Aggies Bring Home the Bacon at Southwest Classic

Saturday, September 30

Arlington, Texas

11:00 AM

Texas A&M

4-1 , 2-0

Arkansas

2-3 , 0-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Texas A&M

Arkansas

Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics

Sep 30, 2023 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas A&M football team received substantial contributions in all three phases of the game as the Aggies mauled the Arkansas Razorbacks, 34-22, at the Southwest Classic inside AT&T Stadium.

Texas A&M's defense kept the Razorbacks locked in the pigpen for much of the game, limiting Arkansas to 174 yards of total offense. Forty-eight of the yards came on a late fourth quarter pass from KJ Jefferson to Andrew Armstrong, the Razorbacks' only offensive touchdown of the game. Jefferson, a Preseason All-SEC quarterback, was hounded all day by Ol' Sarge's charges. He was sacked seven times and finished the day completing 9-of-17 for 132 and one interception while losing 3 yards on the ground.

Edgerrin Cooper led the Aggie sack attack, racking up six tackles, three for loss of yardage, and two quarterback takedowns.

The Aggies put the nail in the coffin on special teams when Ainias Smith weaved 82 yards through the Arkansas punt team for his second career return touchdown as Texas A&M staked claim to a 34-16 lead with 7:40 left in the game. Smith finished with 131 punt return yards, on three returns, tied for the fourth-best effort in school annals.

Offensively, Texas A&M gained 414 yards in a balanced attack, including 210 through the air and 204 on the ground. Max Johnson connected on 17-of-28 pass attempts for 210 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Le'Veon Moss rushed for 107 yards on 17 carries in his first career 100-yard game. Johnson added 57 yards on the ground on nine totes. Smith hauled in four catches for 71 yards, amassing 202 all-purpose yards – his first career 200-yard effort.

Despite dominating the game early, turnover troubles had the Aggies nursing a 20-16 advantage late in the third quarter. The defense gave the A&M faithful relief when Bryce Anderson deflected a Jefferson pass to the left flank and Chris Russell Jr. nabbed it out of the air and rumbled 16 yards for the touchdown, stretching the margin to 11 with 5:15 left in the period.

On its next four drives Arkansas lost 15 yards on 13 plays and trailed by 18 with the Smith punt return touchdown.

A pair of Texas A&M turnovers made the game precarious early in the third quarter. The Razorbacks' Lorando Johnson intercepted a Max Johnson pass on the Aggies' first play from scrimmage coming out of halftime and returned it 20 yards to trim the Texas A&M advantage to 17-13.

The Maroon & White scratched out a 34-yard field goal by Randy Bond on their next drive, but a Johnson fumble on their next possession allowed Arkansas to trim the lead to 20-16 at the midway point of the third quarter.

The Aggies owned a 17-6 advantage headed into the halftime intermission. The Texas A&M offense outgained the Razorbacks 225-123, including 169-84 through the air.

Arkansas opened the scoring with a 52-yard field goal by Cam Little after its initial drive of the game sputtered.

Johnson responded by hitting five different receivers on the A&M's first drive, going 5-for-5 with 73 yards. He capped the assault with a 32-yard scoring strike to Evan Stewart, handing the Aggies a 7-3 lead with 2:36 remaining in the first quarter.

The next time the Razorbacks had the ball they worked deep into Ol' Sarge's territory, but McKinnley Jackson and Albert Regis dropped Reheim Sanders for a 2-yard loss on 3^rd-and-4 from the Texas A&M 5-yard line to force another Little field goal two minutes into the second quarter.

Texas A&M's next two drives resulted in a successful 42-yard field goal by Bond followed by a 49-yard attempt which hit the left upright, missing the target and the Aggies owned a 10-6 edge.

The Maroon & White defense stood tall once more in the waning moments of the first half. Arkansas went for a 4^th-and-1 at its own 40-yard line. Jackson stuffed Sanders again, this time for a 1-yard loss and the Aggies took possession with 2:49 remaining until the intermission.

Johnson sprinkled the ball around to four different receivers and gained 8 yards on the ground on the Aggies' final drive of the half. With 13 seconds on the clock, Johnson found Earnest Crownover uncovered in the right flat for a 2-yard touchdown pass.

