jordan Jones, then Boyd to get the ball out to the 45.

A second-down pass from there was late getting to an open De’Vion Warren, but the ball hung and A&M free safety Donovan Wilson made a diving interception to seal the win for the Aggies.

The loss dropped the Hogs to 1-4 on the season (0-2 in SEC play) and things don’t get easier next week with Alabama coming in for an 11 a.m. game at Razorback Stadium.