TV talk: Arkansas-Texas A&M game will have morning kick; Fowler, Herbstreit on call at LSU

FAYETTEVILLE — There will be an early kickoff for Arkansas’ Sept. 30 game against Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas. 

The game between the Razorbacks and the Aggies is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. inside AT&T Stadium, the SEC office announced Monday. A network for the game, either ESPN or SEC Network, will be determined following this week’s games.

A game between Florida and Kentucky will also kick off at 11 a.m. and will be televised by one of those two networks. 

Arkansas and Texas A&M will open SEC play Saturday — the Razorbacks at No. 12 LSU and the Aggies at home against Auburn. 

Texas A&M is 2-1 following a 47-3 victory over Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday. The Aggies opened the season with a 52-10 win over New Mexico and lost 48-33 at No. 20 Miami in Week 2. 

This year’s Southwest Classic will include an intriguing storyline with Bobby Petrino in his first season as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator. Petrino was Arkansas’ head coach when the teams began playing a long-term series in Arlington. Petrino’s teams were 3-0 against Texas A&M, then a non-conference opponent. 

Petrino was the head coach at Missouri State last season and nearly pulled off an upset in his return to Fayetteville. The Razorbacks scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to win that game 38-27. 

This year’s game will mark the 12th time Arkansas and Texas A&M have played in Arlington. The contract for the neutral-site series expires following a game next year and is not expected to be renewed. 

Hogs get ESPN's 'A' team

Arkansas' game at LSU on Saturday night will include familiar voices on the call. 

Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline) will call the game for ESPN. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. 

It is the third time the Fowler-Herbstreit team will call an Arkansas game. Neither of the previous games have gone well for the Razorbacks, who lost 37-0 at Georgia in 2021 and 41-9 at Alabama in 2017. 

Before calling the game in Baton Rouge, Herbstreit will call the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants in Santa Clara, Calif., for Amazon on Thursday, and will be part of ESPN's "College GameDay" show from South Bend, Ind., on Saturday morning. 

SEC TV Schedule for Sept. 30

All times Central

Arkansas vs. Texas A&M, 11 a.m., ESPN or SEC Network

Florida at Kentucky, 11 a.m., ESPN or SEC Network

Georgia at Auburn, 2:30 p.m., CBS

Missouri at Vanderbilt, 3 p.m., SEC Network

LSU at Ole Miss, 5 p.m., ESPN

South Carolina at Tennessee, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network

Alabama at Mississippi State, 8 p.m., ESPN