After five straight games in different stadium, Hogs get few in town, but first one against No.. 4 Tennessee.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 9-30-24
Another whacky, disheartening, soul-crushing, loss to Texas A&M in Jerry World. One where you had the lead…in the fourth quarter. AGAIN! Tommy and Tye take your calls and texts, reactions and more on what feels like a Groundhog’s Day scenario, in the worst possible way.
Surprises in twists, turns around SEC including Razorbacks’ loss
What a weekend it was for Week 5! We knew there would be some intriguing matchups this weekend, and most went as suspected, on the scoreboard, but it is a slim chance anyone knew just how many twists and turns we would have getting to those results. Let’s dive in.
Three Takeaway Games
Kentucky 20, (6) Ole Miss 17: We had discussed in our weekly SEC discussions about how Ole Miss has not been truly tested yet. Lane Kiffin himself commented after the loss how the previous opponents had not prepared his team for the SEC schedule.
Granted, given the moderate level of success Wake Forest has had in recent history, there is always the possibility the schedule makers were under the assumption the Demon Deacons would be a tougher warm-up for the Rebels. For anyone with that mindset, the talent of Ole Miss proved them wrong. But that is just it; Ole Miss is very talented, and they are well-coached.
We made it a talking point to state Kentucky had the potential to jump up and bite anyone in the SEC expecting a win over the Wildcats. It’s not their loss to an underrated South Carolina team, but the final score which creates doubt in the minds of people when the Wildcats are mentioned. Consider that lack of certainty erased, especially within the borders of Mississippi given this upset took place in Oxford.
Ole Miss will recover. They will still have a fantastic season, and they should still make the playoffs. As for now, no other major losses need to take place to ensure that; however, the Rebels cannot afford another loss, and definitely not one to another unranked team. Kentucky may not squeeze into the Top 25, but they will be on the list of those receiving votes.
(4) Alabama 41, (2) Georgia 34: What a boring first half … But, oh man, what an exciting finish. Mark your author here down as someone who checked out early to midway in the third quarter. After all, Alabama had just gotten a safety on Georgia to go into halftime with a 30-7 lead over the Bulldogs.
Add to it, Georgia did not even score in the third until there was 5:06 left to play. Bama closed out the third with a field goal to lead it 33-25.
Without doing a web search, “Not since Matt Jones at Arkansas” could we recall anyone having such a comeback against the Crimson Tide, and this team is far too talented and hot to allow something like that to happen again. Enter Carson Beck and the Georgia Bulldogs into the fourth quarter.
Three straight touchdowns (and a failed 2-point conversion later), Georgia had a 34-33 lead with 2:31 left to play. But then, just 13-seonds later, I saw one of the coolest plays I have seen all season. Bama receiver Ryan Williams catching a pass from Jalen Milroe and “pirouetting” not once but twice to complete a 75-yard touchdown. The Tide were successful with their 2-point conversion, and no further points were needed as the Bama defense held true and kept the Bulldogs from scoring.
Some might say this was the most impactful game in the SEC this week, but, in all fairness, it is not. As long as the score stayed close, neither team was going to drop far in the polls. In fact, they might even switch spots. Bama will definitely jump to No. 2, and the Bulldogs should remain within striking distance no farther back than No. 6.
The question is, will the pollsters leap the Tide over Texas for that coveted No. 1 ranking? And, this is just an opinion, but Georgia and Alabama will most likely play each other again this season.
(24) Texas A&M 21, Arkansas 17: Perhaps the reason for this being a key game in the SEC is because it exposes the flaws of both teams. Arkansas’s defense looked great until it didn’t. And A&M showed they need help in the passing game if Conner Weigman cannot get healthy.
The last one reflects another problem for the Hogs as well. If Arkansas cannot defeat an Aggie team who is ranked far too high, they are not going to do much more than serve as a launching pad for Tennessee this weekend.
Neither team will compete for the SEC Championship, and to even mention the word “playoffs” in regards to one or both would be either stating the obvious that neither are going to sniff it, or saying they have a chance would be career suicide for anyone putting such speculation into print.
Yet there is a subtle thought that A&M can use this game to correct its wrongs in time to have a decent season. Perhaps Arkansas can as well.
Remaining SEC Results for Week 5
(21) Oklahoma 27, Auburn 21: Most people seemed to think the Tigers would pull the upset here. In fact, so many people picked it, an Auburn victory may not have even been considered an upset. For a little over three quarters, it looked as though so many of us were right in thinking the Tigers would end the day with a win over a Top 25 team. When Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne found Luke Deal in the endzone putting the Tigers up 21-10 with 14:12 left in the ballgame, it seemed like there was no way a down and out Sooners team could recover. They did… with two touchdowns of their own and a field goal to get their first ever SEC victory.