TEXAS A&M POSTGAME NOTES

Team Notes

On the heels of posting 7.0 QB sacks in the SEC opener against Auburn, the Aggie defense rolled to 7.0 takedowns of Razorback QB KJ Jefferson for a total loss of 41 yards. The 14.0 sacks over the past two games are the most in consecutive games since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012.
Texas A&M posted 15.0 total tackles for loss for the second-straight game, with tackles behind the line of scrimmage coming from nine different players.
The Aggie defense allowed a season-low 174 total yards (42 rushing and 132 passing) as Texas A&M has held four of its five opponents to 222 total yards or less this season.
The Aggies allowed a season-low 42 rushing yards in the win, marking the third time this season they kept their opponent under 100 rushing yards.
The Texas A&M offense has tallied 400-plus yards of totally offense in every game this season and it rolled to 414 total yards against Arkansas, including 204 yards on the ground and 210 through the air. It was the Aggies' second straight 200-yard rushing game (209 vs. Auburn).
Texas A&M has scored on every opening drive of the season as sophomore QB Max Johnson connected on 5-of-5 passing attempts and found five different receivers to help the Aggies drive 75 yards on eight plays to start the game. A&M has scored three TDs and booted a pair of field goals on opening drives in 2023.
After the Hogs converted four of their first five third-down tries in the first quarter, the Aggies clamped down in the second stanza as they held Arkansas to 0-3 on third down. After the first quarter, Texas A&M allowed just a single third-down conversion as the Hogs managed just 5-of-15 conversions for the game. The Aggies entered the game ranked No. 2 nationally in third-down defense, allowing just 20.4% on 10-of-49 chances.
Texas A&M's 34-22 victory gave the Aggies their 11^th win in the last 12 meetings with the Razorbacks.
Today's captains against Arkansas were OL Layden Robinson, DL McKinnley Jackson, DL Fadil Diggs and WR Ainias Smith.

Individual Notes

Senior WR Ainias Smith returned a punt 82-yards for a touchdown to register the second special teams touchdown of his career. It was the Aggies' first punt return TD since Smith's 95-yarder against South Carolina in 2021.
Smith finished the game with a career-high 131 punt return yards, the fourth most in a game in A&M history, and 71 receiving yards to put him at a career-best 202 all-purpose yards on the day. He upped his career total to 3,384 all-purpose yards, which jumped him to 14^th all-time at A&M and tied his with Dick Todd (3,384).
Sophomore RB Le'Veon Moss posted the first 100-yard rushing game of his career with 107 yards on 17 carries in the win.
Sophomore QB Max Johnson finished the game with an A&M career-high 210 passing yards, while also adding 57 rushing yards, including a career long 32-yard run.
Sophomore WR Evan Stewart's 50 receiving yards in the victory helped him eclipse the 1,000 career mark in just his 14^th career game. It ties him with Ryan Tannehill (2008-11) as the third fastest Aggie to reach the millennium mark. Only Mike Evans (2012-13) and Christian Kirk (2015-17) did it faster with Evans reaching it in 12 games and Kirk in 13.
Emerging as a weapon inside the opponent 20, graduate RB Earnest Crownover reeled in his second red zone TD catch of the season with a 2-yarder near the end of the second quarter. He also scored on a 19-yarder against Miami.
Senior LB Edgerrin Cooper tallied 2.0 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss, matching his career marks in each category from a week ago. His six total tackles in the game put him at 151 for his career.
Sophomore DL Walter Nolen set a new career mark as he tallied 3.0 tackles for loss in the win.
Senior LB Chris Russell Jr. scored his first career touchdown on a 16-yard interception return in the third quarter. Russell pulled down a KJ Jefferson pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage by sophomore DB Bryce Anderson.
Russell's defensive score was the Aggies' first defensive touchdown of 2023 and the first by the team since Demani Richardson's 27-yard fumble return against LSU last year. It was the Aggies' first pick-six since Leon O'Neal returned an interception 85 yards for a score in the 2021 season opener against Kent State.

Postgame Quotes: Jimbo Fisher

(transcript courtesy Caption Pros)

COACH JIMBO FISHER: These games are never boring. Never are. And we find a way to make them interesting.

But proud of our guys. Come out with a victory. Thought defensively, we were outstanding. Seven sacks again, and I don't know how many tackles for loss. But Le'Veon [Moss] did a great job in scoring. He got seven points scoring.

The first two drives, I was very proud of, too. When Arkansas moved the football, had a good play coming in, we were making adjustments. But when it got to the red zone, we were able to toughen up and hold them to field goals. The difference in the first half was they had two field goals and we had two touchdowns and then we had another field goal.

But our defense being able to play really good red-zone defense. The fourth and 1 was critical. They got a big momentum swing. We were able to take it down and eat the clock and score a touchdown right before half, which was very good.

We were in really good shape, 17-6 at halftime. Felt very good, comfortable coming out. And then made a critical error right there and get the turnover and get the points.

I liked we were able to respond back and drive down. We didn't get a touchdown, but we got a field goal. Wish we could have got a touchdown there. Then went back and forth and had another fumble.

