College Football Game of the Week: No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks vs No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies
Stop me if you have heard this one before; the biggest game of the week is a matchup between two SEC teams. A huge showdown between two ranked teams will be going down Saturday night at Kyle Field.
Arkansas defeated Texas A&M last season after losing to them in nine straight seasons, and they will be looking to keep that streak going this time around. Arkansas (3-0) is still undefeated and ranked No. 10 in the country, but their wins haven’t come easily.
In week one the Razorbacks edged the Cincinnati Bearcats, who were a playoff team a season ago, but are no longer ranked. Following a win against South Carolina, the Razorbacks got caught looking ahead. It took a punt return for a touchdown to finally break the game open for Arkansas against Missouri State, a game where they ended with a -3 turnover differential.
After a breakout season last year, quarterback KJ Jefferson has continued his dominance. The dual-threat Heisman candidate has thrown for 770 yards, six touchdowns and only one intcerception. He has also rushed for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns over the first three games, having a rushing touchdown in every game so far this season.
Staying on the ground, running back Raheim Sanders has been their bell cow so far. Sanders has racked up 557 total yards and four touchdowns and will have to be accounted for if the Aggies hope to contain the Razorback offense.
On the defensive end, the Razorbacks are giving up 27 points a game so far, but the Texas A&M offense has yet to impress. Star linebacker and all-time name Bumper Pool will be essential for stopping the Aggie rushing attack, he leads the team in tackles with 29.
On the Texas A&M side of things, their season has been a bumpy road to this point. After being ranked sixth in the AP Poll going into week two, the Aggies lost a shocker to Appalachian State at home that sent them tumbling down the rankings to No. 24.
The Aggies rebounded last week with a win over the 13th-ranked Miami Hurricanes in Hard Rock Stadium. Neither team looked especially impressive in the contest, but Texas A&M found a way to get the much-needed win and that’s ultimately what matters.
After seeing Haynes King struggle the first two weeks, they have made the transition to the transfer quarterback from LSU, Max Johnson. Johnson only threw for 140 yards in the win against Miami but did just enough in crucial moments to secure the victory.
The Aggies are only averaging 3.9 yards per carry on the year, and that number will have to improve if they want to beat a team as talented as Arkansas.
Their talented defensive front will have to put pressure on Jefferson and make sure to keep contain if they want to contain the Razorback offense. Having the game at home in front of the 12th man at Kyle Field at night will be a huge advantage for the Aggies.
Arkansas has Alabama coming up next week, and Texas A&M gets the treat of playing Bama the week after in a highly anticipated game between Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban. Both of these teams will have to have tunnel vision on the task at hand to come out with a victory, and not be looking ahead on their respective schedules.
Texas A&M is slightly favored in this game, and due to the inconsistency of both offenses so far this season, expect a low-scoring, close game on Saturday night. The quarterback who makes the least amount of mistakes should win this game
Jameson Kramer is a fourth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism, to contact him email at jek5650@psu.edu
