5 keys for Hogs to defeat Aggies

DALLAS — Arkansas will take on No. 24 Texas A&M Saturday in what is scheduled to be the final meeting between the two schools at AT&T Stadium.

Beginning next year the game will return to a home and away series. Both teams have had similar seasons. Arkansas (3-1, 1-0) and Texas A&M (3-1, 1-0) both won their conference opener and each lost to a ranked team. The Hogs fell to Oklahoma State 38-31 in two overtimes in Week 2 while the Aggies fell to Notre Dame 23-13 in the season opener.

Here’s five things Hogs must do to win.

Avoid Turnovers, Excessive Penalties

With this team, this may be No. 1 on my list each game. Turnovers and to a lesser degree penalties is what got the Hogs beat against OSU. Arkansas had two interceptions against Auburn to keep the game closer than it had to be. They had three turnovers against Oklahoma State. If the Hogs can play a clean game this offense will be very difficult to stop. They have yet to do that outside of the season opener against an overmatched UAPB team. The Hogs can’t have several turnovers and defeat the Aggies.

Defense Create Turnovers

As noted the Razorbacks offense turned it over three times against OSU and twice against Auburn. One reason the Hogs were able to survive against Auburn is the defense came up with five turnovers compared to only one in Stillwater. The defense seems to be getting more aggressive each week and if they can force the Aggies into some turnovers the chances of winning goes up tremendously particularly if the Arkansas offense can avoid giving the ball away.

Protect Taylen Green

The run blocking for Arkansas has been very good, but they have allowed Green to get hit and pressured a lot when trying to pass. Green seems focused in on Andrew Armstrong a lot, but maybe if he had more time to go through his reads he would find Luke Hasz and others more. To Green’s credit some of Arkansas’ big plays have happened when he’s scrambling. The 58-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Isaiah Sategna came as Green was scrambling around to avoid being sacked.

Don’t Waste Scoring Opportunities

The Hogs failed to score on numerous chances against OSU and that was one of the factors that led to them losing. Kyle Ramsey missed one field goal against Auburn and then hit a big one to put the Hogs up 17-7. The Hogs can’t afford to waste scoring opportunities against a team such as Texas A&M.

Pressure A&M Quarterbacks

The Razorbacks have to find a way to keep pressure on the Texas A&M quarterback. The Aggies quarterbacks have only been sacked three times this season. Conner Weigman has been sacked twice and thrown two interceptions. On the other hand, Marcel Reed has only been sacked once and hasn’t thrown an interception. Reed is a freshman and if he’s in there the Hogs have to make sure he isn’t comfortable. If he isn’t pressured, he will present all kinds of issues for the Arkansas defense.

Prediction: Arkansas 27 – Auburn 24