FAYETTEVILLE -- Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher, heading into his second game against the University of Arkansas as a head coach, touted Coach Chad Morris and the Razorbacks' strengths this week, while expressing surprise the Aggies were 231/2-point favorites for Saturday's 11 a.m. game.
"Arkansas is a very good football team, very balanced," Fisher said on Wednesday's SEC teleconference. "Chad always does a tremendous job on offense with eye violations and tricks and screens, and just does an outstanding job.
"John Chavis has been around this business a long, long time and this guy has had as much success as anybody as a defensive coordinator."
Told that his team was a three-touchdown favorite, Fisher expressed surprise and said he doesn't see that kind of discrepancy between the teams on film.
Fisher also praised quarterback Nick Starkel, who transferred out of his program last winter, tight end Cheyenne O'Grady, and young Arkansas receivers like Treylon Burks and Trey Knox.
"Athletic, big, long and explosive, and really good players," Fisher said to describe them. "They really are. You can see the talent level they have and the skill level those guys have for sure."
Legendary 'Dirt'
Former Arkansas linebacker Dennis "Dirt" Winston, a member of the UA All-Century Team, will be recognized as a member of the 2019 SEC Football Legends class this December.
Winston, a native of Forrest City, posted more than 200 tackles while playing for the Razorbacks from 1973-76. He had a team-high 97 tackles in 1974 and helped the 1975 team reach the Cotton Bowl, where the Razorbacks downed Georgia 31-10. He was named national defensive player of the week by Sports Illustrated for a 19-tackle performance in a 22-7 victory over No. 5 USC in 1974. Winston was selected to the UA All-Century Team in 1994.
A fifth-round NFL Draft pick by Pittsburgh in 1977, Winston played 11 seasons for the Steelers, where he played on two Super Bowl champion teams, and the New Orleans Saints.
Winston, 63, is a member of the UA Sports Hall of Honor, the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame.
He and the other 2019 SEC Legends will be honored during the SEC football weekend of champions on Dec. 6-7 in Atlanta.
Red zone
The Razorbacks need to pick up their production in the red zone to start winning tight games.
Arkansas is tied for 115th in the nation with Kentucky and UCLA by scoring on 11 of 16 possessions (68.8%) after driving inside the 20-yard line of its opponents. Last week, the Razorbacks were stopped on downs at the San Jose State 6-yard line, and quarterback Nick Starkel threw an interception from the Spartans' 8-yard line to dent their red-zone scoring success.
The Razorbacks' touchdown rate of 43.75% after driving into the red zone is last in the SEC and 119th in the nation.
Open dates
Some of the most stunning upsets suffered by the Razorbacks in recent seasons have a common thread about them: Open dates by their opponents.
San Jose State had a rare early open date Sept. 14 before stunning the Razorbacks 31-24 last week, and Coach Brent Brennan said the Spartans took full advantage of the extra practices for the Hogs.
It showed in the game with well-executed "special" plays, as the Spartans pulled off a double-reverse, got a pass interference call on a flea-flicker and completed a wide-receiver pass, which was called back due to an illegal formation.
In recent seasons, other Arkansas visitors have used open dates to propel them to victories. Louisiana-Monroe did not play on the opening weekend of 2012 before stunning the No. 8 Razorbacks 34-31 in overtime in Little Rock.
Toledo did not play on the season-opening Saturday before shocking the Hogs 16-12 on Sept. 12, 2015, also in Little Rock.
Toledo, Louisiana-Monroe and San Jose State were all 20-point underdogs or more against Arkansas.
Takeaway tally
Arkansas is tied for 56th with a break-even turnover margin on the season, while Texas A&M is tied for 82nd with a minus-1 margin.
The Razorbacks have gained 4 fumble recoveries and 4 interceptions and have thrown 6 interceptions, including five last week by Nick Starkel, and lost 2 fumbles.
Texas A&M posted four takeaways in its season-opening 41-7 victory over Texas State. Since then, the Aggies have two takeaways in the last three games, an interception by cornerback Roney Elam in a 24-10 loss at No. 1 Clemson, and a fumble recovery by cornerback Charles Oliver in a 62-3 victory over Lamar. Texas A&M did not have a takeaway in last week's 28-20 loss to No. 8 Auburn.
Fantastic fourth
Texas A&M is one of 14 teams in the country perfect on fourth-down conversions. The Aggies have gone 4 for 4 on fourth downs, tied with Fresno State and Wisconsin with that number of attempts. Only Coastal Carolina (8 of 8) and Alabama (6 of 6) have been perfect on more fourth-down tries.
By contrast, Arkansas has gone 3 of 7 (42.9%) on fourth-down plays, tied for 84th nationally. The Razorbacks failed on two fourth-and-short run plays last week but converted another on a 15-yard pitch to Devwah Whaley.
The Aggies are one of only nine FBS teams that have not allowed a fourth-down conversion against them. However, they are the only team in the country that has not defended against a fourth-down play this season.
Sad second
The Razorbacks have been outscored in only one quarter this season, but there's a big discrepancy in that quarter. Opponents have a 33-6 scoring advantage in the second quarter, led by 17 points by San Jose State last week and 10 points by Colorado State the week before.
Arkansas has outscored its four opponents 41-31 in the first quarter and 52-28 in the fourth quarter. Third-quarter scoring is even at 17-17.
Sack central
Texas A&M has posted 11 sacks in its last two games against the Razorbacks, a 50-43 victory in overtime in 2017 and a 24-17 victory last year.
With John Chavis as defensive coordinator in 2017, the Aggies sacked Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen six times. Last year, the Aggies sacked Ty Storey five times.
Extra points
• The Aggies have a current 7-game winning streak, their longest in the series, while Arkansas had a 9-game winning streak from 1958 through 1966, Coach Frank Broyles' first nine games in the series.
• Texas A&M is celebrating its 125th year of football this season and will have various events connected to that milestone.
• Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond has 39 career touchdown passes and needs one more to become the eighth Aggie to throw for 40.
Sports on 09/27/2019