ARLINGTON, Texas — The Southwest Classic delivered its usual high drama Saturday at AT&T Stadium.
And, like usual, Texas A&M delivered at crunch time.
The No. 23 Aggies held off a last-minute University of Arkansas drive inside their red zone to hold on for a 31-27 victory before an announced crowd of 51,441 to send the Razorbacks to another heartbreaking loss.
Ben Hicks, in for injured Arkansas quarterback Nick Starkel, threw incomplete on fourth down for tight end Cheyenne “C.J.” O’Grady from the Texas A&M 19 with 31 seconds remaining to cut off the Razorbacks’ last hope.
Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC), a 23.5-point underdog coming off an inexplicable home loss to San Jose State, played with much more passion and precision, but it wasn’t enough to stop its slide to the Aggies (3-2, 1-1), who won their eighth in a row in the series.
“I’m extremely proud of our football team, but we’ve got to find ways to win games like this,” Arkansas Coach Chad Morris said. “And that’s on me. And we will.”
The Razorbacks will enter the first of two open dates riding a 13-game SEC losing streak.
Five of the past six games in the Southwest Classic have been decided by a touchdown or less. This one, filled with twists and momentum-swinging defensive plays, fell in line with the most dramatic in the series.
“They played their tails off,” Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher said about the Razorbacks. “An SEC win is an SEC win. There’s no bad wins.
“But at the same time, we have to … quit allowing teams — when we’re playing well and doing good things — to get back in football games.”
Arkansas outgained the Aggies 395-340 in total offense. Hicks and Starkel combined for 297 passing yards to out-produce A&M quarterback Kellen Mond. Arkansas also outran the Aggies 98-89.
Mond completed 23 of 35 passes for 251 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Mond had 33 rushing yards on 14 carries, and the Aggies averaged 2.7 yards on 33 rushing attempts.
Arkansas tailback Rakeem Boyd had 89 of the Razorbacks’ 98 rushing yards, while Cheyenne O’Grady led the Hogs with 8 catches for 91 yards.
Hicks, who lost his starting job to Nick Starkel at halftime in a Week 2 loss at Ole Miss, answered the call when Starkel came out with a contusion on his left arm midway through the second quarter.
Hicks rallied the Hogs from a 14-3 deficit to take leads of 17-14 late in the second quarter and 24-21 early in the third quarter.
Hicks finished 15-of-27 passing for 188 yards and a touchdown in his best game as a Razorback.
“This is the most I’ve really gotten into a game,” Hicks said. “I never really got into a rhythm against Portland State and didn’t play in the second half against Ole Miss. I felt like this was my game, and once I got in there, it was kind of rolling. I just wish we could have found a way to get it done.”
Texas A&M regained the lead 28-24 on Mond’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Quartney Davis early in the fourth quarter, and the teams traded long field goals through the middle part of the period.
Arkansas took over at its 25 trailing 31-27 after Seth Small’s 50-yard field goal with 3:52 remaining.
Hicks marched the Hogs 56 yards to the Texas A&M 19 with 37 seconds remaining, overcoming an illegal shift penalty and converting a fourth and 2 with a 4-yard pass to O’Grady along the way.
Hicks had a tackle-breaking 17-yard scramble on third and 22 to set up the game’s final play, a called throwback pass to O’Grady on the left side.
“The last play of the game, I was just trying to give C.J. a chance,” Hicks said. “We wanted to get the ball to one of our better players. You try to give him a chance.”
Said O’Grady: “I was supposed to run from the opposite side of the field to the flat. I was supposed to catch the ball there, but there were two defenders waiting there in the flat area, so I cut it up to go to the end zone because it was wide open. But, unfortunately, Ben got tackled as he was throwing it and didn’t get it over the defenders.”
The pass actually slipped through the hands of Texas A&M linebacker Buddy Johnson and hit O’Grady in the shoulder pad.
The Razorbacks looked like a much different team after their lackluster showing against San Jose State.
“Yeah, it’s another heartbreak, but I just appreciate my teammates, the coaching staff, just the way that we performed after last week … and fighting and just trying to battle back to start something new,” Arkansas linebacker De’Jon Harris said.
“We put everything on the line for this game,” Arkansas safety Kamren Curl said. “Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.
“I feel like we took a step forward. I feel like last week, that was a fluke.”
Starkel’s injury came after a middle screen from the 3 intended for Boyd was tipped and intercepted. Texas A&M defensive tackle Justin Madubuike picked off the pass, and Starkel came out of the pile grabbing his left arm after making the tackle. Morris said Starkel was unable to regain strength in the arm.
The Razorbacks, trailing 14-3 at the time, matched that defensive play with a game-changing takeaway of their own on the next snap.
Defensive end Gabe Richardson got quick penetration on a run play from the 18 and forced a fumble as Mond tried to hand off to Isaiah Spiller. The loose ball bounced perfectly to Harris, who ran it in from the 6 to pull the Hogs within 14-10.
Arkansas freshman Treylon Burks’ 32-yard punt return kept the momentum on Arkansas’ side late in the second quarter. Hicks’ 13-yard back-shoulder throw to Mike Woods, the first touchdown pass of the season for Hicks, capped a 41-yard drive and put the Hogs on top 17-14 with 1:55 left.
Mond directed a 75-yard drive in the two-minute drill, connecting with Davis for a 22-yard touchdown with eight seconds left in the half to put the Aggies in front 21-17.
That lead lasted through the Razorbacks’ first series of the second half.
Devwah Whaley capped the 84-yard sequence with a cut-back run for an 11-yard touchdown to give Arkansas a 24-21 edge.
The Aggies did not score on their first three possessions of the second half, but punter Braden Mann had excellent punts of 54 and 59 yards to keep Arkansas pinned back.
Montaric Brown picked off Mond in the end zone late in the third quarter, but the Razorbacks wound up punting from their 2. The Aggies capitalized with a 49-yard scoring drive to retake the lead 28-24.