And the defense again played great red-zone defense and holding them to a field. I don't know if they made to it the red zone, but did a great job on sudden change of holding them to a field goal. They were outstanding in the game in what they did.

And then back and forth, moving it back and forth. And got to score on defense. Ainias [Smith] got the punt return. Great to see him come back. Again, he's our guy. He's our juice. He's our energy. He makes those plays and does that and was outstanding in the game from that regard.

Unfortunately, we missed a couple field goals too. We left some points on the board. We only punted twice in the game in the course of three turnovers. And then we would run the clock out and had a bad snap, which is -- can't happen either. And gave up a turnover. And gave up a touchdown. But we took the error out of it the right way and went back down and ate the clock and took the game away.

But it wasn't pretty. We're nowhere close to playing what we are capable of playing, in my opinion. But the guys played hard. They're physical. They're playing together. They're not hanging their head no matter what the circumstances are and they're playing the next series, whether it's offense, defense, special teams. And we will learn to get better. We need to get better quickly. We got a very good opponent next week in Alabama.

But we got to fix our problems, but very proud of our guys. And we'll celebrate the win and get ready to go tomorrow. Questions?

Q. I think that's 14 sacks for you in the first two SEC games. What's been the difference for you there, the key to that?

COACH FISHER: Again, technique. We're doing a good job. We're getting the right calls. TJ [Shanahan] is doing a good job of getting calls. He's mixing pressure with bluffs. But some of the bluffs are allowing you to get to the one-on-one matchups you want up front and able to do it.

And what I was proud of today, you got seven sacks and you rush these guys. He got out a couple times on runs. But, man, he kills you scrambling and dumping the ball off and making the big runs. And they did it with the integrity and the discipline to not let him out of the pocket. And did a really good job once they got their hands on him, because K.J. [Jefferson] is an extremely tough guy to get on the ground. And they got their hands on him and were able to get him on the ground.

So I think discipline and maturity of our guys and they're playing good football.

Q. Couple things, Coach. You mentioned some of the things that didn't go well. With an impressive win like this, how much do those things that you didn't do well, how much does that bother you?

COACH FISHER: Doesn't bother me because we're in this league. In this league, you can't give things away. You need -- we can play better and we do in spurts. We just can't give up the things that happened in that way. And there a lot of things you got to fix. And if you're going to play in the SEC and play consistent week in and week out -- Look, everybody has got good players. They're going to make enough plays on their own that you can't have the self-inflicted ones. And occasionally, you will have something but you can't have multiple. You know what I'm saying? And we have got to do a little bit better job and clean some of those things up.

And same time, I still like the dynamic of our team. This team plays, it's responding to the next situation, and it's got a ton of room to get better.

Q. And then your thoughts on just the game that Bobby [Petrino] called. And now that it's over, do you have any feeling it means anything more to him?

COACH FISHER: No, I'm sure it does, I mean, playing there. But at the same time, you have to ask him that.

But I thought he called a great game. We had plays that we only punted twice in the game. I mean, we had the interception on the first drive and we had a fumble. But I thought Bobby [Petrino] called an excellent game. We mixed run. We had pass. We spread the ball around. We had different formation, personality. I think he's had a great year all year. I think he's doing a great job, called a hell of a game. We got to execute a little bit better, and we were. I thought we took the air out of it right there, about four or five minutes to go. I think we were doing it, and we got back in it, but then we were able to come back and do it. So I think he's doing a hell of a job.

Q. Jimbo, can you talk more about the complimentary football, getting a special teams touchdown, a Pick 6 and everything in between?

COACH FISHER: When your defense is pulling points, your special teams is pulling points and setting things up, if you are going to play, I would say this -- people say defense wins championships; offense sells tickets, but that's not true.

If you're a very good football team, all three phases have to be productive and consistently productive. And we've got returners who can do it when we get chances. Unfortunately, for [Randy] Bond today, he used the -- it'd have been money. He hit the upright and missed one. They were long field goals, but he's been great. Thought part of our game was good. I thought the two punts we had, I thought Nik [Constintinou] really hit the ball really well today and what we did. And then they would score on defense. And you have to do those things when you play good people. And that shows you the explosive of our defense too.

Q. Follow up with Edgerrin [Cooper]. He's just been on fire these last couple of weeks. Just talk about the high level he's playing at.

COACH FISHER: Well, he's seeing it. His eyes are in a good place. He's seeing it. His eye discipline and his eye control, being able to trigger and react. And then he's so athletic and can get to point A very quickly, and he's physical. And when the front guys are causing the chaos they are, a backer like him is his hard to get your hands on, and he makes a lot of plays.

