Texas A&M Holds Off Arkansas To Win Southwest Classic

The Texas A&M Aggies continued their dominance in the Southwest Classic on Saturday.

Matt Galatzan | Sep 28, 2024

Sep 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Nic Scourton (11) celebrates with Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Shemar Turner (5) during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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Texas A&M Aggies

The Texas A&M Aggies were looking to cap off their Arlington run of 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, thats exactly what they did, escaping Arlington with a 21-17 win, and giving them their 12th win in the last 13 Southwest Classic matchups.

At halftime, the Aggies and Razorbacks were deadlocked at 14 points a piece, but in the second half, the defense showed up in a big way, holding the Razorbacks to just three points, and helping to seal the win with a late-game fumble.

Speaking of the defense, the Aggies pass rushers came to play on Saturday, putting heat on Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green throughout the afternoon, and helping to keep the opposing off balance.

The Texas A&M run defense also stood out on Saturday, holding the Razorbacks top rusher 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. They did, however, manage 130 yards on the ground - much of which came in crunch time.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Marcel Reed was also inconsistent, completing just 50 percent of his passes for 153 yards. He did however notch 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 on Saturday, putting heat on Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green throughout the afternoon, and helping to keep the opposing off balance.

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

The game is set to be broadcast on ABC.

Published Sep 28, 2024|Modified Sep 28, 2024

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.