For the 80th time in program history, the Texas A&M football team is set to square off against Arkansas.
With a trip up Interstate 35 to Arlington, the Aggies are looking for their fourth win of the season in the latest chapter of the Southwest Classic.
It is their second SEC clash of the young season and another chance for Texas A&M (3-1, 1-0) to prove its legitimacy after a tough battle against Bowling Green in Week 4. The Week 5 neutral-site matchup at 2:30 p.m. at AT&T Stadium will be televised on ESPN.
GRADES: Texas A&M football vs. Bowling Green report card
TAKEAWAYS: Marcel Reed playing to keep QB1 job
Here are five things to know about Arkansas (3-1, 1-0):
1. QB Taylen Green poses true dual-threat ability
It’s not very often you face off against a 6-foot-6-inch quarterback with a big arm who can also run the football with high efficiency. However, that is the task at hand for this week when the Aggies face off against Razorbacks‘ Taylen Green.
The junior signal-caller is in his first year with the Razorbacks after three season with Boise State, and he has entered the SEC with a bang. Through the first four games of the year, Green has tallied 806 passing yards and three touchdown passes while adding 245 yards on the ground and an additional four touchdowns.
2. RB Ja’Quinden Jackson knows how to find the end zone
If defending the run when Green keeps the rock wasn’t enough, the Razorbacks also feature a running back with a nose for the end zone in Ja’Quinden Jackson.
Jackson has tallied 472 rushing yards on 6.8 yards per carry and eight touchdowns in 2024.
Texas A&M had a middling defense, ranking 62nd in the national by allowing 129.8 rushing yards per game. Opponents average 4.3 yards a carry vs. A&M.
3. Arkansas is largely untested so far in 2024
Saturday afternoon’s matchup against A&M may be Arkansas’ toughest game yet.
With wins against Arkansas Pine-Bluff, UAB and Auburn and their lone loss coming from their only game against a ranked opponent, Oklahoma State, the jury is still out on just how good the Razorbacks are. After leaving Dallas, Arkansas’ opponents include Tennessee and LSU.
Texas A&M also failed its lone test against a ranked team this year, with a home loss Week 1 vs. Notre Dame.
4. Razorbacks lead all-time series 41-35-3
Despite the Aggies winning nine of the last 10 matchups between the two programs, including last season’s 34-22 win, the Razorbacks still hold a firm lead in the series.
A&M has won the last two matchups and will look to make it three this Saturday as they continue to chip away at the deficit.
5. What is a Razorback?
Arkansas fans doesn’t mess when it comes to “Woo Pig,” but what exactly is a Razorback?
It’s a wild boar found in Arkansas, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
“These wild boars were called razorbacks because of their high, hair-covered backbone and ill-mannered temper. The razorback hog was considered ruthless and dangerous when backed into a corner,” the encyclopedia website reads.
Per to arkansasrazorbacks.com, the name has been associated with the school ever since former football coach Hugo Bezdek “fatefully called his players ‘a wild band of Razorback hogs’ after a big win over LSU in 1909.” The next year, the student body adopted the nickname as the university’s official mascot.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M is set to face Arkansas in the Southwest Classic
