Records: A&M is 2-1; Arkansas is 1-1
Kickoff: 11 a.m.TV: ESPN
Line: Texas A&M -2
Weather:
High of 94. 10-percent chance of precipitation. Southeast wind at 11
MPH, but a cool 72 degrees inside AT&T Stadium.
Wild hogs are known to eat almost anything, reproduce rapidly and become aggressive when threatened. They’re also known to allow big pass plays when facing Texas A&M in football games at AT&T Stadium.
In
three games played in Arlington, coach Bret Bielema’s Arkansas
Razorbacks have typically been roasted by A&M’s passing game. A&M
has passed for a combined 969 in those three games with the Hogs. That
includes 13 completions that covered between 20 and 92 yards.
Ed
Pope had catches of 86 and 50 yards against Arkansas. Ricky Seals-Jones
had a 47-yard reception. Josh Reynolds was especially effective. He
caught 11 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns — catches of 59 and 92
yards — against the Hogs.
Of course, none of them remain on the A&M roster. However,
Christian Kirk does. He’s had good success against Arkansas, too. He’s
caught 11 passes for 198 yards, including touchdown plays that covered
44, 20 and (how did this get in here?) nine yards.
There is no question big plays can be made against the Arkansas pass defense, but can A&M make them?
John Gutierrez-USA TODAY Sports
Aggie wide receiver Christian Kirk has had success against the Razorbacks in the past. Will another A&M receiver step up to help him?
Kirk, A&M’s primary big-play receiving threat, hasn’t been a threat thus far. He’s caught just 14 passes for 141 yards through three games. Only one reception gained at least 20 yards. Defenses
have schemed to neutralize him. Freshman quarterback Kellen Mond may
struggle to find him. Complimentary receivers haven’t emerged to
take pressure off him yet.
“You've had a couple different schemes
that have doubled Christian Kirk. They bracket him,” A&M coach Kevin
Sumlin said. “We've seen that. The misnomer is that you have to have a
receiver take his place because he's being doubled. We've been
able to take advantage of that in the running game because he's drawing
attention. You've seen us get him the ball early in games. They adjust.
The defensive shifts he causes have created other opportunities for us.”
A&M
has taken advantage of its running opportunities. The Aggies average
252 rushing yards. Four players — Trayveon Williams, Keith Ford, Kendall
Bussey and Jacob Kibodi — have already rushed for at least 97 yards in a
game. That bodes well for facing Arkansas, which gave up 195 rushing yards in a 28-7 loss to TCU.
Still, Kirk’s value is greater than just as a decoy.
True,
Arkansas is ranked 13th in pass defense. That likely has more to do
with opponents choosing to run. Hill only passed for 166 yards, but
completed 21-of-31 attempts.
“Christian gets a lot of attention …
double teams and everything else,” senior receiver Damion Ratley said.
“In order to free him up, we’ve go too run the ball. In order to free him
up I’ve got to catch the ball. Jhamon (Ausbon) has got to catch the
ball. We’ve got to take the attention off him.”
Or, perhaps another receiver can emerge as a second big-play threat to roast the Hogs like Reynolds did.
“I’m
hoping I can be (that threat),” Ratley said. “I hope somebody makes big
plays. It doesn't matter if its me, Kirk, Jhamon or Aaron (Hansford).
If the ball’s in the air, hopefully somebody can make that play.”
Seemingly, someone always does against Arkansas.