LIVING HIGH ON THE HOGS
SINCE JOINING SEC IN 2012, AGGIES HAVEN’T HAD MANY PROBLEMS WHEN FACING ARKANSAS
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M and Arkansas meet annually in the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington as part of a contract running through 2024. The Razorbacks have had a rough time holding up their end of the deal.
“It’s usually a pretty mixed crowd,” Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said. “I can’t say it’s usually one way for Arkansas or one way for A&M, even though they’ve had the advantage since I’ve been here.”
And even before the fifth-year coach got to Arkansas. A&M has won all five games against Arkansas since joining the SEC in 2012, with the first season in College Station and the next in Fayetteville, Ark. The past three games have been in AT&T Stadium, otherwise known as “Jerry World” in honor of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Jones is a former Arkansas player who’s watched in dismay over the past few seasons when A&M and Arkansas meet under his massive roof. That’s one reason why the Razorbacks are trying to mix things up a bit this year by wearing uniforms designed with the Cowboys in mind.
“It’s going to be a live atmosphere, and obviously the uniforms have been a big hit with our guys and the alumni base in general,” Bielema said.
Whether it’s actually going to be a “live atmosphere” is much in question, considering the neutralsite contest typically features sky-high ticket prices and kicks off at 11 a.m., and both sides are off to tough starts.
The Aggies blew a 34-point lead in their season opener before losing by a point at UCLA, and needed to overcome a fourthquarter tie against Nicholls State and a halftime deficit against Louisiana-Lafayette to improve to 2-1.
The Razorbacks were off last week following a 1-1 start that included a 28-7 home loss to TCU on Sept. 9, so how they respond is anybody’s guess on Saturday.
“I know this, our fans are hungry,” Bielema said of both the Razorbacks’ rugged beginning and losing five straight to the Aggies.
A&M’s primary concern headed into its SEC opener is along the offensive line, where Aggies offensive line coach Jim Turner has mixed and matched in the three previous games at what was projected as a team strength entering the season.
Chances are the starting line will include Erik McCoy at center, Koda Martin and Keaton Sutherland at the tackles and Colton Prater and Connor Lanfear at the guards.
“I think we’ve got a pretty good handle on the best five guys on the offensive line,” Sumlin said.
The Aggies had a steadfast plan for wholesale substitutions against Louisiana-Lafayette, and the strategy seemed to backfire when A&M faced a 21-14 deficit at halftime. But Sumlin stuck with the plan, and the Aggies scored 31 unanswered points in the second half to prevail.
Sumlin said 60 Aggies saw action against UCLA, 57 on Sept. 9 against Nicholls State and then 60 more against the Cajuns (not including quarterback Nick Starkel and safety Donovan Wilson in the past two games, after they were hurt in the opener). Fans can expect to see more of the same now that SEC play is at hand, Sumlin added.
“You’ll see both young guys and veterans, depending on the position,” Sumlin said. “And there are some (young) guys who’ve earned more playing time.”