Learned, Loved, Loathed: Arkansas 20, Texas A&M 10
The Aggies were overrated.
That was made abundantly clear in No. 7 Texas A&M’s 20-10 college football loss to No. 16 Arkansas on Saturday.
Overreaction to one loss can be foolish, especially when losing to a ranked opponent.
However, A&M showed very few qualities of a top-flight football team in its dismal showing. Red flags were raised amid a shower of yellow flags.
Whether the Aggies can bounce back is uncertain. But certainly, there were hard lessons learned in defeat.
What I learned
The offense is in crisis. The Aggies’ 10-point output against Colorado was explained as backup quarterback Zach Calzada being unprepared to replace injured Haynes King. But A&M has now been held to 10 points by the two Power 5 teams they’ve faced. Seven of the remaining eight opponents are Power 5 teams. Yikes. Injuries are obviously part of the problem, but Calzada appears indecisive. The offensive line is consistently beaten. Receivers can’t get open. Defenses are over-playing the run daring the Aggies to throw deep. They don’t.
The defense cannot carry the team. The return of the Wrecking Crew narrative should’ve ended when Arkansas scored 17 points on its first three series. The defense is good — really good — but it’s not dominant enough to make up for A&M’s offensive limitations. Holding Arkansas to 20 points was an impressive feat, but the Aggies continue to give up too many big plays.
Myles Jones wasn’t ready to return. The super-senior cornerback has been sidelined most of the season by a foot injury. He was back in the starting lineup, but perhaps prematurely. Jones was beaten by Arkansas’ Treylon Burks for an 85-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter. He immediately exited the game. Burks could be an NFL first-round draft choice. He’ll beat a lot of cornerbacks in one-on-one coverage, but Jones’ absence afterward indicates he’s not yet at full strength.
What I loved
Isaiah Spiller’s 67-yard touchdown burst was a thing of beauty. He’s been one of the few — if not the only — bright spots in the offense. He saved the game against Colorado the Aggies with big catches. His big run provided at least a chance for a rally.
The defense bounced back from its slow start and gave up just three points over the last 44 minutes of the game. That allowed the Aggies to at least stay in contention.
Nik Constantinou continues to punt at an All-American level. He averaged 55.8 yards on eight punts. More importantly, five of his kicks were downed inside the Arkansas 20-yard line.
What I loathed
A&M’s reluctance to challenge opponents deep is alarming. While Arkansas threw long to Burks for a touchdown, A&M appears not even to try. Coach Jimbo Fisher said about a half dozen deep passes were called, but the shots were not taken. The majority of A&M’s passes were thrown underneath the coverage. Seven of Calzada’s passes gained 5 yards or less. Three resulted in negative yardage. A&M threw short so often that two pass interference penalties against Arkansas netted the Aggies 2 and 3 yards. Calzada’s interception was on another check-down pass in which he hit center Bryce Foster’s helmet with the throw.
Isaiah Spiller’s 67-yard touchdown run brought the Aggies within 17-10 with 7:51 remaining in the third quarter. Spiller touched the football once on A&M’s remaining 14 plays (excluding punts). He lost 2 yards on yet another pass under the coverage.
The Aggies committed 11 penalties. That’s alarming no matter the situation, but A&M cannot afford to sacrifice yardage with self-inflicted wounds. False starts put A&M behind schedule. Holding penalties and an ineligible receiver downfield call nullified positive plays. A holding penalty on a punt backed the Aggies up to their 10-yard line. They struggle to recover from their mistakes.