No. 8 A&M Returns to Action Against Arkansas at Kyle Field

THE MATCHUP

• Arkansas at (#11) Texas A&M
• Date/Time: Saturday, Oct. 31 / 6:30 p.m. (CT)
• Venue: Kyle Field
• Live Stats: Click Here

TV INFO

• SEC Network (Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Lauren Sisler)
• Live Stream: Click Here

RADIO

• Texas A&M Sports Network (Andrew Monaco, Dave Elmendorf, Will Johnson)
• Local: WTAW-AM 1620/94.5 FM, The Zone 1150 AM/93.7 FM
• Satellite: Sirius 134, XM 190
• Live Stream: 12th Man Mobile
   
• Texas A&M Spanish Network (Michel Gonzalez, Pedro Luna, Alejandra Dorbecker)
• Local: 102.7 FM La Jefa
• Live Stream: 12th Man Mobile

What to watch for #ARKvsTAMU:

• Texas A&M and Arkansas meet on campus for the first time since playing in Fayetteville in 2013, as the last six meetings have been played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
• The Aggies are looking to extend their eight-game win streak against the Razorbacks, which will be no easy feat as the margin of victory for A&M has been seven-or-fewer points in five of the last six meetings. 
• Senior QB Kellen Mond needs 267 yards of offense to top Johnny Manziel’s A&M career record (9,989) ... An additional 10 yards (277) would make Mond the first Aggie and 12th player all-time in the SEC to surpass 10,000 yards of total offense in their career. 
• Mond is also in search of the 25th victory of his career, which would give him sole possession of second all-time at A&M. 
• Sophomore RB Isaiah Spiller has rushed for over 100 yards in three of A&M’s four games this season and scored multiple TDs on the ground in the last two outings.
• A&M’s veteran offensive line has not allowed a sack in three straight games (118 pass attempts) ... The Maroon Goons lead the SEC and are among the top-six teams in the country in sacks allowed and TFLs allowed.
• Senior LB Buddy Johnson has led the A&M defense in tackles in all four games this season ... He ranks 11th nationally, averaging 10.5 takedowns per game. 
• Junior PK Seth Small needs one field goal to move into the top five in career makes at A&M ... At Alabama he became the eighth Aggie to reach the 40-FG mark. 

Quick Hits

• So far this season, senior QB Kellen Mond has become A&M’s all-time leader in career passing yards (8,363), completions (693) and attempts (1,191) ... He also ranks in the top five in program history in victories, passing TDs and total offense.
• Sophomore RB Isaiah Spiller leads the SEC averaging 6.72 yards per carry, good for 11th in the nation ... After passing the century mark in just one SEC game a season ago, Spiller is averaging 107.5 yards per game against league opponents this year.
• As a unit, the defense is allowing just 75.5 rushing yards per game, good for fifth in the country, after limiting Mississippi State to -2 yards on the ground last time out ... This was the first time in A&M’s SEC era that the defense has held its opponent to negative rushing yards. 
• Texas A&M ranks No. 5 in FBS with a 57.7 conversion rate on 3rd down plays ... Against AP Top 25 opponents, the Aggies successfully convert 3rd downs at a 68.8 clip, which leads the FBS.
• The Aggies are 13-3 (.813 win pct.) at Kyle Field under Jimbo Fisher ... In the five seasons prior to Fisher’s arrival, the Aggies were 23-12 on their home turf (.657).
• Quick starts have been a harbinger of Aggie victories in the Jimbo Fisher era ... The Aggies are 14-4 when scoring first and a perfect 13-0 when leading after the first quarter. 
• Under DC Mike Elko, the Aggies ranked in the top 35 in total defense in 2018 (No. 32)and 2019 (No. 29) FBS statistical rankings ...  Prior to Elko’s arrival, the Aggies hadn’t ranked in the top 50 nationally in more than a decade (since 2006). 

