Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas’ rivalry with Texas A&M continues today in battle of top-20 SEC West foes.
Hogs see finish line, can’t cross it vs. Aggies
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas A&M’s recent overtime victories against longtime rival Arkansas have led to memorable outbursts from the Razorbacks.
Keon Hatcher’s one-word expletive, delivered in a primal scream, reverberated around a tunnel at AT&T Stadium after the Aggies rallied from a 28-14 fourth-quarter deficit to down the Razorbacks 35-28 in 2014.
Last year, after the Aggies rebounded from an eight-point deficit in the final four minutes before winning 28-21 in overtime, Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema snarled at his buddy, Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin, as they met to shake hands.
“I don’t know what to say,” Sumlin said to Bielema, who was in no mood for pleasantries.
“Don’t say anything,” said Bielema, shooting back at Sumlin. “I might punch you.”
The more painful the loss, the stronger the reaction, and it sets the stage for tonight’s 8 p.m. matchup between No. 17 Arkansas and the No. 10 Aggies.
The Razorbacks have left their games against their former Southwest Conference rival in bad emotional states the past two seasons.
“Obviously, that game’s been a heartbreaker for us, but it’s a new team, a new opportunity,” Bielema said.
The catchphrase around the Arkansas program this week: Start fast and finish strong.
“It’s tough going in and doing well and oftentimes losing in the last second,” Arkansas senior captain Deatrich Wise said. “This year we feel we can do better.”
The Aggies have outscored Arkansas 36-0 in the fourth quarter and
overtime periods the past two years.
“It wasn’t a fun plane ride home for us the past two years,” said Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen, who did not play in either game and will get his first crack at Texas A&M tonight. “We need to get a happy plane ride home this year.”
Arkansas tight ends coach Barry Lunney noted how the past two games played out in similar fashion in the fourth quarter after the Razorbacks played more at their desired tempo through three quarters.
“Last year it was unbelievable going through that almost identical scenario,” Lunney said. “Watching it unfold from the press box, it was like literally one of those deja vu moments. It was very disheartening.
“The bottom line is, at that point in time, I don’t think we really knew how to finish games. I think we’ve gotten better at that.”
Receivers coach Michael Smith said it was important to remember how the Razorbacks responded after last year’s loss.
“It was after this game when we kind of got our groove and we started playing in those overtime games,” Smith said. “I think our kids have a better understanding of finishing.”
Last year’s A&M loss dropped Arkansas to 0-9 under Bielema in games decided by seven points or less. The Hogs won 24-20 at Tennessee the next week and are 5-1 in games decided by seven points or less or in overtime since the last loss to the Aggies.
The excruciating losses have been a point of frustration for Bielema, who was asked about his 0-3 record against Texas A&M by the SEC Network’s Dari Nowkhah this week.
“You’re right Dari, it doesn’t sit well with me,” Bielema said. “But this game, people are buying tickets on Saturday night to watch the players play. It’s not about me.
“I want our players to win for one reason: They’ve earned it.”
Texas A&M has won four games in a row in the series — a 58-10 rout in the rain in College Station, Texas, in 2012, and a 45-33 decision at Reynolds Razorback Stadium the next year before the back-toback overtime games.
Sumlin, asked about common threads in his 4-0 streak over Arkansas, acted like answering the question could jinx his team.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t look at series streaks. It has nothing to do with what is going to go on on Saturday. I’m sure that neither team really cares what has happened in the past.”
Don’t tell the Razorbacks that.
“We always play them pretty well, we just never finish. So this week is the week we’ve got to finish,” linebacker Brooks Ellis said.
“We’ve surrendered some leads there in that game in particular, but as the case when you’re playing A&M and they can score so fast and so sudden, we’ve got to be able to play the game that unfolds in front of us,” Bielema said.
Sumlin said the media have overplayed Bielema’s “punch” line from last season.
“We’ve been friends a lot longer, and we’ll be friends for a long time,” Sumlin said. “One guy’s got to win and the other has to lose. Nobody wants to win the game more than me or him.
“That’s all that was said. He was down and just said, ‘Don’t say anything or I’m going to punch you,’ so we walked off.
“It’s different when you know a person than when you don’t know a person. So, like I said, more has been made out of it than it is. At that point, you understand where a guy is. It’s really not that big a deal.”
The circumstances of the past two Arkansas-Texas A&M games have been difficult to swallow for Razorbacks fans.
A Razorbacks victory seemed all but sealed in the 2014 game when Jonathan Williams pulled off a tackle-breaking 55-yard run to the
Aggies’ 1 on the first play of the fourth quarter. But it was called back by a tripping penalty.
That infraction against tackle Dan Skipper still gets under Bielema’s skin. At SEC media days in July, Bielema described it as “The first tripping call I’ve ever seen in college football, but it was a good call.”
Arkansas led 21-13 in the fourth quarter last season and had the ball at the Texas A&M 35 with 4:19 remaining. Facing a fourth-and-3 play, Bielema got bold and had the offense on the field, hoping to move the chains one more time and push into field goal range. Instead, Denver Kirkland had a false-start penalty and the Razorbacks had to punt.
In a span of 81 seconds, A&M’s Josh Reynolds’ 63-yard catch and run put the Aggies at the Arkansas 7, and the Aggies scored on Tra Carson’s 2-yard run and tied the game on Reynolds’ two-point conversion catch from Kyle Allen.
The Aggies scored on their second play in overtime, held Arkansas on four downs and celebrated another dramatic comeback victory over their rivals.