Q. You mentioned him a little bit in your opening statement. But did it feel like kind of a full-circle, rewarding moment for Ainias [Smith] on the same field that he got hurt on last year to have that kind of game?

COACH FISHER: It really was. You have to ask him that. I'm sure he will tell you it was. It was for me. Happy to see him make those plays and do those things. He's our guy. He's our guy, and always has been our guy. And he does those things ever since he's been here.

Q. Coach, back-to-back weeks, great performances from Le'Veon Moss. Where have you seen him start to hit his stride?

COACH FISHER: He's seeing it. He's knowing it, and he's healthy. And our love our man. Amari [Daniels], playing well, and Reuben [Fatheree II] they're all outstanding backs, but Le'Veon [Moss] has a juice to him. He's a strength. He's a power. He's a very, very good football player. And I think as he has more success, his confidence is growing. You can see it. The game, like any guy, it's starting to slow down gradually, and he's making plays and doing it. And I'm glad to see it. He's a talented guy.

Q. You look at today's passing attack, how deep down field it gets. Does it always kind of make you excited to see a fullback get in the end zone for a touchdown?

COACH FISHER: Oh, yes. You got to distribute the ball. When people know those guys in the game aren't going to catch it or you have to defend, it makes it a problem. We're getting the ball to everybody. Bobby [Petrino] is doing a good job of spreading the ball around, our quarterbacks are too.

Q. Coach, can you talk about getting the Pick 6 and just kind of the ball game you got from Chris [Russell] today, and how that ends uplifting up the entire bench?

COACH FISHER: Well, they got the defensive score back that we gave away, you know what I'm saying? Which was huge in the game. And get that back -- it was 20-16. So you're one play from getting behind. You always say no matter how much you're controlling the play, that's one play, somebody slips, drops, whatever it is, and that happens. And him being able to score defense, got it back to an 11-point game, got it back to a two-score game. And finally we were able to get it to a three-score game. And Ainias [Smith] took it to a three-score game. Those two huge plays. And very happy for Chris [Russell] the success he's having.

Q. Your short yardage defensive line today, excellent 3rd and 1, stopped them up front. I know it's physicalness, but what goes into that short yardage success?

COACH FISHER: One, we got a great plan. D.J. [Durkin] has a good plan. He's using them well, and those guys understand leverage, hands, and power, and they're really good players. They are hard to move. We were physical up front. We need to be physical upfront. You got to be in this league. And that 4th and 1 and that stop, I totally understand why they went for it. They're right there at midfield, they get it, get momentum and can get down there and score. Because the score at that time was 10-6, you know what I'm saying. And we were able to get that stop and then got take the clock and get the points right before half were huge.

Q. Saw you hugging up there with Jerry [Jones] at the end. Just talk about what it's meant to play in this venue. We don't know what the future holds, but just talk about this neutral site.

COACH FISHER: I love the game here. I really do. And I understand why we're taking it back to home and home and all that stuff. I love the game being here, because I think it sets up like a play bowl game, like a playoff game, and the kids in this state have grown up loving and playing in Jerry's [Jones] world (AT&T Stadium). They wanted to play here.

And you know, our fans up in this part of the state, it's an easier -- and we got a lot of kids we're recruiting up here. I love it. And I appreciate Jerry, and everything Jerry does is first class, and the way he's treated us great. And I have a lot of respect for him, and what he's done as an owner and what he does for the Cowboys and everything in football. Very blessed that he's helped us. Jerry's a good guy.

Q. How do you assess the play of Max Johnson because he's going to be the guy the rest of the way?

COACH FISHER: I think he played an excellent first half. He had one mistake the first drive out. Made a mistake. And then he makes another great play. What I think happened, I think he had that ball tucked in the right arm. And he made a great run. I mean, picked up a first down, and just happened to fumble the ball and we had to take care of it. Other than that, I thought he did a really nice job. Turnovers as a quarterback, they're hard to come by. But I think he's leading. I think he's tough. I think he can take us to where we need to go. We had two starter, I have the utmost confidence in him. I thought he played tremendous football, and kept his poise in the game and brought us right on back.

Q. On that last play, did you think about taking a knee?

COACH FISHER: Four or five seconds, if you take a knee real quick, I wanted to run the clock out for four seconds. Wasn't trying to score, was just trying to run the clock out. And we didn't move it for three plays, we weren't going to move it on the fourth one. I was just trying to make sure we didn't have a play left in the game, unless you take back the slow safety. And then you get in that situation, guys hit your quarterback and all that stuff right there, because it was -- if it had been third down, yes. Fourth down, I wanted to do something to run four seconds off.

