Missed field goal helps Aggies to wild win
ARLINGTON — Texas A&M and Arkansas are scheduled to play two more games in AT&T Stadium before the old Southwest Conference series returns to a home-and-home format in 2025.
The Aggies and Razorbacks are making the stretch run at the neutral site quite entertaining. No. 23 A&M defeated No. 10 Arkansas 23-21 on Saturday night to snatch back the Southwest Classic trophy.
In one of the zanier plays of the early college football season, Arkansas kicker Cam Little’s field goal attempt from 42 yards with 1:30 left in the game bounced off the top of the right upright, and harmlessly dropped down into the end zone as the relieved Aggies celebrated on the field and on the sidelines.
Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman had elected to run down the clock in anticipation of what he figured to be Little’s game-winner, and the Aggies were able to run out the clock on offense afterward.
“It was a heck of a game,” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We’re not close to where we need to be. We’ve got to fix the self-inflicted wounds. We’ve beat two good football teams not playing very well. We’re a work in progress … we have to keep grinding.”
The Aggies (3-1, 1-0 SEC) started the season with a shutout of Sam Houston at Kyle Field, a stunning three-point loss at Kyle to Appalachian State and an eight-point victory over then-No. 13 Miami before opening SEC play in even more dramatic fashion.
The Razorbacks (3-1, 1-1) jumped on the Aggies around the time many fans in the rowdy confines were still finding their seats following an afternoon of tailgating on a sunny afternoon in Arlington.
Arkansas led 14-0 after quarterback K.J. Jefferson connected on touchdown passes of 32 and 56 yards to Ketron Jackson and Warren Thompson, respectively, within the first 10 minutes of the game.
“We did about everything you could humanly do to give them a jumpstart,” Fisher said.
The Aggies finally cracked the scoreboard with 8:45 remaining to halftime on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Max Johnson to five-star freshman Evan Stewart, who gathered in his first college score of what’s anticipated to be plenty over the next few years.
A&M’s Devon Achane, who helped carry the Aggies’ offense when it was otherwise trudging, led all rushers with 159 yards on 19 carries.
“Devon is Devon – that’s who he is,” Fisher said of his dynamic running back from Fort Bend Marshall. “How he played? That’s Devon.”
The game’s momentum shifted dramatically late in the second quarter, when the Razorbacks threatened to leap to a 21-7 lead headed into halftime. But Jefferson tried stretching the ball toward the end zone on a quarterback keeper from the A&M 3-yard line, and Aggies linebacker Chris Russell knocked the ball loose.
A&M defensive back Tyreek Chappell caught the pop up, and returned what is ruled a fumble (although the ball never touched the ground) 15 yards along the left sideline. That’s where the play added its third highlight for the Aggies – and this one was a whopper.
As Chappell was just about to be tackled along the sideline, fellow defensive back Demani Richardson sprinted up behind him, and Chappell coolly handed off the ball to Richardson. The A&M safety, a heady team leader not exactly known for blazing speed, snagged the handoff and raced another 82 yards for the stunning touchdown.
In all the play covered 97 yards. The Aggies botched the extra point in the aftermath but were so delirious at that point they didn’t care, considering the unusual play featured a 13point turnaround, had Arkansas made an extra point if Jefferson had been able to punch in the ball on his reach toward the end zone.
Conversely, the Aggies received a big blow to the offense late in the third quarter when senior receiver and team leader Ainias Smith exited with an apparent lower leg injury. Smith spent the rest of the game in an orthopedic boot and on crutches on the sideline.
Fisher said he was not sure of the extent of Smith’s injury.
The Aggies played their first game away from Kyle Field this season, and will stay on the road on Saturday afternoon at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs defeated Bowling Green 45-14 in Starkville, Miss., on Saturday, a week after opening their league play with a 31-16 loss at LSU.
Rowdy A&M and Arkansas fans all found something they could agree on in the third quarter: They cheered in unison as highlights of Texas Tech’s overtime victory against Texas played on the stadium’s massive video board.
A&M and Arkansas have played eight of their last nine meetings in the home of the Dallas Cowboys, and the contract with the stadium is set to expire following the 2024 game.