A rival foe is now on the clock as the Arkansas Razorbacks will look to push their record to 4-0 this Saturday in the annual Southwest Classic against the Texas A&M Aggies in Arlington, Texas.
The Aggies are coming off a 17-9 win against the Miami Hurricanes and are looking to keep the momentum going when they face the Razorbacks. Last year, the Razorbacks won 20-10, snapping Aggie’s 9-game winning streak, but Coach Pittman knows that the Aggies will be ready, and his team must be prepared for a talented team.
“They are a really good team; a big win for them over Miami Saturday, they have a lot of speed in the secondary and are big on the defensive line and at linebackers, ” Pittman said. “You have to stop 0 and 6 on offense which is hard to do Devon Achane is fast, Ainias Smith is dangerous running the ball and catching the ball, and on punt and kickoff returns, along with Achane, they look like a big SEC team, ” Pittman said.
Not only on the offensive side, but the Aggies from the defensive side can be a handful combined with strength and athleticism.
“Their defense is big and physical and can run one strength of their defense is their secondary they’re really good in the backend, ” Pittman said.
Mistakes must be kept at bay if any team wants a chance to win a game. The Razorbacks had penalties along with three turnovers over last week and were still able to win, but Pittman knows that this week is a different scenario, and the margin for error has to be minor, or the Aggies will make you pay.
“On offense, you can’t turn the ball over, and that’s what we did last week; in a nutshell, special teams helped us; we still have a couple of penalties also we need to get fixed, and that’s what happened, and luckily we got out with a win, ” Pittman said.
The Razorbacks are leading the country in sacks per game but also are giving up the most passing yards allowed. Still, a familiar face in the secondary, Myles Slusher, will be back, bringing his versatility to help heal those wounds.
“Slusher can play corner, nickel, and field/boundary safety, and with him, it allows us to make sure we have our five best players on the field, ” Pittman said. “So having him coming back is really big.”
An offseason of hard work has paid dividends for star quarterback KJ Jefferson this year; he is more of a dual-threat quarterback than more of a runner last year. However, Pittman will still like to see Jefferson run even though the running game is coming together this season.
“He can hurt you running or passing, but we have to get him involved in the game early whether it’s running or throwing, ” Pittman said. “I don’t believe we called a significant run for him until the third quarter the other night, so we have to get him involved even though we are running the ball decent.”
Senior Matt Landers had a career night this past Saturday with 7 catches and 123 yards, and Pittman believes that type of game he needed for his confidence for the rest of the season as he looks to gel in with the other wideouts.
“To come out and have that game, hopefully, propels Landers to something even better and special, ” said Pittman. “I’ve been pleased with our receivers, including Trey Knox, and I thought going into the season we had a good receiving core, and I’ve been pleased with those guys.”
The Razorbacks lead the all-time series 42-33-3 against the Aggies, with the game being televised on ESPN and kickoff at 6 p.m. Sept. 24 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas