Football Game Notes: Arkansas

Saturday, October 18

Fayetteville, Ark.

2:30 PM

Texas A&M

Arkansas

Oct 13, 2025 | Football

Game Notes (PDF)Press Conference Video/Quotes

By: Brad Marquardt, Assistant AD/Athletics Communications

FAYETTEVILLE – No. 4 Texas A&M makes its first trip to Arkansas in more than a decade when the Aggies face a road challenge from the Arkansas Razorbacks at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

SETTING THE SCENE:
Texas A&M (6-0 overall, 3-0 SEC) at Arkansas (2-4, 0-2)
2:30 p.m. CT | Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025
Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Ark.

Rankings
Arkansas: NR (AP) | NR (Coaches)
Texas A&M: No. 4 (AP) | No. 4 (Coaches)

Television
ESPN (National)

Mark Jones, Play-by-Play
Roddy Jones, Analyst
Quint Kessenich, Sideline

Radio

SiriusXM
Channel 108 or 191 (Texas A&M Network call)

Texas A&M Radio Network (Regional)
The Texas A&M Radio Network provides coverage via nearly 60 stations across the state of Texas. For a complete list of affiliates, please go to 12thMan.com.

Andrew Monaco, play-by-play
Dave Elmendorf, analyst
Will Johnson, sideline

Texas A&M Spanish Broadcast (Regional)
Texas A&M's Spanish broadcast is streamed on RadioAggieland.com and airs in the Bryan-College Station area on La Jefa 102.7 FM, as well as in Monterrey, Mexico on Radio Nuevo Leon.

Pedro Luna, play-by-play
Michael Gonzalez, analyst

NEED-TO-KNOWS
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: After a rare three-game home stand to start SEC play, the Aggies hit the road to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks for the first time since traveling to Notre Dame in week two of the season.
Texas A&M's second road trip of the season will be the team's first visit to Fayetteville since 2013, when Johnny Manziel led the Aggies to a 45-33 triumph.
ABOUT THE START: With the 34-17 win over Florida, the Aggies improved to 6-0, matching the team's best overall start since 2016.
The Maroon & White are 3-0 in conference play for the second consecutive year and third time since joining the SEC in 2012. Last season, the Aggies won their first five SEC contests.
WITH A WIN: Texas A&M seeks to improve to 7-0 for the first time since 1994 when the team won its first seven games on its way to an undefeated 10-0-1 season.
MOVING ON UP: Texas A&M jumped to an Mike Elko era-high No. 4 in this week's edition of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. It's the highest ranking for the Aggies since ending the 2020 season at No. 4 after the Orange Bowl win over North Carolina.
It's the highest in-season AP ranking for the Aggies since R.C. Slocum's 1995 squad spent the first five weeks of the season at No. 3.
COMPLEMENTARY FOOTBALL: Texas A&M is one of six FBS teams nationally ranked in the top 25 in total offense and total defense. Adding in punt and kickoff return average for the special teams component of complementary football, Texas A&M and Indiana are the only programs ranked in the top 25 in all four categories.
THIRD DOWN SHUTDOWN: SEC opponents Auburn, Mississippi State and Florida combined to convert just 2-of-33 third-down tries, for a mere .060 third-down percentage.
The Aggies are the national leaders in third-down defense, limiting opponents to a .208 success rate (16-of-77 attempts).
DEFENSE HITTING STRIDE: The Texas A&M defense has allowed just four touchdowns and a league-low 238.3 total yards in SEC play. The Aggies are giving up a stingy 5.4 yards per offensive play and just 2.6 yards per rush in three conference contests.
ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD: On 177 rushes by running backs, Texas A&M has lost just 8 yards. Leading the charge are Le'Veon Moss with just a single lost yard on 70 carries and Rueben Owens II with 4 lost yards on 56 attempts.
Last week against Florida, a team which entered the game averaging 4.8 tackles for loss per contest, the Aggies did not suffer a negative yardage play on 68 offensive snaps.
EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE: Texas A&M is tied for No. 11 nationally in generating 20-plus-yard rush or pass plays with an average of 6.2 per game. The Aggies have produced 25 passing "explosives" and 12 rushing.
Adding in returns, Texas A&M has 46 gains of 20-plus-yards in six games (7.7) after logging just 62 in 13 games in 2024 (4.8).
ELITE OFFENSE: The Aggies are one of just five FBS teams with an offense that ranks in the top 40 in total yards, passing efficiency, rushing, scoring and time of possession.

