Campus Clash
(7) Texas A&M Aggies at (16) Arkansas Razorbacks
Texas A&M: Last season, they really shocked some people. To get over the top and be labeled as a competitive tea, bringing in a head coach like Jimbo Fisher was the best thing this program could’ve done. Jimbo had them on the cusp of making the playoffs last season and for the strong year the team had, the university rewarded him with a contract extension to remain in College Station. The Aggies are off to another strong start in 2021. When quarterback Haynes King went out with a leg injury, Jimbo turned to Zach Calzada to replace him. Their passing attack is prolific because they spread the ball around to each receiver that’s open. What truly carries them is their ground attack. They average 185 yards rushing per game and the leader of that running game is Isaiah Spiller. He’s one of the best running backs in the country. While the offense has been strong, the defense has also been handling their business. On Saturday against the New Mexico Lobos, they allowed 122 yards of offense. Whenever you can hold a team to under 150 yards of offense, that’s an accomplishment that deserves to be celebrated. On Saturday, they begin SEC play.
Arkansas: For a few years, they were a laughingstock amongst the game. So far this season, they’ve been one of the more pleasant surprises in the country. Give a lot of credit to Sam Pittman because he’s already matched his teams highest win total in the past four seasons with three. Let’s recap some of what they’ve done this year. They entered the season unranked. In week one, they dominated Rice University with a three-score victory. Week two was what reintroduced everyone to the Razorbacks with an upset victory over the Texas Longhorns. In week three, they took care of business and dominated Georgia Southern. Arkansas is one of the many teams in college football with a 3-0 record. The early success has started with KJ Jefferson who’s played as one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC. He picks up blitzes well and eludes pressure. KJ also keeps a defense on their toes because you must account for him as a passer, but also a runner. Speaking of running, that’s been their bread and butter on the year so far. As a team, the Razorbacks average 282 yards rushing per game. That’s absolutely insane. This is a football team that’s physical on both sides of the football. SEC play starts up for them on Saturday afternoon.
Texas A&M X-Factor: Ainias Smith– I’ve seen the highlight reel and now, I’m ready to watch him play live. With Jimbo being such an offensive minded guy, he finds multiple ways to get the football into the hands of his playmakers. It’s no different with Ainias because he does so many things with the ball in his hands in open space. I see him creating many problems for the Razorbacks on defense in this game.
Arkansas X-Factor: Trelon Smith– You’ve been successful as a team because of the ability to pound the football with the running game. Don’t change that up. Trelon is a work horse for this Razorbacks offense. He’s the “Christian McCaffrey” of this offense because he’ll run it and be that receiver that the quarterback checks the football down to in the passing game. The Aggies have some issues when it comes to stopping the run. Why not exploit that?
Final Thoughts: This should be an interesting game to watch. On Saturday, this will mark the ninth meeting between the two teams. Arkansas didn’t have any expectations coming into the year, but here they are and now, they are ranked. The Razorbacks will have a tough time throwing the ball against this Aggies defense as they have the best secondary in the SEC. This will be the toughest defense Jefferson will see so far this year. I see both defenses rising to the occasion in this game. It’s important that Calzada get off to a fast start in this one.
Prediction: Texas A&M 21 Arkansas 17