Q. On some of the runs for Max [Johnson], he came up a little bit hurt. Would you prefer him to slide?

COACH FISHER: Depends on the situation. I mean, some of that -- you can't walk around protecting him all the time. Yeah, you want to be smart and slide. I think the one he fumbled on is the one he got hit on. Might have been one another one.

That's part of football, man. You're going to do that. You got to be smart when you got to be smart, but you got to be tough when you got to be tough.

Q. Third quarter, Tyreek Chappell gets a finger on the pass to the end zone. Is that a momentum play, goes from 16 to a tie game?

COACH FISHER: We talk about this all the time. Inches. You're fighting for inches all the time. You're trying to take them away from them and trying to create them for yourself.

You go back and watch games. There's probably five or six inches in this game that decided this game. That's five or six plays. And every play, you got to fight for whatever inch you can create for yourself to be able to tip the ball, grab the guy, tackle the guy, whatever it is. And that's my cliche.

That's kind of like our motto, we got to fight for the inches. We can't give them away, and we got to create them. And that was a big play. It was about an inch.

Q. When you're able to get that pressure up front from your front seven and not after bringing the house, what luxury is that for your --

COACH FISHER: You're not exposed. You can double a guy. Your match-ups can be really good. The more you go, you don't get exposed. And the quarterback -- because when you are getting pressure -- it's man-to-man and you're getting that pressure, all right, you know -- and guys today are so good at throwing the football and you got big receivers. They're open when they're not open, if that makes any sense. Front-shoulder throws, back-shoulder throws. But now you're throwing into zone coverages. You're throwing into combination coverages. And when you can rush with four men, it's a lot tougher on a quarterback. The pressures are great. But at the same time, he's in one-on-one situations, so delivering the ball, getting rid of the ball. You got to be careful where you're dumping the ball when you're in the zone, too, because of the picks and interceptions. So it's huge when our front four can do that.

Q. Talked about how never a boring game with Arkansas. Mentioned the Pick 6. What is it about the way you guys are somehow able to get a momentum-changing turnover whenever your guys play them?

COACH FISHER: Hopefully, we can do it against everybody. That's what we got to do. I keep seeing this team grow.

Again, I keep saying this, I like this football team. It's got a lot of improvement to do. It's got a lot of growth to do, but I love its personality. I love its demeanor. I love its competitiveness and toughness, I really do. And it's learning. It's allowing itself to be coached and pushed. And as we see it from the practice field to even in the time-outs and the breaks, they're finding ways to make plays. They're finding those inches. And very proud of them.

Q. Arkansas started four of five on third down first couple drives. Finished one of 10. What was working for you guys then compared --

COACH FISHER: Earlier we tried to bring the pressure off the nickel. And got it rubbed right and got us bumped off.

Second one got a dig route. They got in the middle and got in there. And they got a screen and cracked our backer. We were in man coverage, and they cracked the backer and got him in man and got the screen out the door.

And then we changed up some pressures. We changed a couple looks and got some different personnels and were able to make the adjustments about how they were attacking us. And I thought D.J. [Durkin] did really good adjusting right there.

Q. Can you talk about -- well, you talked about KJ Jefferson, but Rocket (Raheim) Sanders and how tough he is to bring down. But y'all played really well against them today.

COACH FISHER: What I was proud of, the tackling. We tackled very well in this football game and we gang tackled. We swarmed the football. We tackled with leverage. We got guys on the ground and kept him (KJ Jefferson) in the pocket at the same time.

And like I say, those two guys, you go back a year ago, we couldn't get them on the ground. Those two guys, we couldn't get on the ground. They're physical and tough, and they're great players. And my guys on defense, my hat's off to them.

Q. Looking at stats, four tackles for loss, no sacks against one of the most aggressive defenses in football. Kind of wanted to get your thoughts on the performance of the offensive line.

COACH FISHER: We're getting better. And I keep saying this, we're not where we want to be totally. We're getting sound. You saw [Earnest] Crownover play a lot today. You saw [Kam] Dewberry play a lot. Like I said, we got seven, eight guys in there, man, we feel like we can rotate and play and we don't drop off. You know what I mean?

And we're building young guys in there, too, that I think are going to be really good. And Steve [Addazio] is doing a really good job. We got the declarations right. They got hats on hats.

A couple times they brought some pressures at the end but -- for the most part. And then we got the running game going, and we were able to break some runs and running the short yardage situations, running the goal-line situations, which is big.

I think we're growing as a football team. I really do.

MICHAEL KONRADI: Thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

COACH FISHER: Thank you, guys.

