Yes, Texas A&M’s defense has struggled mightily in its first four games.
It has struggled consistently against the run and the pass.
Does that give the Arkansas Razorbacks a shot at beating the Aggies on Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium?
Yes, a long shot, and even Las Vegas has had trouble making a line on this game. The line that opened with A&M minus three was a mistake and the game was quickly taken off the board.
If the Razorbacks could grind every possession into six or seven minutes and a score, the odds would get a little better because that’s the only way they can keep Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel off the field and from doing damage.
Forget the autograph fiasco, crashing a frat party at Texas, oversleeping at the Manning Passing Academy and any other scrape Manziel had in the off season, because since the start of football season he has again become Johnny Football.
No one, not even the NCAA, can stop him for a whole game.
This is the guy who burned Alabama for 465 yards in the air and five touchdowns. He also ran for 98 yards on 14 carries.
That was against Alabama, the two-time defending national champion, where they haven’t rebuilt in six years. They just say “next” and bring in another four-star or five-star player.
His total of 563 yards broke the SEC record for total yards in a game, which he set last year against the Razorbacks with 557.
He will try to break it again this Saturday against a defense that made Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova look like a second-team All-American (behind Manziel, of course).
There is nothing typical or ordinary about Manziel’s ability to play quarterback. He’s a magician.
He didn’t just win the Heisman Trophy last season. He won the Manning Award, the Davey O’Brien Award and was named College Player of the Year by The Associated Press and The Sporting News.
He was a redshirt freshman.
Nine times he was named the SEC’s freshman of the week.
His 5,116 yards of total offense set another SEC record, smashing former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton’s mark by 789 yards.
Gee, that’s almost enough to make one understand how a 19-year-old with all that hardware might have gotten a little egotistical.
This year, after being mandated by the NCAA to sit out a half against Rice in the season opener, he’s picked up where he left off.
Manziel has completed 77 of 110 passes for 1,228 yards and 12 touchdowns. While working on being more of a pocket passer, he’s rushed for 255 yards and three touchdowns.
The next time someone gets a hard tackle on him might be the first time. He’s shiftier than a Rolex salesman at Times Square in New York.
Maybe the Hogs will put in a new blitz package this week. Maybe they have some trickery up their sleeves. Either way, it will still come down to the Hogs offense matching end zone visits.
The kid has a fighter pilot’s mentality. His thought process on the field is so fast that Apple would probably like to see inside his brain. He’s thrown touchdown passes to nine different receivers. Four guys have caught at least 10 passes, but 18 different receivers have caught at least one pass.
Arkansas is going to have to find a way to outscore Manziel and the Aggies.
Keeping him on the sideline seems like a good way to start. Sacking him a few times might help, too.
In the sense of fairness, Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long sent out an email Wednesday that said there would be no changes in press box policy at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
It was announced Monday that the press box would close three hours after each game, but apparently that idea wasn’t taken far enough up the chain of command.
Sports, Pages 17 on 09/26/2013