LIKE IT IS

Hold on there: Flags hurt, didn't beat Hogs

Arkansas linemen Dan Skipper (70), Frank Ragnow (72) and Mitch Smothers (65) line up during a game against Texas A&M on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Darn those refs.

Blind as bats in the sunshine.

Must have been from Texas, probably Texas A&M graduates.

They were out to hurt the Arkansas Razorbacks by throwing those blasted yellow flags anytime they could to help the Texas A&M Aggies.

OK, wait a minute. Deep breaths. All of the above are convenient excuses for what happened last Saturday at AT&T Stadium.

There might have been a couple of questionable calls, but they didn't determine the final score. The Aggies and the Razorbacks did that.

Yes, the Hogs were called for 11 penalties that went for 93 precious yards, and the Aggies were flagged 7 times for 52 yards.

The majority of the penalties were on the Razorbacks' offense.

It is never a good thing to be first and 30 because of back-to-back holding calls, and the Hogs ended up going for it on fourth and 7, which means had the Razorbacks been successful on the same plays without holding calls, they would have had a first and 10 at the A&M 16.

That's why head Hog Brett Bielema didn't go for the dreaded SEC written reprimand and rip the officials, at least until Monday.

On Saturday, he said the SEC has college football's best officials.

Only one call against the Hogs defense aided and abetted an Aggies touchdown, and that was probably going to happen anyway since they had first and goal at the 10. The pass interference penalty moved them to the 2 and allowed them to score sooner.

Granted, the Hogs were playing against a vastly improved Texas A&M defense. Defensive coordinator John Chavez has worked his magic once again.

The Aggies are big and strong. They are fast and physical.

A couple of holding calls against the Hogs should have been expected, but not three on one drive, which effectively killed what had the makings of a scoring drive.

The Razorbacks played the Aggies off their feet for the second consecutive season and came up short in overtime.

In fact, wasn't A&M's touchdown pass to win it in overtime the same exact play to the same exact spot in the end zone as the year before?

No doubt the Razorbacks were good enough to win.

No doubt the season that everyone waited nine months for is not over.

No doubt the Hogs have painted themselves in a corner as far as bowls go, but they moved the ball through the air and on the ground.

Bielema said last week they were striving for more offensive balance and they got it. Brandon Allen passed for 225 yards, and there were 232 yards rushing, led by Alex Collins' 151.

Collins had 26 carries and was not tackled for a loss.

There were 17 consecutive runs without a pass in the fourth quarter, and that allowed the Aggies to crowd the box. There were a couple of passes called but Allen ended up scrambling.

The fourth-quarter results have a lot of arm chair quarterbacks questioning the decision to not have two-a-days in August, that maybe the Razorbacks are missing a little conditioning.

Maybe, but the Aggies, who came into Saturday averaging five sacks per game, worked their tails off to get two.

This is one that got away, like last season, but it wasn't because of the guys in striped shirts.

Replays showed a couple of penalties for late hits might have been mistakes, but neither resulted in points.

Replays showed the holding and false starts.

Replays showed a game, just like last season, that should have been won but was lost in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The Razorbacks are improving, but in the SEC slow starts are usually costly.

Sports on 09/29/2015