ARLINGTON, Texas — Arkansas' offense, led by backup quarterback Ben Hicks in the final two-plus quarters, made a number of key plays to give itself a chance to snap a seven-year losing streak to Texas A&M and move past an embarrassing loss to San Jose State in Week 4.
The Razorbacks also made life hard on themselves in the fourth quarter of their 31-27 loss to the No. 23 Aggies in AT&T Stadium.
Arkansas was flagged eight times for 48 yards, and four of those penalties came in the fourth quarter when the Razorbacks had possession. Arkansas cornerback Montaric Brown was also flagged for a holding call that led to a 50-yard Texas A&M field goal to set the final score.
"You know, it was the little things," Arkansas coach Chad Morris said following the game. "There were a few things there we missed when we were lining up, and we've got to get that corrected."
The Razorbacks' first penalty of the fourth quarter was a killer. Freshman receiver Treylon Burks caught a slant from Hicks and picked up 50 yards to the Aggies 25, but the chunk play was wiped away because Burks was an ineligible receiver downfield.
Burks was covered up at the end of the line of scrimmage by Mike Woods, a similar penalty to when Burks covered up Trey Knox to nullify a touchdown at Ole Miss in the Razorbacks' last SEC game at Ole Miss.
Two plays later, Burks caught a 31-yard ball from Hicks to push Arkansas into Texas A&M territory.
Following a false start by receiver Koilan Jackson, Hicks completed a 16-yard pass to Tyson Morris on third-and-12 to keep the drive alive. But it eventually stalled inside the Aggies 25, and the Razorbacks had to settle for a 40-yard Connor Limpert field goal, which cut the Texas A&M lead to 28-27.
Following Aggies kicker Seth Small's 50-yard field goal, Arkansas, with an opportunity to take the lead with a late score on its final series, shot itself in the foot two more times with undisciplined penalties. Senior tight end Cheyenne O'Grady, on second-and-5 near midfield, was penalized for an illegal shift.
O'Grady, who finished with game highs in catches (8) and receiving yards (91) in the loss, said Hicks was supposed to motion him across the formation. That didn't happen, so he took it upon himself to move right to left in the backfield.
"I probably just should have stayed there," he added, "and because of that we got a penalty because I was in motion while they snapped the ball."
Three plays later, on fourth-and-2, O'Grady kept Arkansas' hopes alive with a four-yard reception to the Texas A&M 46. Hicks completed arguably his best ball of the game on a corner route to Woods, who caught four passes for 61 yards and his second score of the season, for 22 yards.
Hicks was sacked on his next drop back, threw incomplete to O'Grady on second-and-long and, unexpectedly, Burks was flagged a second time, a false start that pushed Arkansas into a third-and-22.
Hicks, stunningly, escaped a pair of Aggies defenders and scrambled for 17 yards, setting up the crucial fourth-and-5. On the final play, he rolled right and attempted to find O'Grady on a throw back. The pass snuck through both Texas A&M players and hit the tight end in the chest.
"Unfortunately, Ben got tackled as he was throwing it and didn’t get it over the defenders," O'Grady said. "When the ball actually sailed through the defenders, I thought they were going to pick it off or deflect it or something like that. I just didn’t expect it to happen.
"That’s just why you never assume, you've just got to play. I didn’t make the play like I should’ve."
Morris added that the Razorbacks showed tremendous resiliency in the final quarter by overcoming their mistakes. In terms of total yardage, Arkansas more than doubled the Aggies' offensive production (124-57) in the fourth quarter, but their efforts netted only three points.
The Razorbacks' SEC losing streak now sits at 13 games as they enter an open week ahead of a road trip to Kentucky on Oct. 12. In order for the program to begin turning a corner, Arkansas has to do the right things and make the necessary plays to come out ahead in tight, winnable games, Morris said.
"That's really all this is. We have to find a way to win a game like this, and we will," he said. "That's on us as coaches. We've got to continue to keep coaching hard and continue to put these young men in situations to be successful.
"That's what we're going to do. We're going to go back to work. ... But losing is not acceptable. There are no moral losses. We've got to find a way, got to find a way to win when you get down to the end like this."