Milestones to Watch For

• Senior QB Kellen Mond needs 267 yards of offense to pass Johnny Manziel (9,989 from 2012-13) as A&M’s all-time career leader in total offense.
• Mond needs one touchdown to become the third Aggie with 60-plus career scoring passes.
• Mond needs two rushing TDs to join Johnny Manziel, Joel Hunt and Bucky Richardson as the only Aggie QBs with 20 career rushing scores. 
• One win would allow Mond to take sole possession of second on A&M’s all-time win list ... He is currently in a tie for second with David Walker (1973-74, 76-77) and Kevin Murray (1983-86).
• Mond made his 38th career start at Mississippi State, which is the second-most by a QB in school history ... Corey Pullig (1992-95) is the school record holder with 40 career QB starts (33-6-1).
• Sophomore RB Isaiah Spiller needs 124 rushing yards to become the 34th Aggie to reach the 1,500-yard barrier in career rushing yards ... He has 1,376 rushing yards in 17 career games. 
• Senior OL Carson Green is slated to make his 34th consecutive start, which is the longest streak on the team.
• Sophomore S Demani Richardson needs five tackles to reach 100 in his career ...  Senior S Keldrick Carper is also nearing the century mark and needs just two tackles to reach triple digits in the category. 
• Senior DB Myles Jones has 24 career pass breakups, which is three shy of breaking into the school’s top 10 list for PBUs. 

Mond Making History

• Senior QB Kellen Mond is on pace to finish his career atop nearly every A&M career passing record ... Against Alabama Mond claimed the top spot in career completions and attempts, and later set the career passing yards record in the win over No. 4 Florida.
• One of the winningest quarterbacks in program history, Mond boasts a 25-13 record and needs one victory to break his tie with Kevin Murray and David Walker for sole possession of second all-time.
• Mond and Johnny Manziel are the only quarterbacks in A&M history to tally over 9,000 yards of total offense in their careers, and are the only two Aggie signal callers to throw for over 7,000 yards and rush for 1,000-plus yards.
• Mond has surpassed the 300-passing yards mark seven times in his career, most recently with 338 against Florida this season ... Only Jerrod Johnson (12) and Johnny Manziel (10) have tallied more 300-yard games.
• Mond is also climbing the SEC career passing and total offense charts ... He is currently 25th on the league’s all-time career passing yards list (8,363), and ranks 16th on the total offense list (9,724).  

Spiller, Running Game Shine

• Sophomore RB Isaiah Spiller has established himself as a top running back in the SEC, leading the league and ranking 11th in the nation with a 6.72 yards per carry average ... He ranks fourth in the league with 430 yards on the season. 
• Among SEC players with more than 300 yards, Spiller is the only player averaging more than 5.8 yards per carry. 
• Spiller has recorded three 100-yard rushing games against SEC opponents through four outings this year ... As a freshman he eclipsed the century mark just once in league play. 
• Against Mississippi State, Spiller rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns, marking the seventh 100-yard game and the fourth multi-touchdown game of his young career.
• As a team, the Aggies lead the SEC and rank No. 17 in the FBS with a 5.3 yards per carry average. 

SEC Rushing Leaders

Rk Player, School Att.-Yds Avg.
1 Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M 64-430 6.72
2 Kendall Milton, Georgia 21-134 6.38 
3 Tank Bigsby, Auburn 74-432 5.84 
4 Brian Robinson Jr., Alabama 35-203 5.80 
5 Najee Harris, Alabama 103-595 5.78

SEC Rushing Leaders

Rk School Att.-Yds Avg.
1 Texas A&M 129-689 5.34
2 Florida 77-366 4.75
3 Kentucky 196-922 4.70
4 Auburn 176-822 4.67
5 Alabama 186-843 4.53

