Tom Hart is impressed with A&M's ability to win games in different ways

Key notes from Tom Hart interview

• My son went to church youth group last night, and he came back all excited. He told me they smashed pumpkins. He literally smashed pumpkins. I said, "Like the band." He stopped dead in his tracks and had no idea what I was talking about.
   
• I think Kentucky is ninth in the country in takeaways. They've always had a good defense since Mark Stoops has been there. Their defensive line is probably average but cumulative standards. Their secondary has been really good, but this game is more about Tennessee's disaster of an offense. Jarrett Guarantano is like an EKG: He's up, and he's down. Jeremy Pruitt told me before that they needed to avoid the catastrophe plays. You can't win when you throw back-to-back pick-sixes. They benched Guarantano, and the backup threw one pass, which was intercepted. I thought it couldn't get worse, but then I watched the Ole Miss game and saw Matt Corral throw six interceptions.
   
• It's possible that A&M could face different quarterbacks in the Tennessee and Auburn games. With these struggling quarterbacks: You don't have to be faster than the bear. You have to be faster than your friend. Guarantano is better than the backups. They don't have much of a choice at quarterback. They haven't been able to get real reps for the third and fourth-team guys. They've stuck with two quarterbacks, developed one. I don't know what Auburn does with Bo Nix. The problem with them is equally as much structural with the offense as it is with Nix. The mistakes they're making are largely from a personnel issue.
   
• Matt Corral threw six interceptions, and Lane Kiffin says he doesn't believe in benching quarterbacks. John Rhys Plumlee knows that. I don't expect him to make a change in the middle of a game or a run of games. It would probably have to be after a bye week.
   
• I haven't done a deep dive into the video of A&M's win, but I love that Jimbo has shown he can win in a shootout and win by grinding it out. On the side, what's going on with Mike Leach's offense? Mississippi State's offensive line is so bad that you can rush three and still get to the quarterback. The Aggies had six sacks. Dropping eight or seven into coverage, it'll negate what their offense could theoretically do to you. They have no chance against you if you get pressure with three.
   
• I was impressed with A&M's running game. Their offensive line can dominate you. I loved that they controlled the ball and ran the clock. It was also good to see them answer scores.
   
• I think that Arkansas has improved for two reasons. Feleipe Franks gives them stability at the quarterback position. Barry Odom is the assistant coach of the year, in my opinion. He's done a fantastic job. With him getting another week, Odom has to figure out which A&M team they'll be going up against. Arkansas is banged up. Bumper Pool has been out. Arkansas has done all of this with a depleted offensive line and a depleted linebacking corps. I think A&M would prefer a high-scoring game in this one. It'll be interesting to see how healthy the Hogs are in two weeks.
   
• I would say that A&M should be able to get pressure on Franks. If you can get four sacks against Arkansas, you'll hurry him up. He has a big arm, but he's not super athletic in the pocket. He's going to take shots, so you could take advantage of some jump balls. I also do not think Arkansas has the depth to go up against a punishing rushing attack.