Mississippi State 13, (1) Texas 35: The only really key note on this game is Texas Quarterback Arch Manning started his first SEC game with Quinn Ewers still out with an injury. Manning did well, completing 26 out of his 31 passes and throwing for two touchdowns. The outcome of the game was as expected and has no bearing on the conference for the remainder of the season.
(14) LSU 42, South Alabama 10: South Alabama may be a great team in their conference and their division, but they were put in a no-win situation with LSU in Death Valley. Unfortunately for the Tigers, their win over the Jaguars does nothing to assist their playoff aspirations, but they will hold a spot in the Top 15 for another week.
The upcoming Week 6 has some matchups which on paper seem like easy picks, but this is the SEC, and no victory is guaranteed, just ask Ole Miss. Be sure to enjoy Hit That Line all week. and also join us Sunday as we recap how your favorite (or least favorite) SEC team fared.
Razorbacks’ Sam Pittman recapping another loss to Aggies in Arlington
Hogs struggle to run against Texas A&M’s defense but problems in other areas big part of 21-17 loss.
Razorbacks Isaac TeSlaa and Landon Jackson after loss to Texas A&M
Recapping Arkansas’ 11th loss in the last 12 games against the Aggies in the final Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium.
LIVE BLOG: Hogs never find running game, but A&M did at end for 21-17 win
ARLINGTON, Texas — In the fourth quarter, No. 24 Texas A&M discovered it’s running game while Arkansas never found one consistently all days. At the end, when they needed to run to win, the Aggies could do it in a 21-17 win in the final Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium.
A&M has won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two schools and they will start playing the games on-campus next season.
The Razorbacks are now 3-2 and will host Tennessee next Saturday at either 6 or 6:30 p.m. on ESPN or ABC.
The two teams started playing here in 2009 and with only three exceptions have played here every year since then. The Aggies have won 10 of the last 11 games, some of them in bizarre fashion.
Q1 14:00 Arkansas has started about as fast as possible. Quarterback Taylen Green moved up into the pocket on a third-and-10 and found wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa breaking free on a crossing route and he out-ran and Aggies’ defensive back for a 75-yard scoring play. Hogs 7, Aggies 0
Q1 10:28: If you thought this was going to be a blowout, there are apparently two offenses capable of big plays. A&M responds with quarterback Marcel Reed throwing to Noah Thomas and Kee’yon Stewart whiffed a tackle attempt and the Aggies had a 58-yard scoring play. Hogs 7, Aggies 7
Q1 4:50: Razorbacks run a fake punt and it worked almost as well as it did 10 years ago when punter Devin Bale scooted 25 yards to keep a drive alive and Ja’Quinden Jackson ran 8 yards for the score. Isaiah Sategna had a 15-yard run on the jet sweep and caught a pass for 6 to set up the scoring play. Hogs 14, Aggies 7
Q2 8:58: After a punt backed the Razorbacks to the 9, A&M’s Shemar Stewart took advantage of a lack of interest in any of the Hogs blocking him and blew up a handoff from Green to Jackson and Scooby Williams recovered at the 8. Two plays later Reed walked into the end zone over the left side from the 5 and we’re tied again. Hogs 14, Aggies 14
Q4 13:24: After the defenses on both sides managed to pile stops at key times, the Razorbacks finally get one close enough to give Kyle Ramsey a shot at a 45-yard field goal after turning down a previous chance for a fake that totally collapsed. Hogs 17, Aggies 14
Q4 9:00: Texas A&M takes the kickoff after the field goal at the 25 and cover the 75 yards in seven plays to take the lead on a 5-yard pass from Reed to Tre Washington and grab a lead. Aggies 21, Hogs 17
The Razorbacks got the ball back late and had a key first down on a fourth-down sneak by Green. They got a first down and an 11-yard sack on Green forced a fumble and Williams recovered with 1:30 to play in the game. The Aggies were penalized twice in the wildness of the fumble and backed up on their own 42 instead of nearly being in field goal range.
ANDY’S PICKS: Hogs finally done playing AT&T Stadium regular-season games
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Maybe there was a time when Arkansas playing a football game at AT&T Stadium made sense. All of that changed for a variety of reasons and it will be over Saturday evening.
In the final game of the Southwest Classic that has a trophy and a fancy name, the Razorbacks and Texas A&M will start playing at each other’s campuses every other year. That’s going to work out for everyone except for the folks who like to make the trip to Arlington, Texas, in dwindling numbers each year. Now it’s down in the 50-something thousand every year.
In other words just slightly more than could fit in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark., which is also down the last few years. It’s in the Hogs’ best interests these days to play as many games as possible on their home campus.
Now they are trying to halt a revolting set of circumstances against the Aggies. Arkansas has lost 10 of the last 11 games. So much for folks that said it would take A&M a decade to be competitive when they joined the SEC in 2012.
