Texas A&M Football Takes Down Arkansas

News release from Texas A&M Athletics:

ARLINGTON, Texas – The No. 24 Texas A&M football team defeated Arkansas, 21-17, in a hard-nosed, physical SEC battle Saturday afternoon at the Southwest Classic inside AT&T Stadium.

The Aggies (4-1, 2-0 SEC) claimed their first and only lead of the day with 9:00 remaining in the game as Marcel Reed connected with Tre Watson for a 5-yard touchdown. Following Randy Bond’s extra-point, the Maroon & White led 21-17, an advantage they would not relinquish. The eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive was sparked by Le’Veon Moss, who compiled 46 yards on the ground.

The Aggie defense put the final touches on the win as Nic Scourton logged a strip sack and Jaydon Hill recovered the fumble to seal the victory. The play capped off a strong performance from Scourton, who recorded four tackles, all of which were solos and tackles for loss, including 2.0 sacks.

Reed finished the day 11-of-22 passing for 163 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 13 yards on the ground and one score. Moss logged a career-high 117 yards on 13 carries in the win, marking the third 100-yard game of his career and second straight against the Razorbacks (3-2, 1-1 SEC). Among the receivers, Noah Thomas put forth his best performance of the season, hauling in six passes for a career-high 109 yards and a touchdown.

On the defensive end, the Maroon & White wreaked havoc up front as they totaled 10.0 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hurries and 3.0 sacks. Dalton Brooks led the way with seven tackles, two of which were for loss, while Marcus Ratcliffe and Dezz Ricks followed with five takedowns each.

On the third play of the game, Arkansas opened the scoring behind a 75-yard touchdown pass. The Aggies answered on their second drive of the day as Reed connected with Thomas for a 58-yard touchdown pass with 10:28 remaining in the opening quarter. The touchdown catch marked the longest of Thomas’ career. The Razorbacks used a fake punt to keep its ensuing drive going and later found paydirt with an 8-yard touchdown run to take a 14-7 advantage into the second.

Following a forced fumble by Shemar Stewart that was recovered by Scooby Williams at the Razorback 10-yard line, the Maroon & White evened the score behind a 5-yard rushing touchdown from Reed as 8:58 remained in the half. The forced fumble and fumble recovery were career-firsts for the Aggie duo. The score remained deadlocked at 14-14 as the two sides headed to the locker room for halftime.

The two sides headed to the fourth quarter tied for the first time in Southwest Classic history after a scoreless third. The Razorbacks broke the tie with 13:24 remaining in the contest with a 45-yard field goal to jump back in front 17-14.

 

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Texas A&M Football Post Game Notes

No. 24 Texas A&M 21, Arkansas 17

AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)

 

Team Notes        

 

• The Aggies have now won 12 of their last 13 games against Arkansas.
• Texas A&M registered its seventh interception of the season and fourth consecutive game with a pick. It marked the first four-game streak with an interception since 2021 when the Aggies recorded a pick against Alabama, at Missouri, South Carolina and Auburn.
• The team’s seven picks are the most by the Maroon & White in a four-game span since tallying seven in four games during the 2013 season.
• The Aggies have had at least 5.0 tackles for loss in four of the five games this season, tallying a season-high 10.0 against Arkansas for a loss of 46 yards.
• A solid effort by the Texas A&M punt team made the Razorbacks’ average starting position their own 18-yard line. Following Aggie punts, Arkansas started five drives at its own 10-yard line or deeper.
• The Aggies had their first fourth quarter comeback win since their 2021 home win over Alabama.
• Texas A&M won the turnover battle, 3-0. The first fumble recovery resulted in a 10-yard touchdown drive. An interception late in the second quarter and a second fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter snuffed out Arkansas scoring drives.

 

Individual Notes     

• Freshman QB Marcel Reed passed and rushed for a touchdown in the same game for the second time in his career, with the other effort coming two games ago against Florida. In both contests, he had two touchdown passes and one touchdown run.
• Junior RB Le’Veon Moss went over the 1,000-yard mark in career, ending the contest with 1,069 rushing yards to crack the A&M top 50 at No. 49.
• Moss rushed for a career-high 117 yards on 13 carries for an average of 9.0 yards per tote. It marked his second 100-yard rushing game of the season and the third of his career. He ran for 107 yards on 17 carries (6.3 ypr) in last year’s Southwest Classic.
• Junior WR Noah Thomas registered the first 100-yard game of his career, equaling a career high with six receptions for 109 yards and one touchdown.
• Thomas caught a career-long 58-yard pass to score the ninth touchdown of his career to move into a tie for 26^th in program history with Speedy Noil (2014-16) and Jimmy Teal (1982-84).
• Senior TE Tre Waston scored the first touchdown of his A&M career and the fifth of his collegiate career with a 5-yard grab to give the Aggies the lead in the fourth quarter.
• Freshman DB Dezz Ricks impressed in the first start of his career, tallying five tackles and his first interception in the second quarter.
• Junior DL Nic Scourton brought the pressure as all four of his tackles were for loss, including 2.0 solo sacks. His second sack resulted in a game-sealing forced fumble. He has now recorded at least 1.0 tackle for loss in 12 of his last 14 games, and 1.0 sack in nine of his last 12 games.
• Junior DB Will Lee III tallied a career-high four pass breakups against Arkansas.
• Sophomore DB Dalton Brooks matched a career high with seven tackles, including five solo takedowns. He logged a career-high 2.0 tackles for loss.
• A strip sack by graduate DB Jaydon Hill in the second quarter resulted in his first forced fumble of his career and the first sack and fumble recovery of the season.
• Junior DL Shemar Stewart registered his first career forced fumble.
• Going 3-for-3 on extra points, graduate K Randy Bond moved into a tie with Daniel LaCamera (2016-18) for 12^th on the Aggies’ career scoring list with 233 points. The duo is also tied for eighth on the A&M career kicker scoring chart.
• Bond also passed Layne Talbot (1987-90) for 12^th on the Aggies’ career list for extra points with a perfect 89-89.
• Freshman P Tyler White landed five punts inside the 10 and seven inside the 15. The Razorbacks’ starting field position following his nine punts was their own 14-yard line.