TAT: Hogs Fall to Aggies in Classic Game

This article originally appeared on September 28, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.

Arkansas (3-2 overall, 0-1 SEC) fell to No. 10 Texas A&M (4-1 overall, 1-1 SEC) in a classic 45-33 shootout on a rainy Saturday evening at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Johnny Manziel proved again why he is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, completing 76.7 percent of his passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. He also extended plays with his feet and gained 59 yards on nine carries.

“I give a lot of credit to A&M,” head coach Bret Bielema said. “Johnny Manziel is a great player, a great competitor. He makes things happen out of nothing.”

In his first game since being injured in the first quarter of the Southern Miss game, sophomore quarterback Brandon Allen was 17-for-36 for 282 yards and three touchdowns, but his two interceptions were costly.

“I thought Brandon Allen was outstanding,” Bielema said. “To come in the way he did, with a limited about of practice, was impressive.”

Senior kicker Zach Hocker made a 39-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to pull the Razorbacks within four points and make the score 24-20.

The Razorbacks received the second half kickoff with a chance to go ahead for the first time in the game, but Allen threw an interception that was returned 34 yards by Deshazor Evans for a Texas A&M touchdown.

Arkansas had two more possessions with the chance to go ahead of the Aggies, but both times they went three-and-out.

Texas A&M got on the board first with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Manziel to Mike Evans. The Razorbacks responded with a touchdown drive of their own, capped by a 12-yard pass from Allen to sophomore wide receiver Keon Hatcher.

The Aggies regained the lead with another 75-yard drive, this time ending on a 2-yard run by Ben Malena.

After the teams exchanged a pair of field goals, Evans caught another touchdown pass for Texas A&M. Manziel found him in the back of the end zone and completed the pass in traffic.

Following Allen’s pick-six, the Razorbacks answered with a quick 4-play, 75-yard drive that featured two long completions to freshman tight end Hunter Henry and two runs by freshman running back Alex Collins. Collins punched it into the end zone from nine yards out.

“We have responded well to adversity all year,” Bielema said. “We knew we could come back and we needed a big drive there.”

Sandwiched between third and fourth quarter Texas A&M touchdowns, sophomore running back Jonathan Williams had a 19-yard touchdown reception in which he spun off one defender and broke four tackles before diving for the pylon.

Collins led the Razorbacks with 116 rushing yards on 14 carries. It was his fourth career game with over 100 yards on the ground. He needs one more to tie Darren McFadden’s UA record for most 100-yard rushing games by a freshman.

“I thought Alex Collins provided a spark,” Bielema said. “He and Jonathan Williams did some good things.”

Williams finished with 120 total yards, with 53 yards on 10 carries and 67 yards on four receptions. In the passing game, Henry had four receptions for a team-high 109 yards.

For the Aggies, Evans hauled in six catches for two touchdowns and a game-high 116 yards. Four different players ran for at least 40 yards for Texas A&M, led by Trey Williams, who had 83 yards on nine carries.

During the game, junior cornerback Tevin Mitchel suffered a head injury.

The Razorbacks return to action next week for their first SEC road game against No. 20 Florida. The Gators are coming off a 24-7 victory at Kentucky.