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH

Taurean York needs five tackles to reach 200 for his career.
Cashius Howell needs two sacks to become the first Aggie to reach double digits in a season since 2017 (Landis Durham, 10.5).
Randy Bond needs three field goals to become the second player in school history to reach the 70-field goal plateau (Seth Small, 71 from 2018-21).
Marcel Reed needs 272 passing yards to reach 4,000 and his next touchdown will be the 40th of his career.

TRENDS & NOTABLES

Texas A&M logged its fifth-straight game with 400-plus yards of total offense vs. Florida last Saturday, gaining 417 yards on 68 plays (6.1 average) against a team that was giving up just 295.6 yards entering the contest. The Aggies were strong on the ground, rushing for 183 yards on 42 carries (4.4 yards per rush).
The Aggies' 34 points were the most scored on the Gators' defense this season.
The Aggies rank in the top 10 nationally in sacks (3.5 per game) and tackles for losses (7.8). The defense has logged at least 6.0 TFLs in every game. Since only logging a single sack in its season opener vs. UTSA, Texas A&M has 20.0 in the past five contests (4.0)
Texas A&M has held SEC opponents to less than 100 rushing yards in three-straight games for the first time since 2021.
Texas A&M's first three opponents each scored at least three touchdowns (total of 10), but the last three opponents (all SEC foes) have managed just a total of four touchdowns.
Senior DE Cashius Howell is tied for third nationally in QB sacks (1.3 per game) and tenth in tackles for loss (1.5) and leads the SEC in both categories.
Junior LB Daymion Sanford has averaged 6.5 tackles in his last four games since coming into the game against Notre Dame in relief of injured starter Scooby Williams. In that span, Sanford has logged at least 0.5 tackle for loss in every game for a total of 5.5 TFLs, including 2.5 sacks. He also turned in his first career interception against Mississippi State.
Junior LB Taurean York has been on a defensive tear with 12 solo stops among his 22 tackles the past three games, and has added a sack, a fumble recovery, three QB hurries and one pass breakup.
Texas A&M's receiving crew averages 15.0 yards per catch, which ranks seventh nationally (second in the SEC). Leading the way are the WR tandem of Mario Craver and KC Concepcion, who both average 16.0-plus yards per catch.
Craver and Concepcion have combined for 60 catches with 45 of the total receptions producing a "money play," which is defined as a rush or catch that results in a first down or touchdown. Concepcion leads the team with 24 money plays on 28 receptions.
Craver has had at least one catch of 40-plus yards in four-of-six games, including his last two.
RBs Le'Veon Moss and Rueben Owens II also churn out the money plays with 38 of their 126 combined carries resulting in a first down or touchdown.
Owens II's workload has increased dramatically over the past two games with a combined 38 carries for 193 rushing yards, including a career-best game of 21 rushes for 142 yards vs. Mississippi State (10/4).
True freshman RB Jamarian Morrow has produced a 20-yard gain by rush or catch in three games this season, including the last two. Against Florida, Morrow reeled in a 22-yard touchdown catch for his first career score.
Texas A&M has been elite in the return game in 2025, ranking in the top 20 in kick returns (No. 16/27.4 average) and punt returns (No. 13/16.1 average).
The Aggies have converted 16-of-32 of their third-down tries over the past two games.
Graduate student DE Dayon Hayes was named SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week for his strong performance in the No. 4 Aggies' 34-17 win over Florida. Hayes' fourth-quarter strip sack and fumble recovery ended any hopes of a Gator rally. According to Pro Football Focus, Hayes had the team's top defensive grade at 91.0, and he also logged the top grade on pass rush snaps at 92.3.
After holding its last three opponents to a combined 2-of-33 in third-down situations, Texas A&M has vaulted to No. 1 nationally.
Texas A&M is one of just two schools with players ranked in the top 15 in punt and kickoff return average. Concepcion ranks No. 10 in punt returns at 16.1, while sophomore WR/RS Terry Bussey's 27.1 kick return average ranks No. 13.
After controlling the ball with at least 33:40 time of possession for the past three games, the Aggies have climbed to No. 23 nationally at 32:15 per game.