Razorbacks rewind

Aggies hit huge hole on return

Image from Arkansas' 17-24 loss to Texas A&M Saturday Sept. 29, 2018 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Image from Arkansas' 17-24 loss to Texas A&M Saturday Sept. 29, 2018 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The University of Arkansas gave up a touchdown on a kickoff return for the second consecutive game and for the second time in two years against Texas A&M in Saturday's 24-17 loss in the Southwest Classic.

Texas A&M freshman Jashaun Corbin fielded Connor Limpert's opening kickoff at the goal line, picked up key blocks in the middle, then veered to the right sideline to pull off the 100-yard return. Montaric Brown made a diving tackle try at the 33-yard line, then Limpert had a futile dive at the 19 as the only defenders who got close to Corbin. Nate Dalton caught up to Corbin at the 3 but did not have an angle to knock him out of bounds.

Arkansas Coach Chad Morris said special teams ace Ryder Lucas fell while he was trying to "fold inside" as part of the coverage.

"When he did we left a crease there on the field return," Morris said. "They showed a boundary return all year long and we knew they were going to come in with a field return. We gave the guy a crease and our contain drifted inside.

"You know you've got to make sure you keep your contain outside. But we had a huge, huge hole right there."

The Razorbacks made a few changes on the kickoff team after allowing a 96-yard touchdown return to Auburn's Noah Igbinoghene last week.

Christian Kirk returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of last year's 50-43 Texas A&M overtime victory.

Pressure pick

Dre Greenlaw's second interception was the result of a heady drop into zone coverage by the linebacker and a strong pass rush on quarterback Kellen Mond. Arkansas end Dorian Gerald lined up left and stunted around the right, slipping past a grab from Carson Green and bearing down in Mond's face to force the throw.

Greenlaw had a solid amount of open field in front of him and was just about to get a head of steam going when receiver Hezekiah Jones, the target of the pass, made a shoestring tackle.

High and low

Sophomore Ty Clary had only a couple of errant snaps in his first start at center at Auburn last week. The count of shaky snaps jumped against Texas A&M, with a couple bouncing back to quarterback Ty Storey and a few more going high or wide.

Sophomore Cole Kelley salvaged Clary's worst snap of the game, a high ball on which the 6-7 Kelley had to jump to get a handle on. Kelley collected the ball and pushed in through the A gap on the right side for a 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter that drew Arkansas within 17-7.

"We've got to continue to work that position," Chad Morris said. "You know, as a quarterback, it's hard enough to play the game getting a regular snap. When the ball dribbles back to you, it's even a little bit more difficult because you have to take your eyes off your initial read. We'll continue to work on that and continue to fix those problems."

Storey said the more work the quarterbacks get with Clary the better the snaps will go.

"I've got to switch up the snap counts, trying to keep those guys off our centers," Storey said. "It's as much on me as it is anybody."

Punt improvement

Arkansas punter Reid Bauer had what was easily his best college game against Texas A&M.

The freshman from Magnolia, Texas, averaged 43.2 yards on eight punts, including a career-best 50-yarder. Bauer put one punt inside the 20-yard line.

"I think a lot of it had to do with the confidence that he had in the guys up front to fix the issues that we had last week," Coach Chad Morris said.

The unit allowed long returns to Auburn's Ryan Davis that led to 10 points last week.

"Just his confidence in those guys up front and the battery of the snap was outstanding," Morris said. "And he ... has shown that in practice. For a true freshman to come in an environment like this, we're very proud of him and he'll continue to get better."

The slip

Arkansas tight end C.J. O'Grady had a breakout game on Saturday that started with a breakout play. O'Grady caught a pass 7 yards down the middle at the Arkansas 32 early in the third quarter and immediately gave linebacker Tyrel Dodson 25 and defensive back Keldrick Carper the slip.

O'Grady swerved toward the Texas A&M sideline and picked up a block from receiver Mike Woods, who held up Charles Oliver long enough for O'Grady to slip past. O'Grady motored down to the Aggies' 39 before stepping out of bounds with Oliver and safety Donovan Wilson bearing down after a 36-yard gain.

"He was a huge spark for us," quarterback Ty Storey said. "You saw that. ... He's a great athlete. We've just got to get him the ball."

Facing No. 1

The Razorbacks will host No. 1 Alabama at 11 a.m. Saturday, marking the third consecutive year Arkansas has played the Crimson Tide when they were atop The Associated Press poll.

Arkansas will have played the No. 1 team in the nation in nine of the last 10 years, including Florida in 2009, LSU in 2011, Mississippi State in 2014, and Alabama in 2010, 2012, and 2013.

Feisty Fisher

ESPN cameras caught Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher grabbing the facemask of linebacker Tyrel Dodson and engaging in heated words after Dodson was involved in a post-play argument with an Arkansas player.

"They're getting in an argument and a fight," Fisher said. "I don't need that guy out there pushing and shoving, getting in a fight in the game. Lose one of our best players on defense and our team leader, that's great.

"Learn to put your pride away and go on the sideline. There ain't no sense to go out there and push and shove and do dumb things out there when you're locked in on the game. He plays great. He's a heck of a player for us."

Frustrations

The Aggies scored once in eight possessions after taking a 14-0 lead, despite moving the ball into Arkansas territory four times on those eight series. The inability to build on the lead frustrated Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher.

"You got to take the air out," Fisher said. "We moved it down to the red zone two or three times and then had stupid penalties, had some negative plays.

"There's no way you can play that well and not finish that well and get penalties. It's focus, concentration and it's discipline. You have discipline when you want to have discipline."

Takeaway total

Arkansas beat the Aggies 2-1 in the takeaway department with all the turnovers coming on interceptions.

Arkansas did not record a takeaway in their previous game, a 34-3 loss at Auburn. The Razorbacks now have 10 takeaways on seven fumble recoveries and three interceptions.

Donovan Wilson's interception on Arkansas' final offensive snap was Texas A&M's second takeaway of the season.

Sports on 10/01/2018

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