Three Takeaways From Texas A&M's Survival Against the Arkansas Razorbacks

For the first time since 1994, the Texas A&M Aggies are starting a season 7-0 and for the second straight year, they are the last remaining undefeated team in the Southeastern Conference after defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville Saturday night in a high-scoring 45-42 affair.

What started as a slowly growing Texas A&M lead in the first half was quickly evaporated by the Razorbacks with less than two minutes to go. Still, after Ashton Bethel-Roman caught a brilliant deep ball from midway through the first quarter, the Aggies never trailed again in the game, nor did they tie. Still, Arkansas was not going to let them leave Razorback Stadium with a runaway victory.

After a back-and-forth scoring duel in the second half, the time simply just ran out on the game, and in the end, the Aggies just barely put more on the board than their Southwest Classic counterparts.

The Notebook: Three Takeaways

Following the offensive masterpiece at Donald W. Reynolds Saturday night, here are three big takeaways from A&M's fourth straight SEC victory of the season.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) rushes as Texas A&M Aggies defensive tackle Dealyn Evans (55) defends. — Oct 18, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) rushes in the second quarter as Texas A&M Aggies defensive tackle Dealyn Evans (55) attempts a tackle at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

The Run Defense Woes Come Back To (Almost) Bite

Seriously, though. Did they forget to pack the run defense capabilities when they were loading the buses in College Station?

The Maroon and White came into Fayetteville only allowing around 103 yards per game on the ground, and after the time expired, the team had given up 268 yards, including 147 to running back Mike Washington and 85 to quarterback Taylen Green, as well as two touchdowns to the latter, one of which was a 27-yard score that kickstarted Arkansas' 14-point ambush with 1:51 left in the first half.

After allowing 218 rushing yards in the first half alone, the Aggies were able to compose themselves and only allowed 50 in the second half. The LSU Tigers haven't shown much bias towards the run game, but if tonight's Maroon and White run defense shows up in Baton Rouge next week, we could see a repeat of these troubles.

No Moss? No Problem

After Le'Veon Moss went down in the game against the Florida Gators, many were worried that the Aggies would again have to face a tough SEC slate without their star running back.

However, Mike Elko clarified it was only an ankle injury that should only keep Moss out for an extended period of time, and for everything the run defense lacked in tonight's game, the run offense made up for, posting 217 yards on the ground with Rueben Owens (69), Marcel Reed (55), and EJ Smith (52) all eclipsing over 50 yards, with Owens and Reed combining for three touchdowns.

EJ Smith seemed to have made up for lost time, his snap count obviously increasing with the injury to Moss, and with an aggressive style of running that mirrors that of his NFL Hall of Fame father Emmitt, Smith showed that he deserves a spot in the depth chart at running back, and if he keeps up the kind of production he put up tonight, Coach Elko shouldn't even have to think about upping his number of touches on the field going forward.

Does Offense Win Championships?

Obviously, we won't know the answer to that until much further down the line, but with the way the A&M offense was playing to make up for the defensive blunders, the answer we can give right now is a positive shoulder shrug with a "maybe?"

Marcel Reed had what Coach Elko dubbed his best game of the year, completing 23 of 32 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns, with a very noticeable improvement in his deep passing, which included the 24-yard score to Bethel-Roman, as well as a big 37-yard completion to Mario Craver in the third quarter to keep the drive going on offense.

Bethel-Roman himself showed off with a team-high 83-yard performance on four catches, his most notable of the season after seemingly taking somewhat of a backseat role to KC Concepcion and Mario Craver.

Now undefeated with a 7-0 record for the first time in 31 years, the Aggies will look to do something else they haven't done since 1994 next week, and that's defeat the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge.