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Hogs' Potent Offense Tested Aggies' Defense Early, Just Not Often Enough

A&M's Elko impressed by Petrino's offense going into Saturday, but did enough homework to come away with victory

Jacob Davis

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green running against the Texas A&M Aggies at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green running against the Texas A&M Aggies at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. / Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Despite struggles offensively the past two weeks, the Razorbacks remained one of the more potent offenses in the country. The Aggies' defense proved it could ground Arkansas' offense on the ground and through the air.

Coordinator Bobby Petrino, who spent last season at Texas A&M, has made a good living the past two years turning limited offenses into more potent units quickly. Arkansas went into Saturday's matchup with Texas A&M touting one of the more efficient offenses in college football at No. 4 nationally and No. 1 in the SEC at run efficiency.

Outside of one deep bomb to wide receiver Isaac Teslaa which resulted in a touchdown, Arkansas was held in check due to a dominant Aggies defensive line. Led by Mel Kiper's No. 1 defensive end prospect Nic Scourton's three tackles for loss and sack, Texas A&M brought immense pressure all day which kept the Razorbacks from gaining any sort of rhythm offensively.

Razorbacks offensive coordinator watching his former team, Texas A&M, during warmups
Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator watching his former team, Texas A&M, during warmups before their game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. / Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

Quarterback Taylen Green has turned the ball over often with five interceptions and multiple fumbles. His struggles through the air continued Saturday due to Petrino's negligence of the run game which has been Arkansas' calling card through the first four games.

Ja'Quinden Jackson, the SEC's leading rusher through four weeks, was only given 10 carries against the Aggies despite leading Texas A&M in the fourth quarter. Steering away from the run game when Arkansas' strength which could've cut out a lot of the Aggies rush tendency.

Razorbacks running back Ja'Quinden Jackson tries to turn the corner against Texas A&M
Arkansas Razorbacks running back Ja'Quinden Jackson tries to turn the corner against the Texas A&M Aggies at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. / Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

"I don't think, in the protection game, it's got to be one-on-one, two-on-two, then five-on-five and six-on-six, you know," Pittman said after the loss. "You kind of progress that way in teaching your protections. Early in the game, we were getting -- well, a bunch of the game -- we were getting beat one-on-one. And then what happens, you start getting that way -- they really didn't do anything different.

"They did bring a boundary smoke four to a side, which they didn't cross face in an empty protection, but outside of that, not a lot of things that were different. So it wasn't like we were turning them loose, it was just we were having a difficult time blocking them. Then what happens, especially when you start the game like that, your quarterback gets happy feet and sometimes validated and sometimes probably not, tries to get the ball out faster."

The Razorbacks were one of the best at converting third downs in the FBS at 61% through four weeks which was No. 2 nationally. Short yardage third downs weren't a problem with 2-of-3 conversions but the Aggies' aggression on early downs kept Arkansas at least eight yards from the first down marker finishing five of 15 on third down attempts.

Jackson's ability to see the field with a quarterback's IQ has helped him adapt in pass protection. He is also a calming factor for Green as he encourages his teammate to stay positive.

"I’ll be having to tell [Green], ‘Calm down, bro,'" Jackson said after last week's win over Auburn. "'You’re too jittery. Just calm down and play.' When the plays need to be made, he’s going to make the play. I know I have all the confidence in him. Sometimes you don't make the plays, sometimes you do. Football, it’s not perfect. Basically, playing quarterback is one of the hardest positions on the field. You’re not always going to be perfect. He’s that guy, but he’s going to continue to get better week in and week out."

While Green seemed to be more jittery against Texas A&M in his second SEC start, Jackson's calm demeanor was needed. However, when Arkansas opted to be more pass heavy due to the ineffectiveness in the run game likely impacting the Razorbacks physical approach.

"I think it just got away from us because we weren’t having great success on third down running the football," Pittman said. "It got away with us and of course you have — within the game, you’re throwing it so that would skew it a little bit with two-minute and all that. But, no, we just weren’t having a lot of success on the ground."

"So, certainly the point of that is Taylen [Green] being able to run the football out of the pocket and some of those undesigned runs. But no, we came in, I thought Bobby had a really good plan and Eric and those guys, of running the football. We weren’t having very much success.

Star receiver, Andrew Armstrong went into week five as the No. 2 wideout in the SEC and didn't disappoint with five catches for 72 yards. While he still hasn't recorded a touchdown reception this season, his role in the offense has helped elevate Isaiah Sategna and Teslaa from a production standpoint.

Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Sategna had a breakout game against Auburn last week with a career-high 85 yards on three receptions and an electric 58-yard touchdown. He was targets 11 times for six receptions without a drop.

Razorbacks wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa with a catch early against Texas A&M
Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa makes a catch on the third play of the against the Texas A&M Aggies at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas / Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

Sategna lacked in big plays against the Aggies with only 27 receiving yards. Teslaa's emergence as a pass catcher with five receptions for 125 yards on six targets makes him a valuable weapon moving forward with his sticky hands.

The Aggies went into the Southwest Classic giving up 12 plays of 20+ yards this season. While Arkansas had five such play, its offense was met with a vicious blitz package whether it be in the gaps or edges.

Arkansas's offense remains effective with 29 plays of 20+ yards which pushes the unit to No. 4 in the SEC and No. 12 nationally. Arkansas will need to figure out ways to combat its protection issues while remaining explosive.

HOGS FEED:

• Even Non-Football Folks Paying Attention to Razorbacks-Aggies | Locked on Razorbacks

• Tight ends big key matchup between Razorbacks and Texas A&M on Saturday

• Green gives credit to all Razorbacks with no prompting

• Possible win total for Razorbacks to receive playoff bid

• Razorbacks seek REVENGE against Texas A&M | Locked on Razorbacks

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Jacob Davis
JACOB DAVIS

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