Arkansas vs. Texas A&M: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More
The Arkansas Razorbacks and No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies are not shy about how they go about winning games.
Now in his second year at the helm, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema has his power-based attack looking like a serious threat to any team in the SEC, including the Aggies.
Kevin Sumlin's aerial-based attack is no slouch, though, making a star out of its newest captain, Kenny Hill. The Aggies have not skipped a beat despite a new face under center, and an SEC title and spot in the inaugural playoff are certainly possibilities.
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As College GameDay reveals, both have the look of SEC powers thanks to prolific offenses:
Something has to give Saturday.
War of Strengths
Bielema is content to run the ball down the opposition's throat, control the pace of the game and walk away with an emphatic win.
“This is Arkansas football, hog-ball, hog-strong, whatever you want to say it, this is what we are,” Bielema said, per ESPN.com's Sam Khan Jr. “I know at times it ain't that pretty, but it's a heck of a lot of fun.”
Behind the churning legs of runners such as Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams, the Razorbacks have rattled off three consecutive wins with a minimum of 49 points in each. The numbers themselves are rather eye-opening:
| Alex Collins | 65 | 490 | 7.5 | 84 (TD) | 5 |
| Jonathan Williams | 48 | 391 | 8.1 | 90 (TD) | 7 |
| Keon Hatcher | 3 | 98 | 32.7 | 82 (TD) | 1 |
| Korliss Marshall | 19 | 98 | 5.2 | 27 (TD) | 1 |
| Kody Walker | 17 | 83 | 4.9 | 11 | 0 |
| Damon Mitchell | 3 | 36 | 12.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Brandon Allen | 11 | 34 | 3.1 | 21 | 2 |
It all makes sense when taking into account a nugget from Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee—the Arkansas offensive line averages 328.4 pounds per player. In other words, bigger than a big handful of NFL lines.
Now contrast that with the Aggies, a team that already has 1,359 yards and 13 scores to one interception from Hill, an impossible-to-ignore Heisman candidate.
The system flat-out works, with few areas of the field being off-limits, as ESPN CollegeFootball visualizes:
Interestingly enough, on the flip side of the ball, Arkansas struggles against the pass and Texas A&M has its issues against the run.
Both attacks have the ability to control the game and keep the other off the field. In turn, this makes one key facet of the contest all too critical.
Turnovers Matter
It sounds obvious, right?
Well, one would not know it given the Aggies' track record so far. The team started off on the right foot with no turnovers against South Carolina. A 73-3 win over Lamar saw the team turn it over three times. There was another in a 38-10 win over Rice. Yet another in a 58-6 thrashing of SMU.
Eventually, this habit of carelessness with the rock will hurt the Aggies in a bad way.
Perhaps as soon as this weekend.
"Two weeks in a row we lost the turnover battle," Sumlin said, per USAToday.com. "The things we are continuing to work on are our penalties, our turnover margin and third downs. We accomplished some things but have areas to improve on."
Now, the Razorbacks have turned it over four times, but the brutal, clock-grinding ground game is more conducive to making opponents pay for letting go of the ball.
We are talking about a Razorbacks team that threw the ball just 12 times in a 49-28 thumping of the high-flying Texas Tech Red Raiders. A total of 68 rushes produced 438 yards and seven touchdowns, not to mention gave Arkansas the ball for better than 40 minutes of play.
If the Aggies give the ball away, a similarly lopsided box score is not out of the question.
When: Saturday, September 27, 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Television: CBS
Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):
- Over/Under: 70
- Spread: Texas A&M (-9)
Team Injury Reports
| Brooks Ellis | LB | 09/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Texas A&M | Questionable | concussion |
| Rohan Gaines | S | 09/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Texas A&M | Questionable | shoulder |
| Davyon McKinney | S | 09/21/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Texas A&M | Questionable | heel |
| Randy Ramsey | LB | 09/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Texas A&M | Questionable | ankle |
| JoJo Robinson | WR | 09/18/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | foot |
| Darian Claiborne | LB | 08/06/2014 | was dismissed from the team | Out | disciplinary |
| Isaiah Golden | DT | 08/06/2014 | was dismissed from the team | Out | disciplinary |
| A.J. Hilliard | LB | 09/02/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | ankle |
| Mike Matthews | C | 09/21/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Arkansas | Questionable | undisclosed |
| Speedy Noil | WR | 09/16/2014 | is expected to miss 3-5 weeks | Out | knee |
Injury reports via USA Today.
Prediction
The mettle of the Texas A&M defense has yet to be truly tested, and the contest against South Carolina is not a reliable judge considering the Gamecocks were in a period of transition under center and at other spots.
Arkansas is a stout test, and that ground game will make this one closer than most would have predicted beforehand.
That said, the Razorbacks defense is not exactly on par with its offense. The unit will surrender plenty of points to Hill, while the offense will settle for field goals on a few critical drives. That will make the difference above all else.
Prediction: Aggies 38, Razorbacks 30
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
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