Hogs fine despite ‘uh oh’ moment vs. Aggies

It went from “wow” to “uh oh” for a while.

After Texas A&M had just 19 yards on its first drive and punted — something it didn’t have to do on its next six possessions, which all resulted in touchdowns — the Arkansas Razorbacks were impressive on their first possession.

They drove 87 yards in 12 plays for a 7-0 lead. Wow.

The Aggies then drove 75, 58, 69 and 74 yards for touchdowns and led 28-14 at the half.

Uh oh.

It seemed like more points, and soon would become more as the Hogs — no matter what they tried — could not get any pressure on Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond, who had zero turnovers.

Turnovers had propelled the Razorbacks to wins over Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

Those victories had given Razorback fans more than hope. They had given them some expectations.

Overall, those fans should not be too disappointed.

The Razorbacks played the No. 8 team in the nation, whose only loss was to No. 2 Alabama, better than it looked.

The Aggies clearly were the better team. Much of that had to do with a big, experienced offensive line that protected its quarterback.

Every Aggie offensive lineman had at least 18 starts before facing the Razorbacks.

This is Jimbo Fisher’s third season at Texas A&M. He won a national championship at Florida State in 2013, so he knows what a great team looks like.

His first recruiting class at A&M, the one every coach throws together after being hired, still ranked No. 17 in the country with 13 four-star signees.

His last two classes were ranked No. 4, with two five stars and 13 four stars, and No. 6, with two five stars and 13 four stars.

A&M was supposed to be better, and the Aggies were. But they didn’t look two years better, more like one season better.

There were negatives for the Hogs. Everyone saw the lack of pressure on Mond, and A&M receivers getting open and racking up yards after the catch. The Aggies third-down conversions were outrageous, hitting on seven of their first eight.

There were some not-so-obvious positives, too.

The 222 yards rushing were huge for the Razorbacks. They came into the Halloween night game averaging only 102 yards on the ground. A finally healthy Rakeem Boyd had 100 yards rushing.

While the Razorbacks converted only 3 of 11 third downs, they were 1 of 2 on fourth down. More importantly, they drove into the red zone five times and scored on every one of them. They had four touchdowns and a field goal.

Those are things that show a team improving in a loss to a better team.

It would not be surprising if the Aggies don’t lose another game.

It may not be easy as they go to South Carolina, Tennessee and Auburn, and catch Ole Miss and LSU at home. They are talented enough, especially on offense, to finish 9-1, and they have an outside shot at the College Football Playoff.

Arkansas looked like a team that could get to a bowl game if its offense continues to improve, or at least doesn’t regress.

The Razorbacks had 461 yards of offense, which were the most the Aggies had allowed all season, including in games against the Crimson Tide (435) and Florida (312).

The Hogs rushed for 222 yards and passed for 239. That’s the kind of balance Sam Pittman is looking for from his offense.

It may not have ended in a wow for the Razorbacks, but they shrugged off the uh oh and kept playing. More importantly, they kept playing hard and tried to find a way to win.

This team is not satisfied with being competitive. It showed, even in the loss to Texas A&M.