Razorbacks blink in third quarter, never recover against Texas A&M

Defense offers nothing, puts Arkansas' offense under impossible pressure

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Mike Washington takes off on another big run against the Texas A&M Aggies in their game Saturday at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Ted McClenning-allHOGS Images

It felt like destiny. After years of pain against No. 4 Texas A&M, the end of the first half gave the crowd at Razorback Stadium hope that an upset was in the air., but the defense just couldn't alleviate enough pressure off the offense in a 45-42 loss.

"One thing I wanted to make clear in the in the locker room was that it's a team loss," coach Bobby Petrino said. "The offense's job is to outscore them by at least one point.

The defense's job is to hold them to one less point, and special teams have got to give us some plays. So, we didn't we didn't accomplish that."

After getting outplayed for most of the first half, Petrino managed the end of the first half to perfection to score 14 unanswered points to go into the locker room trailing by just one. The defense even got a stop with the help of the clock near the end of the first half.

Former Arkansas running back and two-time Doak Award Winner was honored at halftime as the band stood in a DM5 configuration to pay homage to the Razorback legend.

pic.twitter.com/UekOyYHe3Q

— daniel shi (@dshi12) October 18, 2025

Running back Mike Washington and the rest of the rushing attack, which included quarterback Talyen Green put on a McFadden-esque performance.

The Razorbacks gashed the Aggie defense for 218 rushing yards in the first half alone. The Aggies came into the game allowing just 67.7 rushing yards a game in three previous SEC contests.

In the span of just 86 seconds, Arkansas undid most of its hard work coming out of halftime. The Aggies needed just three plays to march down the field 75 yards.

Quarterback Marcel Reed scrambled for 46 yards before tossing a 17-yard touchdown pass to the corner of the end zone for wide receiver KC Concepcion.

"Just a good, good team," linebacker Xavian Sorey said about the challenges that Texas A&M presented. "We knew they were [a] top team coming over here. I can't really vividly remember anything [specific] right now off the top of my head."

Even destiny and McFadden magic couldn't will the Razorbacks defense to a stop.

KC Recepcion pic.twitter.com/c0nxrcHW8b

— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 18, 2025

Green and the offense were tasked with perfection just to keep pace, and the third quarter woes for Arkansas continued to hinder the Hogs.

The Razorbacks managed just four yards on a one-yard run and a short completion on the ensuing drive.

Arkansas' defense was back on the field with less than 90 seconds off the game clock. The Razorback offense couldn't count on the defense for the rest of the half.

Texas A&M scored points on every drive except for the drive at the end of the first half and the final time that the Aggies touched the ball when the game was already practically over.

The Razorbacks offense tried its best to keep pace, but when tasked with perfection, all it took was one mistake to doom the already fragile comeback. That mistake came with 6:52 left in the game on the first play of the drive.

The combination of Cashius Howell and Dayon Hayes combined for a 20-yard sack that even the Houdini magic of Green could not overcome a 2nd-and-30.

"Check it down to that playmaker right there to my left [Mike Washington]," Green said. "Or just throw it away. Those are things that, just going to go to film, watch the film and get coached hard and to learn from it, because I'm gonna be in that situation again."

The offense was tasked with perfection, coming up just short from it led to more heartbreak for the Hogs against the Aggies.

Arkansas will look to snap a five-game slide with the second game of a three-game homestand against Auburn. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Saturday and will be broadcast on SEC Network.