Texas A&M Fined by SEC for Faking Injury vs. Arkansas

The Texas A&M Aggies walked out of Fayetteville on Saturday with their record still unblemished but the program's bank account took a small hit following the 45-42 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.

According to On3's Brett McMurphy, Texas A&M has been fined $50,000 and head coach Mike Elko has been reprimanded for faking an injury in the second half against Arkansas.

The Razorbacks had no issues moving the ball against the Aggies' defense, and it appears that this instance was an attempt to slow down the Arkansas offense for a brief moment.

When Did the Incident Occur?

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed celebrates with running back Rueben Owens II after Owner rushed for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

The incident in question took place at the start of the fourth quarter as the Razorbacks approached the goal line. Texas A&M defensive back Tyreek Chappell suddenly went down to the ground and was tended to by trainers before returning shortly after. Texas A&M led 38-27 at the time.

The SEC said in a statement that Chappell "had no contact during the play" before making a swift return.

"After the ball is spotted by officials, No. 7 for Texas A&M goes to the ground, creating the appearance of an injury," the SEC said. "Just prior to the player going down, a Texas A&M staff member can be seen in the video standing in the team area near the 25-yard line signaling demonstratively to the player, pointing to the ground. It was noted that the Texas A&M player had no contact during the play and returned to the game on the second play of the ensuing defensive possession."

Here's a look at the sequence:

Texas A&M has been fined $50,000 by the SEC for faking an injury to slow down the Arkansas offense on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/q6vqceDtdu
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) October 21, 2025

The conference followed this up by saying the action by Chappell and the unnamed staff is "a clear attempt to gain an unmerited advantage" by bending the rules of injury timeouts.

"As determined by the National Coordinator, the action by player, especially with the concurrent action by the coach in the team area, is a clear attempt to gain an unmerited advantage by stopping the game to be awarded an injury time out," the conference said in the statement. "The action violates the spirit of the injury timeout and fair play and was conducted in a manner that appears to attempt to circumvent the NCAA’s injury time out rule to avoid the team being charged a time out."

The apparent attempt to slow things down by Texas A&M didn't have an impact on Arkansas, as the Razorbacks found the end zone shortly after on a four-yard touchdown catch by Jaden Platt from quarterback Taylen Green.

The SEC has started to crack down on fake injuries since last season, so it's possible this is the first of multiple fines to come for teams in the conference during the 2025 campaign.