Texas A&M holds off Arkansas to win Southwest Classic

The Texas A&M Aggies looked to cap their run in Arlington at the Southwest Classic with a big win over the rival Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday and move to 2-0 in SEC play.

And after a hard-fought four-quarter battle, that’s exactly what they did, escaping Arlington with a 21-17 victory and giving them their 12th win in the last 13 Southwest Classic matchups.

At halftime, the Aggies and Razorbacks were tied at 14 points each, but in the second half, the defense came through big, holding the Razorbacks to just three points and helping seal the victory with a fumble at the end of the game. .

Speaking of defense, the Aggies’ pass rushers came to play on Saturday, putting pressure on Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green all afternoon and helping keep the opponent off balance.

Texas A&M’s run defense also excelled on Saturday, holding the Razorbacks’ top running back, Ja’Quinden Jackson, to just 37 yards on 10 carries.

Offensively, it was a bit of a slow day for the Aggies, who managed just 293 yards of offense. However, they managed 130 yards on the ground, much of which came in clutch moments.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Marcel Reed was also inconsistent, completing just 50 percent of his passes for 153 yards. However, he did have a pair of touchdown passes, as well as one on the ground.

On the other side of the ball, the Aggies’ pass rushers came to play Saturday, putting pressure on Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green all afternoon and helping keep the opponent off balance.

Next up for the Aggies will be returning home to Kyle Field, where they will host the No. 11 Missouri Tigers at 11 a.m. CT.

The game will be broadcast on ABC.