Say what you want, but Jimbo Fisher didn’t get fired at A&M because he couldn’t get the players there. He just didn’t win enough games. Different numbers, but the same bottom-line reason the coach before Sam Pittman got fired at Arkansas.
There ae still a couple of players on the current roster recruited by the previous head coach of the Hogs. Others got drafted into the NFL … in the first round. Defensive lineman Landon Jackson may be the only Arkansas player projected to be in the top couple of rounds of the draft in April.
A&M has more than that. The Aggies still have a lot of the players Fisher rounded up a couple of years ago that launched a hillbilly argument between a couple of West Virginia natives that went into coach when Jimbo and Nick Saban started trading jabs.
That’s what makes up the lines of scrimmage at A&M. While the Hogs have definitely improved over last year, on paper they don’t have the same players. The Aggies may be sorting things out with a new coach in Mike Elko, but they are ranked No. 25 in the country right now.
It’s headlines when the Razorbacks get three votes just to be in the poll.
No, this game won’t be a blowout because it never is. Arkansas has found creative ways to lose games over the last 11 years. Dropping overtime games and even bouncing a field goal at the end off the top of the upright come immediately to mind. Maybe it would be the most Razorback thing ever to be the winner in a blowout of epic proportions.
Then start a stretch of really big games against Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas and Missouri with Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech mixed in there for good measure.
Right now the Hogs are sitting at 3-1. Auburn was worse than most projected before the season and the Hogs just might be better. But there are still questions searching for answers we will have by next week.
For now, though, the questions are if the Razorbacks can run the ball on the Aggies’ talented defensive front or handle A&M’s offensive line to get pressure on whichever quarterback they’re going to play. Despite what Sam Pittman said earlier this week, that’s a dilemma for any defensive coordinator.
Taylen Green is going to face the best defense he’s seen this year and he’s going to have to find somebody else to throw the ball to other than Andrew Armstrong. Maybe he finds that in Arlington, but somehow I don’t think that’s what will happen. This one probably won’t be a thing of beauty in terms of a game and will either be a wild, high-scoring affair, or an old-fashioned slugfest.
Either way, I’m not much for picking trends to be broken and A&M is on the upside of that trend these days.
Aggies 27, Hogs 23
Apparently, Pete Morgan is feeling cocky after one of those weeks when things went wrong. Apparently he’s forgetting the first couple of weeks when I’m probably up with enough cushion to take some chances.
He offered some ridiculous back-handed thing on placing your hard-earned money using his picks as a guide. Do as you wish. I do not make any offers like that, but do have a warning. If you wager real money off my picks you deserve whatever happens to you.
Just be aware if I didn’t catch it, he didn’t even pick the Aggies-Hogs game by the same margin in two different places. Keep that between us.
On the surface, this week’s SEC slate has one really good matchup, a coupl ethat could be intriguing and Texas’ introduction to the league may be in a blowout win.
Kentucky at (6) Ole Miss: If Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart doesn’t forget what he’s doing, this one could be a blowout. Because of the Wildcats’ strong defensive front, the Rebels probably won’t be able to run, which is fine. Kentucky struggles against good passing teams and they are going on the road against a Heisman candidate on a hot streak. Rebels 41, Wildcats 9.
(21) Oklahoma at Auburn: The Tigers may be jettisoning Hugh Freeze into the hot seat zone occupied by every coach there since Shug Jordan’s days. Sooner or later, it happens to every one that has been in charge there. After a loss to Arkansas last week, the eagle may refuse to fly out of the cage. The Sooners, meanwhile, didn’t show up that badly against Tennessee in a loss and aren’t that bad. Sooners 24, Tigers 21.
Mississippi State at (1) Texas: The Bulldogs are struggling in Jeff Lebby’s first year. The main thing State folks need to remember is Bevo charged the last Bulldog from the SEC that wandered too close to him at the Sugar Bowl a few years ago. It didn’t look good for UGA, so Bully needs to stay away Saturday because the football team is going to be taking a trampling. Longhorns 51, Bulldogs 13.
(2) Georgia at (4) Alabama: The best game in the league by far and will be in the prime time slot on ABC at 6:30. The Crimson Tide are a very, very good team and there’s not a whole lot of drop-off in the coaching change, despite what you may think. Even Saban thinks that, saying Friday some things have changed he should have thought about. But the Bulldogs want to get over their Alabama Problem. They are still burned by last season’s end. Bulldogs 24, Crimson Tide 21.
South Alabama at (14) LSU “Pete’s Good Grief Game:” I would actually put the Texas-Mississippi State blowout into this category. South Alabama is an improved team and they probably won’t win the game, but it may not be the blowout most expect. The Tigers are still trying to figure out what kind of team they really have. Tigers 42, Jaguars 23.
