After Math: Arkansas
Sep 28, 2015 | Football
Each Monday, 12th Man Productions' Will Johnson will take you inside the numbers of the last football game with "After Math".
With each thunderous carry by Arkansas' Alex Collins, more rain fell on Texas A&M's undefeated parade (yes, even indoors).
Perfect records in college football continued to drop on Saturday, and it looked like the Aggies' zero in the loss column would wash away as well.
Then lightning struck.
More on that later. Now to the numbers.
On Saturday night at AT&T Stadium, A&M averaged 8.8 yards per play. A yard better than they were averaging for the season coming in.
The Aggies needed every inch of it.
Offensive Coordinator Jake Spavital said during the week 'We have to take advantage of each possession'. He noted that on the Saturday prior, Texas Tech and their fast-paced offense ran only 58 plays against the Razorbacks.
The Aggies didn't even get that many. A&M only ran 48 plays against Arkansas. And that's with getting two extra snaps in overtime.
It seems unheard of that a Kevin Sumlin-coached team would snap it less than 50 times on offense. But, it's happened once before during his A&M tenure. Last year against LSU, the Aggies ran only 48 plays versus a John Chavis-led defense.
Sumlin wasn't exactly surprised at his team's lack of chances.
"We knew what kind of game we were going to get," stated the head coach while also acknowledging, "It makes you uneasy when you only have 16 snaps in the first half. For our defense to be on the field that long and only allow seven points…we knew we had a chance."
Entering Saturday, A&M was averaging 14.7 offensive possessions per game. Against the Razorbacks they got 10. And again, it took overtime to give them an extra one.
The comeback marked the third time in the Kevin Sumlin era the Aggies won after trailing at the end of the third quarter. Last year's game against Arkansas and the 2012 win at Ole Miss also fall under the category.
Another interesting nugget from the Sumlin era was boosted by this contest in the Metroplex. His Aggie teams are now 12-1 on artificial surfaces. It may not be a major factor, but Sumlin likes to play fast. Perhaps they're a little faster on the fake stuff. The only loss on an artificial surface came in November of 2013 when A&M fell at No. 5 Missouri on Memorial Stadium's FieldTurf.
However, make no mistake about it. The Aggies struggled for quite a while on Saturday.
One reason was a Red Zone reversal. The Hogs had been simply horrendous inside opponents' 20 yard lines this season. Arkansas had scored touchdowns on only 5 of 14 trips down there prior to the SEC opener. They were ranked 119th nationally in red zone offense. But, in regulation versus A&M, three drives inside the Aggie 20 resulted in 3 touchdowns.
It was the Aggies who couldn't get across the line.
"We didn't finish early," Sumlin said amid the celebration on the field after the game. "In the first half we had field goals instead of touchdowns and that's what hurt us."
In a stat this column will likely keep track of the rest of the season, the Aggies bucked a trend. Last week, After Math told you A&M had won 19 games in a row when they register 5 or more tackles for loss. The Aggies are 24-2 in the Sumlin era when hitting the mark.
This team notched only 2 TFLs vs. Arkansas, but still won. Sumlin is now 8-9 at A&M when the Ags get 4 or less tackles for loss.
What does it all add up to?
Actually, one wouldn't think the math equaled a win.
Arkansas did what they wanted to do. They ran the football well, and, for the most part, their quarterback Brandon Allen was excellent. They owned the time of possession, thus limited A&M's offensive opportunities.
Arkansas doubled A&M in possession time. And in the first half held it 23-plus minutes, the Aggies just over six.
But, arithmetic got thrown out the window because of actions.
Texas A&M has talent. And it showed when it counted most.
Kyle Allen to Josh Reynolds on a deep ball got the Aggies close. A sack and strip by Myles Garrett helped send the game to overtime (and nearly helped win it in regulation). Allen to Christian Kirk in the extra stanza for a touchdown. This was as perfect a clutch pass as you'll see to a receiver who could not have played much better. Finally, De'Vante Harris notched the only pass break-up of the night for the Aggies to seal it.
"In games like that you have to have players break you out," stated Sumlin. "You can scheme. But at the end of it all, the ball is going to get up in the air. Somebody has to catch it. Somebody has to rush the passer. Somebody has to make runs. Somebody has to block or tackle. It was great for our playmakers to be in that environment and win a game."
The Aggies made plays. Plain and simple.
So for another week, the sun shines on a perfect record. The Aggies weathered the storm to stay unbeaten. They did it by unleashing a little late fury of their own.
Lightning in the form of Allen, Reynolds, Garrett and Kirk struck back. And the Razorbacks felt the brunt.
But, in reality, the clouds haven't parted. The SEC West provides a treacherous climate that only the strong survive.
Mississippi State rolls in this week.
The Aggies will need a little more lightning.
And, perhaps, the football a little longer as well.
Players Mentioned
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