Postgame Quotes: Max Johnson

Q. Max, I'm not sure if you knew this, but your dad had two touchdowns when he was with the Dallas Cowboys, and now you have surpassed him in this stadium (AT&T Stadium) with three touchdowns is. That kind of a cool moment for him?

QB MAX JOHNSON: I guess it's definitely cool to think about. He had a great career in the NFL. It was fun watching him. And going to all his games and being able to experience that. But it's pretty special.

Q. What happened on the interception play there in the start of the second?

QB MAX JOHNSON: Honestly, I didn't really see any movement. And that was my read, as if they were rotating or how the nickel was playing. I should have handed it off. My mistake. I got to be better, but came back and fought after that.

Q. And with what happened to Ainias [Smith] last year, how special was it as a player to see him break that one off?

QB MAX JOHNSON: I think it was awesome for him. I think he circled that game, and he came out and showed a punt return for a touchdown and some big-time catches. So he's a baller.

Q. In terms of this game, topsy-turvy, kind of momentum swings everywhere. For you guys down the stretch, what was that key to securing that win, and kind of keeping Arkansas at arm's length?

QB MAX JOHNSON: We came out with great execution in the first half. Defense played great all game. We kind of slowed down in the second half. So we got to clean up our mistakes. Not have as much turnovers. I think our guys just came ready to fight, and that's how we did it. We executed in the first half really well, but we have some stuff to clean up.

Q. Do you guys ever talk among yourselves about if you clean up some of those issues, how good you might be?

QB MAX JOHNSON: I totally agree. I think we should have put up a lot more points than we did. The defense played unbelievable. They shut them down. And I think our guys are going to be excited going into next week's practice, and we're going to clean up those mistakes.

Q. Le'Veon [Moss] has been really stepping up these past two weeks. What's it like having him in the backfield and what has he been bringing to this offense?

QB MAX JOHNSON: It's been awesome. He's been practicing really hard. Our coach has been on him about getting his protections. He's done a really good job. I don't think he's missed one. He's done a really good job of seeing the cuts and running the ball, holding on to the ball. It's been great to have him back there.

Q. What's the preparation like this week, maybe any different? I know as a backup, you always prepare, one play away to go into the game. But knowing not only that you will start, but with Conner [Weigman] out, you're going to be guiding the ship for the rest of the way, at least over the course of this game. What's the difference like just knowing that as you go through the week?

QB MAX JOHNSON: I mean, it's definitely, you know, good knowing that I'm going to be in there and starting it off. But I've always prepared the same way, whether I was in or not. We had a great week of preparation this week, and we're looking forward to having another good week this upcoming week.

Q. Max [Johnson], did you bang your hand up at all on that fumble play?

QB MAX JOHNSON: I did, but I mean, there's no excuse for fumbling the ball. I should have held the ball in my left hand honestly. So no excuse for that. I think just a helmet hit it. It's all good.

Q. And having started against Arkansas last year, did you take any of that experience to this one? Did you know what to expect at all?

QB MAX JOHNSON: I guess a little bit. I know they're a very physical team. They had a different defense than they did last year. So we had a plan going in for this game. We also had some plays just in case they went back and did some of the three down stuff, but our guys came out with the win.

Q. I guess I'm the obligatory Evan Stewart touchdown questioner. So would you walk us through that play and what you saw?

QB MAX JOHNSON: Honestly, when I knew that play was called, I knew we were going to score. We had that same exact coverage that we had in practice all week, and he did a really good job of crossing that defender's face. He was one high, and he did a great job of getting to the other side of the field and made a great play.

Q. Since the last time we talked to you, Conner [Weigman] announced he's out for the year. And just wondering how you took that news and how has he helped you this week?

QB MAX JOHNSON: I mean, he's been in all our meetings. He's been at practice every day. It's been good to talk to him. But you know, I'm praying for him. I told him I was praying for him. I hope he heals up quick.

Q. And I was going to ask, how do you balance kind of fighting for the extra yards and knowing when to slide?

QB MAX JOHNSON: I mean, I got to learn to take care of myself more often. Whether that's -- if I got the first down slide, if not, I would rather get out of bounds and not take the extra hit. But if it's on the line, fourth down, I'm going for it.

Postgame Quotes: Ainias Smith, Edgerrin Cooper

Q. Ainias, how did it feel to break off that punt return for a touchdown? Especially considering what happened on that field last year.

WR AINIAS SMITH: Man, it was a breath of relief, you know what I'm saying. I don't know if y'all know, that was my first touch on the season. And it's crazy because it's my last time -- well, the last time I played last year, as y'all know, was on this field and in this stadium. And just to be able to come in, do what I did, it was great. I was just grateful to God, you know what I'm saying, just gave all praise to Him.

