'Play for the Man Next to You': How Aggies Willed Their Way to Final Southwest Classic Victory

The Texas A&M Aggies had to scour to earn a win over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the final Southwest Classic matchup at AT&T Stadium, leaning on a strong defense, a quarterback, a running back and a "brotherhood."

Sep 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies lineman Chase Bistonis (left) and tight ends Donovan Green (middle) and Jaden Platt (right) watch a replay in the fourth quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. / Matt Guzman-Texas A&M Aggies On SI

ARLINGTON, Texas — The loudest point AT&T Stadium hit all Saturday evening came on the Arkansas Razorbacks' final possession.

With an evenly split crowd — Razorbacks on the right side of Arkansas starting quarterback Taylen Green and Texas A&M Aggies on the left — each half of the stadium seemed to take turns being excited.

If Arkansas scored, screeching "Woo Pig" chants filled the stadium. If a penalty was or wasn't called, hisses did the same. The latter, especially, seemed to happen quite often, much to the chagrin of Aggies coach Mike Elko, who had his fair share of words with the officials throughout the game.

Arkansas brought the house. It was loud, but not loud enough.

"Coach Tony (Jerod-Eddie) (was) slapping the hell out of us and telling us to go get a sack," Aggies defensive lineman Nic Scourton said of the mindset before the final possession. "That's all it was. We were about to go rush. This is what you dream of as a D-lineman."

Sep 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Nic Scourton (11) and linebacker Solomon DeShields (22) celebrate after forcing a fumble against the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. / Matt Guzman-Texas A&M Aggies On SI

The Razorbacks were down four with just under three minutes to play. They needed a touchdown to end their horrid losing streak in Arlington, but with Scourton's defensive line once again set to bring the pressure, that proved to be a near-impossible task.

Especially with the game's opening drive in the back of their minds.

"There were a lot of frustrations," Scourton said, alluding to a missed sack that gave Arkansas a 75-yard touchdown on the third play of the game. "We were fired up. ... Obviously, three guys around him, we've got to make that play.

"Something like that can't happen."

Green seemed to have an answer to every ounce of pressure the Aggies threw at him initially. When he wasn't connecting with his receivers, he was extending plays or escaping a blitz. And when it didn't work out in his favor, he was gifted more downs with penalties or even trick plays.

Early on, that's what the Aggies were missing. Sure, the offense needed to step up, but the defense took it upon itself to make sure Marcel Reed and company had as many opportunities as possible.

The defense put the game on us," Scourton explained. "That's what it was: lifting our guys up, telling the linebackers and the DBs that it's on us, and (that) we were going to go out and get after the quarterback."

Scourton did the work himself twice — once with one hand, to add insult to injury — and forced the fumble that ultimately won the game for Texas A&M.

He might only admit to being a Dallas Cowboys fan in front of his dad, so for argument's sake, he got to be a pivotal part of the Aggies' final game at AT&T Stadium and celebrate with Jerry Jones.

But he was far from the only Aggie who left his mark on Saturday's contest.

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Mike Elko can't stress it enough.

The Aggies have multiple weapons lining up under center. They refuse to pigeonhole themselves into thinking it's Conner Weigman and a pair of backups; rather, it's Weigman, Reed and Jaylen Henderson.

He even made sure to correct me for not initally including the latter.

"You can throw Jaylen Henderson in that," Elko said when asked about preparing Reed and Weigman every week. "He's always ready to go, if we need him as well, (and) I keep saying it ... we have three quarterbacks that we trust that can go out there and play.

"Today was Marcel's game, and he had to go out and win it for us."

Sep 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) takes out his mouthguard after a win over the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. / Matt Guzman-Texas A&M Aggies On SI

If the game was in Reed's hands, it didn't look like he'd be able to keep it there midway through the second quarter and beyond — save for the go-ahead drive he led early in the fourth quarter.

He threw for a touchdown on the second drive of the game and matched the Razorbacks right before halftime, but both instances seemed to be flashes in the pan. On drive one, Noah Thomas proved the kind of weapon he could be with some open-space moves that landed him in the end zone.

The second time would have been panic-inducing had the Aggies not scored.

Despite those apparent inconsistencies, however, Elko remains trusting of his quarterback. That was something that never wavered, in the midst of what Scourton called a "dogfight."

"Marcel is still growing," Elko said. "There's still some up-and-down moments with him. He made
some good plays, and then (made) some plays that we wish we had back. Again, he's a young kid, and he's going to continue to get better every time he goes out there."

As the game went on, Reed kept his composure. Even when he did slip up, he remained poised and ultimately willed the Aggies' offense to score a much-needed touchdown to take the lead.

That was plenty noticeable for his teammates.

"The moment is never too big for him," Scourton said of Reed. "I've never seen him nervous or jittery before the game or anything like that. I just think he was made to do this."

Perhaps he was. If he does keep riding the high he's been on since entering the second half of the Aggies' home contest against McNeese State, he'll find himself with even higher stakes with every passing week.

Luckily, he'll have Le'Veon Moss next to him.

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Green is a superstitious color for Moss.

It was the color of his cleats to begin the second half — the running back switching them with the white ones he donned at the beginning of the contest — and the color of his mouthguard.

He also credits it as the reason for his strong second half.

"I feel like I play better when I feel different from everyone else," Moss said when asked why he chose the bright color. "That's how I express myself, through my cleats and changing colors and stuff really."

Sep 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back Le'Veon Moss takes questions following his team's win over the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. / Matt Guzman-Texas A&M Aggies On SI

Despite some early adversity he faced — Elko cited "different things" along with a play where Moss got banged up — Moss rushed for 117 yards, and looked determined every step of the way.

With Reed struggling at times to find his targets, he gave the Aggies the little bursts they needed to keep drives alive, which ultimately kept their season's hopes alive at the same time.

"He's a talented back," Elko said of the Aggies' leading rusher. "He runs hard. He runs behind his pads. Certainly put the game on ice for us."

Beyond just his rushing ability, however, Moss was a voice of reason and a leader on the sideline; one of the faces who "didn't blink," regardless of the situation.

His reasoning for taking such a stance?

"Play for the man next to you," he said. "Everybody was uplifting everybody to keep their heads up. It's just a brotherhood. We stand strong with each other."

That was heavily stressed by every Aggie who entered the press conference room after securing a ninth win in 10 tries over the Razorbacks, and it made sense why.

The Aggies weren't dominant. They looked to be in trouble for most of the game, and with still plenty more games to go without some key pieces of their roster, they'll have to work hard to come out on top.

That's what they've been doing since they were "humbled" against Notre Dame, as Scourton put it.

Notre Dame was like a punch in the mouth to us," the defensive lineman said. "That game hurts. We can't get that one back."

They might not be able to, but they can learn from the low point they hit that night. That's what they showed in Arlington. The Aggies leaned on their brotherhood more than ever to come out victorious in the home of the Cowboys. That was arguably the biggest positive to come out of the game.

They don't give out trophies for learning experiences, but they do for winning the Southwest Classic.

And as far as Elko and his brotherhood are concerned, they have hardware-proof of that.

Sep 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; The Texas A&M Aggies hoist the Southwest Classic trophy after beating the Arkansas Razorbacks for the final time at AT&T Stadium. / Matt Guzman-Texas A&M Aggies On SI

"It's a great win," the coach said. "It's another great step in the right direction for us. Obviously, we have got more to do, more to work on, more to improve, (but) we're going to enjoy this one.

"We're a 4-1 football team, and 2-0 in the SEC right now."