3 takeaways from Texas A&M’s win over Arkansas in Dallas

Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko said as he left the field that Saturday’s 21-17 win over Arkansas was a step forward for his program. They have taken steps to get to where they want to be. It wasn’t a pretty game. It wasn’t an efficient game. In fact, the Aggies were outrebounded that day. But they made plays in the fourth quarter to win.

With the win, the Aggies moved to 4-1. Arkansas fell to 3-2.

Here are 3 takeaways from the afternoon.

Arkansas buried mistakes

Is there a more volatile team in the SEC? Auburn says hello, but Arkansas has a huge fight. The Razorbacks scored on their first drive of the game, making it seem easy to grab an early 7-0 lead after a three-play, 75-yard drive. On their third drive they gained 75 yards and took a 14-7 lead.

From the second quarter onwards there was one mistake after another. The Razorbacks fumbled the ball on their first drive of the second quarter. Then there were two 3-and-outs. Then Taylen Green was substituted on the team’s final possession of the first half. Arkansas turned around on downs early in the third quarter – the Hogs called a timeout, called for a fake field goal and got the ball filled.

A strip sack by Texas A&M forward Nic Scourton ended the game late in the fourth quarter. Arkansas had a chance to lead a game-winning drive. On first-and-10 in the 34th minute, Scourton chased Green and threw the ball free.

Arkansas outscored the Aggies 385-300. Against FBS opponents this season, Arkansas is 1-2 when outrebounding its opponent and 1-0 when outrebounded. Penalties were a problem as the Razorbacks were rejected 10 times for 75 yards. Arkansas finished the game with three giveaways and no takeaways.

Run the game and find out at the right time

Through the first three quarters, A&M had just 46 rushing yards on 26 carries. In the fourth quarter alone, the Aggies had 84 yards on 9 attempts.

“Le’Veon Moss showed up the way we needed him to in the fourth quarter,” coach Mike Elko said on the field after the game.

Moss had runs of 15, 23 and 30 yards in the fourth. He finished the game with 13 carries for 117 yards. In the final five minutes, the forward rushed for 30 yards and turned the field at a crucial point. A defender tried to pull him down by his facemask and added another 15 yards at the end of the run.

It was the best game of the season for Moss, who was held at bay in the opening game but has been remarkably efficient since then.

Scourton and Stewart are having a day

In the opening stages of the season, Texas A&M had shown early signs of what a devastating, pass-quick defense could be, but the Aggies hadn’t quite lived up to the potential many saw in them. With Shemart Stewart and Nic Scourton on defense, it looked like a front that could hold its own against the offensive line on any given day.

That definitely happened on Saturday. Stewart forced the game’s first takeaway by simply punching through the mesh point on a read-option play between Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green and tailback Ja’Quinden Jackson. He finished the game with 4 tackles and 0.5 tackles for a loss. Scourton had 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack and a pass breakup.

Overall, the defense kept Green under wraps all day. He was an integral part of the Arkansas running game through the first four games and had already rushed for at least 80 yards in three games. Texas A&M held him to 12 rushing yards on 12 carries. If you remove the sacks from the equation, he still only managed 25 rushing yards.

The defensive line won their match and that helped the Aggies win the game.