The Southwest Classic Returns to Fayetteville
And a little reminiscing about one of the craziest games I've seen live.
Arkansas and Texas A&M’s seasons have gone completely differently.
For the Razorbacks, everything went off the rails almost immediately after back-to-back close losses to Ole Miss and Memphis. That was followed by a total meltdown against Notre Dame, a loss so severe that the head coach was fired. To make matters even more complicated, the interim coach is the disgraced former head coach who was unceremoniously dismissed 13 years ago and is now once again angling for the full-time job. Needless to say, things in Fayetteville are messy right now.
In College Station, it’s all sunshine and roses. Mike Elko has led the Aggies to their first 6-0 start since 2016 and has them gearing up to potentially make the school’s first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. Every facet of the team is firing on all cylinders, as the offense can be potent with awesome wide receivers and a deep running back room, and the defense has playmakers all over the field. Compared to what’s going on in Arkansas, the situation at Texas A&M is literal heaven.
But when these two teams play each other, no matter the location, whatever has previously happened that season rarely matters. This is always a game that features crazy twists and turns that don’t show up when analyzing the game on paper. If there’s one thing for certain about this year’s game, it’s that whatever you think is going to happen won’t.
That was certainly the case in 2022 when I witnessed one of the craziest games I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes. The day was September 24, and both the Razorbacks (3-0) and the Aggies (2-1) entered the game ranked. Both had somewhat turbulent starts to their seasons, as Arkansas had to fight hard to beat Missouri State (who was coached by their now-interim head man Bobby Petrino at the time), and Texas A&M had lost to Appalachian State at home in Week 2. Regardless, both schools’ goals were in front of them, and the matchup was one of the most anticipated in a long time.
Then the game started, and it was clear that anything and everything was on the table. Down starting quarterback Haynes King—now at Georgia Tech—A&M had to rely on backup Max Johnson—now at North Carolina—to lead the offense. At first, the Aggies struggled, as they allowed Arkansas to go up 14-0 after KJ Jefferson threw two touchdown passes to Ketron Jackson and Warren Thompson.
It wasn’t until the second quarter that Texas A&M found the scoreboard on a strange 10-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to former top recruit Evan Stewart.
If you thought that was strange, then what followed was even more bizarre. Arkansas got the ball back and methodically drove down the field, utilizing Jefferson’s mobility in order to confuse the Aggies’ defense. The 12-play drive arrived all the way at the A&M 3-yard line when Jefferson was overcome with the weirdest desire: he wanted to dive all the way into the end zone. If you’re reading that and saying, “That’s obviously not going to work,” then you’d be right. Just watch the disaster that unfolded next:
I’ve never been more dumbfounded by a college football play in my entire life. I remember sitting there in the stadium, surrounded by thousands of other Razorbacks, speechless. It’s been three years, and I’m still not sure what the reason for the dive was or how something like that could even be possible at this level of football. But it happened, and it’s still something that keeps me up at night.
Texas A&M ended up missing the extra point, which was significant, as even though the Arkansas offense stalled out, allowing the Aggies to take a 23-14 lead into the fourth quarter, it still opened the door for a potential comeback. And man, did Arkansas almost do it.
Jefferson avenged himself with 10:05 to go in the final frame with a beautiful scramble for a touchdown to make it 23-21. After Texas A&M missed a 53-yard field goal, the Hogs were in prime position to kick a game-winning field goal of their own. They got all the way down to the 24-yard line of the Aggies and sent out Cam Little to try and give them the lead with 1:30 minutes left. Little, I might add, is currently kicking in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars and hit a 70-yard field goal in this year’s preseason. But this was 2022, and those apparent kicking superpowers had yet to arrive on his foot.
Little missed. Well, he doinked it actually. Well, he Oink-Doinked it, to be more precise.
Texas A&M kneeled out the clock and won the game. It hasn’t lost against Arkansas since.
After the game, my now-wife, her best friend, and I were heckled by Texas A&M fans in the parking lot. One lady, who I believe was heavily intoxicated but have no way of confirming (who am I, the police?), sat on the hood of our car to block us from moving while her friend tried to back out of a parking spot. It was a weird day.
While Arkansas leads the all-time series 42-36-3, Texas A&M has claimed victory in 12 of the last 13 matchups. That streak dates all the way back to when Petrino was last the head coach in Fayetteville. With Petrino at the helm, the Hogs were 3-0 against the Aggies.
Can Petrino help alleviate the pain of Arkansas fans and bring the trophy back to Fayetteville? Perhaps, but it’ll take an otherworldly effort from a team that hasn’t shown the ability to slay a dragon like this in a very long time. Remember: Texas A&M beat Notre Dame in South Bend, and that same Fighting Irish squad went down to Fayetteville the next week and splattered Arkansas against a wall like a little bug. It’s not going to be easy.
But this is the Southwest Classic, and like I said at the top, this game attracts chaos and craziness like no other. Arkansas was bad last year and almost brought down the Aggies in Arlington. The same could be said about 2017, when the Hogs went 4-8 and took Texas A&M to double overtime, only to lose 50-43. Or how about 2019, a year where the Razorbacks won two stinkin’ games and still came within a touchdown of beating the hated team from College Station? I’m just saying that it’s not out of the realm of possibility here that something insane happens on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CT.
That being said, this year’s Aggies are not last year’s Aggies. This is a team that boasts one of the best offensive lines in the country, one of the best wide receiving duos in the country with KC Concepcion and Mario Craver, one of the best running back rooms in the country (Le’Veon Moss will be out, though), one of the most athletic defensive lines in the country, and, arguably most importantly, one of the most competent coaching staffs in the country. None of that can be said about the Arkansas Razorbacks, which definitively gives the edge to the Aggies.
Yet, could you imagine if the good ole Hogs pulled this one off? What a magical day in Fayetteville that would be.
Love the entertaining descriptions! Fun writing style.