By Harry King
ARLINGTON, Texas — Somehow, some way, Arkansas beat Texas A&M.
The most plausible explanation is that the Razorbacks’ opponent was the Aggies, the butt of so many jokes when both teams were in the Southwest Conference.
The 42-38 outcome flies in the face of a long-held allegiance to the necessity of a running game. The Aggies ran for 310 yards more than Arkansas and lost. I thought the team that threw the ball the most would loses’ Arkansas attempted 51 passes, A&M tried 35.
At the end, Tyler Wilson held the football aloft in his left hand and pitched it to an official. He probably used his non-throwing hand because he took such a beating that he couldn’t raise his right arm.
Two fumble recoveries, one by Jarius Wright for a touchdown, played a role in the outcome. So did the cool of Wilson under duress and the north-south running of Dennis Johnson in the fourth quarter.
At the top of the how-did-it-happen checklist were the contributions of safety Eric Bennett.
Leading 35-27 early in the fourth quarter, the Aggies had third-and-4 at their own 46 when Cyrus Gray circled out of the backfield and turned to provide a perfect target for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The pass was on time, but Bennett bear-hugged Gray a yard short of a first down.
Arkansas’ ensuing possession ended when Wright recovered Cobi Hamilton’s fumble in the end zone and Wilson’s keeper was such a surprise that the quarterback walked into the end zone on the tying 2-point conversion, even though he did not make a good fake.
Fourteen plays later, A&M had third-and-6 at the Arkansas 10. Tannehill ran the quarterback draw for the first time, Bennett initiated contact at the six, and the Aggies settled for a field goal.
At the half, the Razorbacks looked as if they would be the butt of an Aggie joke. The punch line, make that punching bag, was the defense.
During the first 30 minutes, the Aggies accumulated an absurd 404 yards on 45 plays, a smooth nine yards per carry. Missed tackles on critical plays marked at leas four of the touchdowns the Aggies scored on their way to a 35-17 halftime lead.
The poor tackling was exacerbated by Arkansas’ inability to block the Aggies, a fact that led to a pathetic ground game and new bruises for Wilson, who was sacked four times and flattened many more.
It was so bad that nobody laughed when somebody tried to make a funny about the A&M band always played the Aggie ‘War Hymn’ because it was the only song the band knew.
Wilson is not perfect, but he does keep competing like he did when the Razorbacks took over at their 20 with 4:22 to play and A&M in front by three.
Up the right sideline, Wright slipped behind everybody, but Wilson’s throw was far short. A lesser competitor would hang his head after missing on a sure touchdown. Instead, Wilson completed a big pass to Wright and Johnson contributed runs of 8, 6, and 3 before Broderick Green scored the winning touchdown behind an overloaded left side.
At half, knowing that Arkansas would compete was the one positive. Coach Bobby Petrino said during the week that the offense needed an identity. Maybe hanging in will do for now.
There is a lot to be said for that.
Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. Email: hking@arkansasnews.com.
