Aggies score late to win Southwest Classic over Arkansas 21-17

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Le’Veon Moss was banged up and bottled up with No. 24 Texas A&M down three points in the fourth quarter of the final scheduled neutral-site game against Arkansas at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Three straight carries covering 46 yards triggered the winning drive in yet another victory for the Aggies over the Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium.

Marcel Reed threw for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 5-yarder to Tre Watson that was set up by Moss, and ran for a score in the 21-17 win Saturday.

“We pound ourselves about finishing in the fourth quarter a lot,” said Moss, who had 110 yards on 12 carries. “That’s just the main focus of finishing the fourth quarter.”

Reed had a hand in two tying scores before halftime — a 58-yard pass to Noah Thomas and his 5-yard TD run — before the Aggies went on to beat the Razorbacks for the 12th time in 13 meetings since joining them in the Southeastern Conference in 2012.

Nine of those victories for Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0 SEC) came at AT&T Stadium against the alma mater of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The series, which started with a 15-year contract the year Jones' retractable roof venue opened in 2009, is set to move to campus sites full-time.

Seven of Texas A&M's 10 victories over Arkansas (3-2, 1-1) since 2014 have been one-score games, with three going to overtime. The Hogs led 17-14 early in the fourth on Kyle Ramsey’s 45-yard field goal.

“Arkansas, Texas A&M in AT&T Stadium, how else would you expect it to go?” Aggies coach Mike Elko said. “All the way down to the stretch, and you needed to make plays in the fourth quarter to win it.”

The Razorbacks scored three plays into the game when Taylen Green threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Isaac TeSlaa, and Ja’Quinden Jackson's 8-yard run for the Razorbacks' only other touchdown put them up 14-7.

Devin Bale's punt for Arkansas pinned Texas A&M at its 1 with 5:34 left and the Razorbacks trailing by four points. Reed threw 10 yards to Jabre Barber and Moss ran for another 30 to give the Aggies some breathing room before a punt backed up the Razorbacks to their 10.

“He got dinged up a little bit early so we didn’t have him for a good part of the middle of the game,” Elko said of Moss. “We got him healthy and ready to roll when it was time, and he was able to go out there and rip off some really big runs.”

Arkansas converted a fourth-and-1 and moved to the 34 before Nic Scourton hit Green from behind and forced a fumble that was recovered by A&M's Jaydon Hill with 1:30 left. The Aggies ran out the clock.

Arkansas' Jackson was limited to 37 yards on 10 carries after coming in leading the SEC at 118 yards rushing per game.

Green had 279 yards passing but just 12 rushing on 12 carries as the Aggies finished with two sacks and nine tackles for loss.

“I thought their defense was extremely physical,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “We knew it going in. We thought that was the best part of their football team, and they certainly showed it.”

Reed, who is 3-0 as the starter since Connor Weigman sprained his throwing shoulder, finished 11 of 22 for 163 yards and no turnovers. Weigman was in uniform.

The Takeaway

Arkansas: The Razorbacks set up their second TD with Bale's 25-yard run on a fake punt. But they might have tried the trickery with him one time too many. Bale was the holder on a fake field goal and was dropped for a 5-yard loss, leaving the score tied at 14 in the third quarter.

Texas A&M: Since losing to No. 16 Notre Dame in the opener at home, the Aggies are building momentum in the first season under Elko. Both of the SEC victories have been away from College Station, starting with a win at Florida two weeks ago.

Up next

Arkansas: hosts No. 5 Tennessee next Saturday.

Texas A&M: hosts No. 11 Missouri next Saturday.

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