Credit to Rachel Perreault | Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas A&M football team received substantial contributions in all three phases of the game as the Aggies mauled the Arkansas Razorbacks, 34-22, at the Southwest Classic inside AT&T Stadium.
The Texas A&M defense kept the Razorbacks locked in the pigpen for much of the game, limiting Arkansas to 174 yards of total offense. Forty-eight of the yards came on a late fourth quarter pass from KJ Jefferson to Andrew Armstrong, the Razorbacks’ only offensive touchdown of the game. Jefferson, a Preseason All-SEC quarterback, was hounded all day by Ol’ Sarge’s charges. He was sacked seven times and finished the day completing 9-of-17 for 132 and one interception while losing 3 yards on the ground.
Edgerrin Cooper led the Aggie sack attack, racking up six tackles, 3.0 for loss of yardage, and two quarterback takedowns.
The Aggies put the nail in the coffin on special teams when Ainias Smith weaved 82 yards through the Arkansas punt team for his second career return touchdown as Texas A&M staked claim to a 34-16 lead with 7:40 left in the game. Smith finished with 131 punt return yards, on three returns, tied for the fourth-best effort in school annals.
Offensively, Texas A&M gained 414 yards in a balanced attack, including 210 through the air and 204 on the ground. Max Johnson connected on 17-of-28 pass attempts for 210 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Le’Veon Moss rushed for 107 yards on 17 carries in his first career 100-yard game. Johnson added 57 yards on the ground on nine totes. Smith hauled in four catches for 71 yards, amassing 202 all-purpose yards – his first career 200-yard effort.
Despite dominating the game early, turnover troubles had the Aggies nursing a 20-16 advantage late in the third quarter. The defense gave the A&M faithful relief when Bryce Anderson deflected a Jefferson pass to the left flank and Chris Russell Jr. nabbed it out of the air and rumbled 16 yards for the touchdown, stretching the margin to 11 with 5:15 left in the period.
On its next four drives Arkansas lost 15 yards on 13 plays and trailed by 18 with the Smith punt return touchdown.
A pair of Texas A&M turnovers made the game precarious early in the third quarter. The Razorbacks’ Lorando Johnson intercepted a Max Johnson pass on the Aggies’ first play from scrimmage coming out of halftime and returned it 20 yards to trim the Texas A&M advantage to 17-13.
The Maroon & White scratched out a 34-yard field goal by Randy Bond on their next drive, but a Johnson fumble on their next possession allowed Arkansas to trim the lead to 20-16 at the midway point of the third quarter.
The Aggies owned a 17-6 advantage headed into the halftime intermission. The Texas A&M offense outgained the Razorbacks 225-123, including 169-84 through the air.
Arkansas opened the scoring with a 52-yard field goal by Cam Little after its initial drive of the game sputtered.
Johnson responded by hitting five different receivers on the A&M’s first drive, going 5-for-5 with 73 yards. He capped the assault with a 32-yard scoring strike to Evan Stewart, handing the Aggies a 7-3 lead with 2:36 remaining in the first quarter.
The next time the Razorbacks had the ball they worked deep into Ol’ Sarge’s territory, but McKinnley Jackson and Albert Regis dropped Reheim Sanders for a 2-yard loss on 3rd-and-4 from the Texas A&M 5-yard line to force another Little field goal two minutes into the second quarter.
Texas A&M’s next two drives resulted in a successful 42-yard field goal by Bond followed by a 49-yard attempt which hit the left upright, missing the target and the Aggies owned a 10-6 edge.
The Maroon & White defense stood tall once more in the waning moments of the first half. Arkansas went for a 4th-and-1 at its own 40-yard line. Jackson stuffed Sanders again, this time for a 1-yard loss and the Aggies took possession with 2:49 remaining until the intermission.
Johnson sprinkled the ball around to four different receivers and gained 8 yards on the ground on the Aggies’ final drive of the half. With 13 seconds on the clock, Johnson found Earnest Crownover uncovered in the right flat for a 2-yard touchdown pass.
