Each Monday in After "Math", we'll take a look inside the numbers from the weekend's football game, and we'll do it through the words of the Aggie coaching staff.
For more insight on each football game, make sure to tune in to "The Pulse: Texas A&M Football" (Wednesdays, 4:00 PM CT on FOX Sports Southwest and 6:30 PM CT on KBTX-TV).
AFTER MATH: ARKANSAS
by Will Johnson '01
12th Man Productions
When it was over, Deshazor Everett sawed varsity's horns with his team, but he was unable to lock on to both Aggies that were by his side.
Everett's right armed dangled as he swayed back and forth. He was beaten, bruised and exhausted.
Everett was a vivid picture of imperfection.
No Aggie was flawless on this afternoon in Arlington.
And they couldn't have been happier about it.
Sometimes it does matter how you win, and we aren't talking style points. In fact, the flash and flare of the typical A&M victory in the Kevin Sumlin era was nowhere to be found (OK, it wasn't completely missing, that'll be discussed later).
The Aggies got punched and swung right back for 15 rounds, and even had to fight through a 16th. This wasn't a boxing match…it was a bare-knuckle brawl in a back alley.
But they were the ones standing in the end, sawing with teammates and fans, despite only running on fumes.
Everett epitomized the day as the defensive back made 16 tackles, and played late in the game with a banged-up shoulder.
“Once you're in the game the adrenaline's pumping,” Everett said. “I just got back in and tried to ignore the pain.”
He assisted Julien Obioha on the final fourth-down stop in overtime.
“As much as we talk about the young talent on the team, I thought Saturday was a big, big plus for the older guys,” Sumlin stated.
The defense as a whole must be credited. Arkansas is supposed to wear people down with their ground game. You could make a solid case in saying the Aggies got stronger as the game went on.
The Razorbacks ran the football 22 times in each half. In the first half they amassed 194 yards on those carries. In the second? Just 90.
“I think what you saw Saturday were some guys, as physical as it was, begin to get more comfortable and begin to understand what was going on on the field,” Sumlin said.
“Maybe we grew up a little on defense.”
The Aggies allowed a crushing touchdown right before halftime when the Razorbacks' Sam Irwin-Hill ran past every Maroon jersey on a fake.
But special teams had its share of positives.
Arkansas came in leading the nation in kickoff return yardage with an average of 34 yards per attempt, but A&M more than held their own in coverage. Five times the Aggies kicked off, two went for touchbacks. Two others were returned short of the 25-yard line. The best Arkansas could do on a return was 26 yards to their own 31.
On the offensive side it wasn't the Aggies' best day, much like every phase. But they did provide some of those fireworks we are accustomed to during the comeback.
Going in, the Arkansas defense wanted to keep everything in front of them, playing two deep safeties.
It was going to be interesting to see if A&M dialed up the deep ball much at AT&T Stadium.
The Aggies numbers on the downfield throws weren't exactly good, as they were 4-of-9 on passes thrown 15 yards or more past the line of scrimmage (unofficial stats taken from the sidelines). One of those attempts was intercepted.
However, the three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime were all on attempts of more than 15 yards down the field.
Maybe the Aggies did dig deep to win.
So, as mentioned earlier, maybe there was a little flash to an otherwise grueling contest.
Kenny Hill probably wasn't at his best Saturday, but he was when it counted. And at his position, that's more important. Hill threw for 182 yards in the first three quarters. In the fourth and overtime, with help from those long strikes, he went for 204 through the air.
“They started to get really aggressive on our intermediate throws, and I wanted to take some shots,” offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said.
“We hit some underneath stuff and got the running going, and we got those safeties moved down,” quarterback Kenny Hill recalled. “(We) finally started to hit some shots over the top. That was big in the fourth quarter.”
What does it all add up to?
The math is actually quite simple this time around. This is the SEC West, and its strength is readily apparent.
Seventeen teams are still undefeated among the power five conferences.
Five of those are from the Aggies' division.
The SEC West is 25-0 against any team that doesn't reside in the division. Six of the seven teams are ranked in the Top 15 in the latest AP Poll. Arkansas is the only one that isn't, but the Razorbacks are 3-0 against non-division opponents while winning those games by an average of 42 points.
Get ready 12th Man, because while you may have thought Saturday's excitement couldn't be matched, you might find it becomes the norm for the rest of the season. As of this moment, only one team remaining on the Aggies schedule is not ranked (Louisiana-Monroe on November 1st).
The current combined record of the squads left on the slate is 27-3.
Only teams in this division have a full understanding of the road that lies ahead.
“It's like a playoff,” said defensive coordinator Mark Snyder. “You can enjoy it that evening, then you move on. Because another one's coming.
“Everybody needs to get used to it.”
Having guys like Deshazor Everett on the roster will help the Aggies get through it. He and his teammates hope to 'saw 'em off' in victory after each upcoming game.
He just may not get to use both arms to lock on to his fellow Aggies anymore.