Q. Ainias, did you have any emotions or thoughts when you first got on to the field today?

WR AINIAS SMITH: Yeah, it was cool at first. I don't think my emotions was really running until after I had did my prayer with [Coach] Mikado [Hinson]. After that, I was locked in. I wasn't really even thinking about what happened last year. I was just playing.

Q. Edgerrin, you got the picture of the hog hunting up pretty quick there. Was that one saved in drafts?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: Yeah, I was waiting exactly right after the game. It was saved in there.

Q. Was that a recent trip?

WR AINIAS SMITH: Literally this week. A recent trip.

Q. This is for both of you. Max [Johnson] kind of said that when you look at the little details, just how good this team can be if you correct them. How good can this team be?

WR AINIAS SMITH: It's, you know, the amount of space we have to get better, it's crazy. It's crazy. You know. If we have trust in the defense and offense and the amount of improvement we have, it's going to be scary.

WR AINIAS SMITH: Me personally, man, I just look at it like, we play so well as a team, you know what I'm saying, if the offense needs a play, then the offense gonna get a play. If the defense needs to make a play, then the defense for sure going to make a play. And if you look, obviously, we did that on special teams today. But it's just like the growth that we can -- that we still have to grow, you know what I'm saying -- I can say this. Let's look at it like this. We came out first half on offense, and we did real well. Defense played outstand. Came out second half. Offense wasn't doing as well. And defense stepped up, you know what I'm saying. I went over to the defensive sideline, and like, Hey, we need y'all. Y'all just keep playing. And they stepped up. Now imagine if we did what we needed to do on offense, like, the sky's the limit. That's how I look at it.

Q. Ainias, on the touch return, you muffed up the catch and had to go back six yards to get it. I'm wondering what you're thinking as you're running back to get the ball at that point and as you're returning the ball?

WR AINIAS SMITH: Shoot, when I muffed it, I was thinking, all right, now you got make a play, you know what I'm saying. Just don't mess up and don't get tackled. And then I looked up. I seen my dog over there waving me to the sideline. I was like, let's ride. Let's ride. That's all I was thinking.

Q. And on your other return, the 43-yard, you catch that one like a center fielder going back, and you're almost at the 10-yard line. Is that something they really want you to do, catching that ball like that at that point? Or they want you to let that go?

WR AINIAS SMITH: Coach (Jimbo Fisher) had told me before I went out there, be smart, you know what I'm saying. Just know what we need. We need the ball. And if you end up returning it, then do you what do.

So most coaches, they'll tell you to run back there, get to a spot, set your feet, catch the ball, and then make a play. But it kept sailing and kept sailing, so I was like, well, I'm going to keep running and keep running. And I look down for a second, and I was like, oh, I got too much space to let this go. So then I was like, shoot, let's ride again.

Q. Edgerrin, what is it -- what changed the last two weeks that's turned that pass rush -- I think y'all have had 14 sacks in two weeks and had trouble before that. What's changed?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: I feel like we need to get in that rhythm. And me just working on it and practicing hard and preparing and Coach (Jimbo Fisher) just calling my number to go. I'm ready to go every time. And doing my job as plays will come to me.

Q. Where do you typically go to hunt hogs?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: Actually, it's like 15 minutes outside of College Station. So it ain't too far.

Q. Edgerrin, were you on the field when Chris [Russell] got the Pick 6?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: Yes, I was.

Q. What did you see on that play? And how critical was it because they were coming for you guys?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: Yeah, that situation, you have to just come back and dominate, you know. Coach (Jimbo Fisher) was like, sudden changes like that, let's just do it. Next play.

Q. Did it make you think of the fumble recovery from last year that you guys had?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: Yeah, yeah. It was like the play, just saying that, and seeing my brothers having plays coming to them. Just an exciting feeling. We like to feed off the energy.

Q. Ainias, you mentioned how you went to the defense and said make a play, and they did. What was your vantage point from the sideline on that one?

WR AINIAS SMITH: I think I was on like the 40. Like going in. And I think I ran all the way to like 10. And they were talking about, get off the field, get off the field. But I was lit. I looked up for a quick second. And I seen Bryce [Anderson] took the ball. I look down. And I seen Chris [Russell] making the interception. So I'm like, oh, yes, they gonna take to it the crib. And he had an amazing game. Both of these boys did. So I'm just proud of the team.

Q. Edgerrin, at certain point when you have seven sacks in the game, do you feel -- could you feel a moment when you kind of broke the will of that Arkansas offense?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: Oh, yeah, just playing -- I got to give it up to the D-line, first of all. Just playing behind them. And them giving us that energy, it just makes us want to go. Sometimes at moments out there, you get real tired. And them boys down there are some dogs, they just keep going. We stick together. We just got to pick it up every play. And feeding off them. It's a wonderful feeling. And playing around people around you like that.

