Keys to Arkansas Prematurely Ending Texas A&M's Dream Season
In August, not many people had Arkansas vs. Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium penciled in as one of the top matchups of Week 5. After Texas A&M stomped South Carolina on opening night and Arkansas rushed to a 3-1 record with a win at Texas Tech, though, the former Southwest Conference rivalry takes on a whole new meaning.
Is Texas A&M for real?
After that South Carolina win, the Aggies have sort of flown under the radar, beating up on cupcakes Rice, Lamar and SMU over the last three weeks.
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What can Arkansas do this weekend in Jerry World to derail Texas A&M's dream season?
Come Right at Them
While the world gushes over new Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill, the real reason Texas A&M has become more of a contender than imagined over the first month of the season is a defense that, suddenly, looks fundamentally sound for the first time in head coach Kevin Sumlin's career in College Station.
Is it real, though?
The defense held Mike Davis and the vaunted South Carolina rushing attack to just 67 yards on the ground, but Davis was out, in and back out of the lineup that night in Columbia, South Carolina.
Arkansas can do what South Carolina planned to do, and do it better.
The Hogs' three-headed rushing attack featuring Alex Collins, Jonathan Williams and Korliss Marshall is punishing, deep and diverse. Collins' 490 rushing yards leads the SEC, Williams' seven rushing touchdowns leads the SEC and Marshall is a threat to take it to the house from just about anywhere on the field.
"They’re awfully good," defensive coordinator Mark Snyder said in quotes released by Texas A&M. "[Head coach] Bret [Bielema] knows what he’s doing. I spent 10 years in the Big Ten going against [former Wisconsin] coach [Barry] Alvarez, that’s where he got it from. We’ve got to build a wall and stop them."
A big reason Arkansas' offense has been so successful has been an offensive line that rivals most NFL teams in terms of size. The Hogs average 328.4 pounds in the trenches, which will present a big-time challenge to the Aggies' front seven.
"I saw a stat the other day in their press release where if their offensive line was in the NFL they’d be biggest in the league," head coach Kevin Sumlin said in quotes released by Texas A&M. "They are big guys. They run behind them and they create a lot of problems for you from a passing standpoint."
Arkansas' line is fundamentally sound, and its running backs are very patient and quick when the holes come open. That's going to put a ton of pressure on Texas A&M's linebackers Donnie Baggs, Jordan Mastrogiovanni and Justin Bass to fit in the right gaps, get off blocks and prevent those running backs from breaking big plays.
The Hogs lead the SEC in rushing plays of 20 or more yards (five). If Arkansas can force those fundamentals to go out the window, it will go a long way toward Bielema's crew springing the upset.
Get to Kenny Hill
Texas A&M's offensive line is no joke, but Arkansas can get after the quarterback itself.
The Hogs have eight sacks on the season and notched 26 tackles for loss. Hill—a true sophomore from Southlake, Texas in the Dallas suburbs—has looked incredibly polished through four games.
What if he gets pressure in his face, though?
After all, he's still a relatively inexperienced quarterback in a big environment near his hometown, and Arkansas' front four—led by reigning SEC defensive lineman of the week Trey Flowers—is no slouch.
South Carolina's pass rush is more myth than reality these days—as its head coach Steve Spurrier so eloquently noted when asked about his team.
Lamar, Rice and SMU don't do a whole lot to instill fear in a quarterback, either.
This is the toughest challenge of Hill's career as the starting quarterback, and if Arkansas can force Hill into a mistake or two, it will help turn this into more of an "Arkansas-style" game and keep the ball out of Hill's hands.
"Time of possession, as long as you score, is a big factor," said running backs coach Joel Thomas in quotes emailed by Arkansas. "We have to make sure we make the most out of the time that we do have."
More time for Arkansas means Hill and the rest of that talented Aggies offense will spend more time on the bench, which is right where Bielema wants them.
Protect Brandon Allen
While Arkansas' three-headed rushing attack has dominated headlines, all quarterback Brandon Allen has done is quietly go about his business and do exactly what any quarterback for Bielema is asked to do.
"He's been extremely efficient throwing the football, Sumlin said during Wednesday's coaches teleconference. "When people have tried to load up and get eight, nine, 10 and sometimes even 11 involved at the line of scrimmage, Brandon Allen has been extremely accurate and has hit the deep ball."
He's right.
Allen has tossed eight touchdowns and only one pick through four games, and he has only been sacked once. Something's gotta give, because Texas A&M leads the SEC with 16 sacks.
Arkansas isn't going to get too creative. The Hogs are a run-first team, which will limit Texas A&M's strength thus far on defense. When the Hogs do get into passing situations, though, they have to make sure Allen has time to keep those chains moving.
If he does, Arkansas is absolutely capable of springing the upset.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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