ARLINGTON, Texas — Senior linebacker Bumper Pool began Saturday night’s game against Texas A&M in fourth place on the University of Arkansas career tackles chart, but by early in the third quarter he was up to second behind Tony Bua.
Pool made his fifth tackle of the game a minute into the third quarter when he and defensive lineman Eric Gregory combined to bring down Aggies running back Devon Achane after a 4-yard gain.
It was Pool’s 383rd career tackle and moved him past Jerry Franklin — a linebacker who had 382 tackles from 2008-11.
In the first half, Pool had four tackles to move past safety Ken Hamlin, who had 381 tackles from 2000-02.
Bua, who played outside linebacker and safety for the Razorbacks, is their career leader with 408 tackles from 2000-03.
Pool is playing a fifth season at Arkansas by taking advantage of the extra eligibility offered by the NCAA because of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Johnson back
Arkansas junior running Dominique Johnson made his season debut after missing the first three games continuing to recover from a knee injury he sustained in the Outback Bowl.
Johnson came in on the Razorbacks’ fourth offensive series, which started late in the first quarter. He was held to 1 yard on his first carry, but then broke off runs for gains of 12, 8 and 7 yards.
Last season, Johnson rushed 97 times for 575 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Not FCC approved
Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said a couple of words you normally don’t hear on the radio when he was interviewed by Geno Bell — the sideline reporter for the UA broadcast — going into the locker room at halftime.
The Razorbacks led 14-13 but looked like they were ready to go ahead 21-7 before the Aggies forced a fumble by quarterback KJ Jefferson and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown with 3:11 left in the half.
“We’ve got 14 and they’ve got 13, so I feel pretty damn good about it,” Pittman said. “We’re running the ball well. We had an unfortunate turnover over down there on the goal line, but s***, we can talk about that all night or we can fix it. We’re going to go fix it.”
60,000-plus
Saturday night’s announced attendance was 63,580, which ended a three-year streak of crowds of less 60,000 in the Arkansas-Texas A&M series.
The game drew 57,992 last season after crowds of 51,441 in 2019 and 55,383 in 2018.
The largest crowd at AT&T Stadium for an Arkansas-Texas A&M game was 71,872 in the teams’ first meeting there in 2009.
Other crowds were 65,622 in 2010, 69,836 in 2011, 68,113 in 2014, 67,339 in 2015, 67,751 in 2016 and 64,668 in 2017.
The 2020 game was moved to the Aggies’ Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, because of covid-19 safety protocols.
The teams are scheduled to continue playing in AT&T Stadium through the 2024 season.
Indications are that it will be a home-and-home series starting in 2025 when Arkansas is the home team.
Nice save
Razorbacks freshman receiver Quincy McAdoo recovered a fumble at the Arkansas 25 with 3:11 left in the first quarter after return man Bryce Stephens dropped a 47-yard punt by Nik Constantinou.
Texas A&M had a shot to recover the ball, but McAdoo got on top of it first.
Botched PAT
Texas A&M looked set to tie the score after returning a fumble for a touchdown in the second quarter, but the Aggies failed to convert the extra point because of a botched snap and Arkansas stayed ahead 14-13.
The Aggies had hit 185 of 186 extra points going back to the 2018 season.
Texas A&M’s missed extra point in that span came in the Aggies’ 48-3 victory over South Carolina on Nov. 7, 2020.
That year, Seth Small missed an extra point after the Aggies took a 27-0 lead in the third quarter on Kellen Mond’s touchdown pass to tight end Jalen Wydermyer.
For starters
Arkansas junior Myles Slusher was back in the starting lineup at nickel back after missing the previous two games because of an undisclosed injury he sustained in the opener against Cincinnati.
Also starting in the secondary for the Razorbacks were cornerbacks Dwight McGlothern and Malik Chavis and safeties Simeon Blair and Jayden Johnson.
Sophomore defensive end Landon Jackson, a transfer from LSU, made his second consecutive start for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas started a four-man defensive front that also included end Zach Williams and tackles Isaiah Nichols and Eric Gregory.
Davillier plays
Razorbacks freshman end Nico Davillier, who is from Maumelle, played on defense for the first time this season.
Honorary captains
Tony Bua (Arkansas) and Luke Joeckel (Texas A&M) served as honorary captains for the pregame coin toss.
Bua, who played outside linebacker and safety for the Razorbacks from 2000-03, is their all-time leader in tackles with 408.
Bua played in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins in 2004 after being a fifth-round draft pick.
Joeckel was an All-American offensive tackle for Texas A&M in 2012 and was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played five seasons in the NFL.
Commish on hand
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey attended the Arkansas-Texas A&M game after speaking at the Little Rock Rotary Club on Tuesday.
“I enjoyed it,” Sankey said of his appearance in Little Rock. “I hope the people that had to listen to me enjoyed it.”
Sankey has to limit his speaking engagements because he gets so many requests.
“I try to spread them out,” Sankey said. “I give Denver Peacock credit. He stayed after it.”
Sankey said his visit to Little Rock included playing a round of golf with Peacock— president of the Rotary Club and founder of The Peacock Group, a strategic communications firm — at the Country Club of Little Rock.
Sankey smiled when asked what he shot during his round.
“I birdied the 15th hole,” he said. “We’ll leave it at that.”
It was the third time Sankey made a speaking appearance in Little Rock since he became SEC commissioner in 2015. He also spoke to the Chamber of Commerce in 2017 and to the Little Rock Touchdown Club in 2019.
Saturday night’s game was the first time Sankey has watched Arkansas play in person this season. He said coming to the game also allowed him to visit with Cotton Bowl President Rick Baker about the College Football Playoff expanding from four to 12 teams in future seasons.
Right at home
Saturday marked the 10th game Arkansas redshirt junior defensive back Hudson Clark has played in AT&T Stadium, including three with the Razorbacks.
The stadium also was a second home for Clark in high school because that’s where his Highland Park teams won three Texas Class 5A championships.
Travis Clark, Hudson’s father, works for the Dallas Cowboys in sales and has an office in AT&T Stadium, so the younger Clark has spent plenty of time in the venue.