Petrino gets a shot at team that fired him
ARLINGTON — Bobby Petrino coached Arkansas from 2008-11 and had the Razorbacks on the upswing when he was fired in 2012 following a scandal involving a mistress and a motorcycle.
Petrino has since apologized for causing embarrassment to the university, and considering he was 12-4 in Southeastern Conference play his final two seasons at oft-woebegone Arkansas he is still beloved by the Razorbacks.
Petrino will now try to beat Arkansas as Texas A&M’s new offensive coordinator, just as he tried beating the Razorbacks last year as Missouri State’s head coach (a 38-27 Arkansas victory in Fayetteville, Ark.).
“When you start getting our age, you’re going to cross over somewhere,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said of Petrino facing his old program. “I don’t think that will (matter). Bobby’s doing a great job of getting the ball around and getting a good balance and getting points — he’s doing a really good job.”
Five things to watch on Saturday morning in the 80th collision between the old Southwest Conference foes in AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys:
A&M defense
Aggies second-year defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin took a lot of grief after the Aggies lost at Miami 48-33 in Week 2, but A&M has since responded by not allowing a touchdown on defense in double-digit wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Auburn.
The Aggies were noticeably more aggressive on that side of the ball against Auburn last week and wound up with seven sacks, their most in six years. The Tigers quarterbacks were awful under pressure, but can the
Aggies afford to pin their ears back against Arkansas’s KJ Jefferson? That’s the next question.
Big man on campus
Jefferson is rock solid at 6-foot-3 and about 250 pounds, and Fisher compares him to former Auburn standout Cam Newton. A year ago Jefferson tried stretching the ball across the goal line from a few yards out late in the first half, and the result was a 97-yard return for a touchdown by A&M, after Aggies linebacker Chris Russell swatted the ball out of Jefferson’s hands.
Jefferson is completing 70 percent of his passes a fourth of the way into the regular season, and has thrown for at least 245 yards in three of Arkansas’s four games. He’s also a threat to run on every play, and the Aggies likely will assign a spy to the dual-threat quarterback in the hopes of containing the big man when he’s on the run.
Max Johnson’s return
The Aggies’ own big man (at 6-6, 230) has been thrust back into the spotlight following the seasonending injury to starting quarterback Conner Weigman last week against Auburn.
Johnson had earned A&M’s starting job a year ago before breaking his throwing hand on a Mississippi State player’s helmet in the Aggies’ 42-24 loss at MSU on Oct. 1. Johnson beat Arkansas a year ago and is unfazed by his return to the lineup against SEC competition.
“I’ve been in these situations before,” Johnson said.
Indeed, and he beat the Aggies two years ago as LSU’s quarterback.
Rocket Man
The Razorbacks expect star running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders backs in the mix after he’s missed the last three games because of a knee injury.
A year ago Sanders rushed for 1,443 yards over Arkansas’s 13 games, and added 28 catches for 271 receiving yards. His expected return gives the Razorbacks a big-time threat in the backfield once again, even though they’ve managed 62 points in their last two games against Power Five opponents without him.
Atmosphere
The Razorbacks are as down as they’ve been under the gregarious Sam Pittman, who’s in his fourth season trying to revive a long middling (or worse) program.
They’ve scored 31 points in each of their last two games — both losses to BYU (in Fayetteville) and LSU (in Baton Rouge, La.). Both could have been Arkansas victories, as well, considering they lost by seven to BYU and by three to LSU.
Fans are down on Pittman, prompting him to cancel social media at least for a time. As for A&M’s faithful, they still cling to hope following the 15-point loss at Miami and the loss of Weigman for the season, based primarily on Petrino’s upbeat offense and a five-star filled defensive line.
Meaning A&M fans likely will be the more buoyant bunch on Saturday morning, at least early on. The neutral-site series at AT&T Stadium wraps up next year, and the old SWC members will play on their home fields against each other moving forward, with the SEC scheduling format to be determined starting in 2025.