Q. Ainias, could you sense Arkansas' frustration when No. 22 (Brad Spence) wouldn't even let go of your legs on that last punt return? You were trying to get up, and he just wouldn't let go?

WR AINIAS SMITH: No, I felt it, you know what I'm saying. I was very confused on why he wasn't trying to let me get lit, you know what I'm saying. I was definitely trying to get turned. But he wasn't letting me. So I'm like, who is this yanking on my leg? But no, I seen that it was him, and I was like, oh, yeah, these boys mad. And I got up, and I was like, yeah, I know. Yeah, I know. Yeah, I know.

Q. Ainias, I've got a question for and you then I've got another one for Edgerrin. Ainias, on the start of this team and SEC play, first time you guys have been 2nd-0 under Jimbo [Fisher] to start off conference play.

WR AINIAS SMITH: Man, that's a crazy stat, you know what I'm saying. Really just give it up to the coaches, the coaching staff. Give it up to our teammates, you know what I'm saying. We've been going hard each and every week. And I'm just proud of where this team is going. I'm proud of, you know, how we've been practicing. And I'm just like, the sky's the limit, you know what I'm saying. We got to keep going. This is just another steppingstone that we accomplished. We got a long season. We have to keep going.

Q. Edgerrin, for you, something I saw did have you guys with seven sacks but had you with eight. My question to you is it easier to maybe track down K.J. [Jefferson] or to actually hunt a real hog?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: No. I like to be good at both. And that's just the way it is.

Q. When you have plays like that fourth and 1 at the end of the first half or short-yard situation, you're able to make a big impact and set the offense up to score, what does it do for you guys to be able to play that kind of complimentary football?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: Momentum. I feel like football is 90% momentum. Having that energy, that even transferred to offense, and they went down and scored. And all that just keeps stacking. We just go from there.

Q. What have you seen from Le'Veon [Moss] these last two weeks? He's been getting a lot more of the ball, and he's been doing a lot. What have you seen from him in practice, and how that's showed out on the field?

WR AINIAS SMITH: Just fighting through adversity. In practice, he's been a little banged up. And every time, right before a game, he seems to get in that mode, you know what I'm saying. And today, came out and balled out for us, you know what I'm saying. Balled out for himself. Balled out for his teammates, his family. And I feel like if he keeps going like this, you know what I'm saying, we're going to special, really special.

Q. Edgerrin, you know, I know y'all talked about the Pick 6, but for you seeing Chris [Russell], in general, I know he had a big last week. Had a big game, I think, in this game last year as well. What have you seen from him the last few weeks? Seems like lately he's in a position to make lot of big plays?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: You know, Chris [Russell], he's a hard-working guy. And all this stuff is going to pay off for him. Like I said earlier, just seeing my guys around making a plays, it's a wonderful feeling for me. Touching my heart. And I love how we're all together making plays. And everybody eating.

Q. Edgerrin [Cooper], can you pinpoint anything that made y'all play a lot better against K.J. [Jefferson] and Rocket (Raheim) Sanders this year compared to maybe a couple years past? Anything that really boosted y'all today?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: Just the mentality. I feel like preparation and practice. All these years I've been at Texas A&M compared this the year, the coaches, all of us together, we really wanted to dominate anybody that steps in front of us. And that's what I like. And it's finally coming up and we just got to take it week by week.

Q. Edgerrin [Cooper], sorry to keep harping on it, but do you go hog hunting throughout the football or is that special to this week?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: No, that was just a special this week. No. Try to stay focused and handle my business first. I felt like this week, I needed to take time off and do what I needed to do and posted what I posted after the game.

Q. Is bagging one usually a good omen for you?

LB EDGERRIN COOPER: Yeah. And it was a good-sized one. So it made everything better.

Q. Back-to-back weeks now, Le'Veon [Moss] is taking control of the backfield. Where have you noticed him in practice truly develop that mean bully streak to where he's able to throw his weight forward? And how sustainable do you think this offense can be with a great rushing attack?

WR AINIAS SMITH: Man, that kid is special, you know what I'm saying. I feel like all three backs are special, though, not even just Lev (Le'Veon Moss). In practice, we've been harping on finishing plays and finishing drives, and not letting up right before you get to the end zone or whatever, run all the way through end zone. And I feel like that right there in practice, just the mentality that we have has really helped us in the games and made sure to just -- let's finish, you know what I'm saying, let's dominate. Just like [Edgerrin] Cooper's saying.

Thank y'all. God bless. Gig 'em.