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Texas A&M Football Post Game Notes
Texas A&M 34, Arkansas 22
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
Team Notes
- On the heels of posting 7.0 QB sacks in the SEC opener against Auburn, the Aggie defense rolled to 7.0 takedowns of Razorback QB KJ Jefferson for a total loss of 41 yards. The 14.0 sacks over the past two games are the most in consecutive games since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012.
- Texas A&M posted 15.0 total tackles for loss for the second-straight game, with tackles behind the line of scrimmage coming from nine different players.
- The Aggie defense allowed a season-low 174 total yards (42 rushing and 132 passing) as Texas A&M has held four of its five opponents to 222 total yards or less this season.
- The Aggies allowed a season-low 42 rushing yards in the win, marking the third time this season they kept their opponent under 100 rushing yards.
- The Texas A&M offense has tallied 400-plus yards of totally offense in every game this season and it rolled to 414 total yards against Arkansas, including 204 yards on the ground and 210 through the air. It was the Aggies’ second straight 200-yard rushing game (209 vs. Auburn).
- Texas A&M has scored on every opening drive of the season as sophomore QB Max Johnson connected on 5-of-5 passing attempts and found five different receivers to help the Aggies drive 75 yards on eight plays to start the game. A&M has scored three TDs and booted a pair of field goals on opening drives in 2023.
- After the Hogs converted four of their first five third-down tries in the first quarter, the Aggies clamped down in the second stanza as they held Arkansas to 0-3 on third down. After the first quarter, Texas A&M allowed just a single third-down conversion as the Hogs managed just 5-of-15 conversions for the game. The Aggies entered the game ranked No. 2 nationally in third-down defense, allowing just 20.4% on 10-of-49 chances.
- Texas A&M’s 34-22 victory gave the Aggies their 11th win in the last 12 meetings with the Razorbacks.
- Today’s captains against Arkansas were OL Layden Robinson, DL McKinnley Jackson, DL Fadil Diggs and WR Ainias Smith.
Individual Notes
- Senior WR Ainias Smith returned a punt 82-yards for a touchdown to register the second special teams touchdown of his career. It was the Aggies’ first punt return TD since Smith’s 95-yarder against South Carolina in 2021.
- Smith finished the game with a career-high 131 punt return yards, the fourth most in a game in A&M history, and 71 receiving yards to put him at a career-best 202 all-purpose yards on the day. He upped his career total to 3,384 all-purpose yards, which jumped him to 14th all-time at A&M and tied his with Dick Todd (3,384).
- Sophomore RB Le’Veon Moss posted the first 100-yard rushing game of his career with 107 yards on 17 carries in the win.
- Sophomore QB Max Johnson finished the game with an A&M career-high 210 passing yards, while also adding 57 rushing yards, including a career long 32-yard run.
- Sophomore WR Evan Stewart’s 50 receiving yards in the victory helped him eclipse the 1,000 career mark in just his 14th career game. It ties him with Ryan Tannehill (2008-11) as the third fastest Aggie to reach the millennium mark. Only Mike Evans (2012-13) and Christian Kirk (2015-17) did it faster with Evans reaching it in 12 games and Kirk in 13.
- Emerging as a weapon inside the opponent 20, graduate RB Earnest Crownover reeled in his second red zone TD catch of the season with a 2-yarder near the end of the second quarter. He also scored on a 19-yarder against Miami.
- Senior LB Edgerrin Cooper tallied 2.0 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss, matching his career marks in each category from a week ago. His six total tackles in the game put him at 151 for his career.
- Sophomore DL Walter Nolen set a new career mark as he tallied 3.0 tackles for loss in the win.
- Senior LB Chris Russell Jr. scored his first career touchdown on a 16-yard interception return in the third quarter. Russell pulled down a KJ Jefferson pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage by sophomore DB Bryce Anderson.
- Russell’s defensive score was the Aggies’ first defensive touchdown of 2023 and the first by the team since Demani Richardson’s 27-yard fumble return against LSU last year. It was the Aggies’ first pick-six since Leon O’Neal returned an interception 85 yards for a score in the 2021 season opener against Kent State.