Goons Protecting QB1

• Despite being one of just two FBS teams with a pair of games vs. top 5 opponents arleady, Texas A&M’s offensive front, long known as the Maroon Goons, has emerged as one of the best at limiting pressure on the quarterback. 
• The Maroon Goons have not allowed a sack since the second quarter of the season-opener against Vanderbilt (14 quarters, 118 pass attempts), despite battling No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Florida and Mississippi State, the SEC’s total defense leader, since then.
• For the season, Texas A&M has allowed 2.0 sacks (both in the first half of the season-opener) and a total of 14 tackles behind the line of scrimmage ... Both totals rank in the top five nationally among teams that have played four-or-more games. 
• The Aggies lead the Power 5 in both categories (tied with LSU in fewest tackles for loss allowed).
• The line allowed just 1.0 tackle for loss at Mississippi State, the program’s fewest since not allowing a TFL in the 16-10 road win over Colorado midway through the 1997 season.
• The Aggies are averaging a robust 422.5 total yards/game and 6.4 yards/play. 

FBS Leaders - QBS Allowed (Min. 4 games)

Rk School Gm. QBS-Yds. Avg.
1 Texas A&M 4 2-8 0.50
UAB 6 3-17 0.50
3 Marshall 5 3-30 0.60
4 BYU 6 4-45 0.67
5 Georgia St. 4 3-25 0.75

FBS Leaders - TFL Allowed (Min. 4 games)

Rk School Gm. TFL-Yds. Avg.
1 Marshall 5 13.0-51 2.60
2 North Texas 5 17.0-66 3.40
3 Texas A&M 4 14.0-30 3.50
LSU 4 14.0-64 3.50
5 Ga. Southern 5 18.0-74 3.60

A&M Stopping the Run

• Texas A&M allows just 75.5 rushing yards per game, which ranks No. 7 in the FBS and No. 2 in the SEC ... Among teams that have played more than one game, the Aggies rank No. 4 nationally and No. 2 in the SEC behind Georgia (65.5). 
• The Aggies’ most dominant rush defense outing came in their most recent game, when Mississippi State had minus-2 yards on 20 carries ... It was the program’s fewest rushing yards allowed since Wyoming was held to minus-3 yards in 2004. 
• Alabama had the most rushing success against the Aggies this season, but still managed just 109 yards on 28 carries (3.9/carry) ... For the season, the Crimson Tide is averaging 168.6 yards per game and 4.5 per carry. 
• The Aggies are allowing a stingy 2.7 yards per carry to opponents, which ranks second in the SEC behind Georgia (2.2) and the Aggies are one of just three SEC teams allowing less than 3.5 yards per carry. 
• Texas A&M has allowed just 22 first downs via the rush, which is second in the SEC behind Georgia (21). 
• The longest rush allowed by the Aggies in 2020 was a 21-yard run by Vanderbilt’s Ja’Veon Marlow on the third offensive play of the season-opener ... It is the lone rush of 20-or-more yards against the Aggies this year.

SEC Team Leaders - Rushing Defense

Rk School Att.-Yds. Avg. TD Avg.
1 Georgia 120-262 2.2 1 65.5
2 Texas A&M 110-302 2.7 3 75.5
3 Miss. St. 141-413 2.9 3 103.2
4 Missouri 129-487 3.8 8 121.7
5 LSU 121-511 4.2 4 127.7

TAMU-Arkansas connections

• Texas A&M Associate AD for Football Mark Robinson served as the Razorbacks’ Director of Football Operations from 2008-12. 
• Texas A&M RB coach Tommie Robinson started his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Arkansas in 1991.
• Texas A&M Director of On-Campus Recruiting Danielle Braswell spent two seasons as Arkansas’ assistant director of on-campus recruiting. 
• UA offensive line coach Brad Davis served as a graduate assistant coach at Texas A&M in 2006 and 2007 under then-head coach Dennis Franchione. 
• Former Texas A&M assistant coaches video coordinator Dustin Shippey serves as the Razorbacks’ Director of Football Video.
• Razorback RB Rakeem Boyd was a part of Texas A&M’s 2016 signing class and spent one season with the Aggies as a redshirt. 
• Razorback Assistant AD for Broadcast Services Michelle Glover was the Director of Texas A&M’s 12th Man Productions from 2006-08.