NCAAF Game Recap - Texas A&M at Arkansas
Sat Sep 28, 2019 12:00 PM EDT

Clem
21
UNC
20
F
Miss
31
Bama
59
F
OSU
48
Neb
7
F
TxTch
16
Okla
55
F
MissSt
23
Aub
56
F
NW
15
Wisc
24
F
Tows
0
Fla
38
F
UVA
20
ND
35
F
PSU
59
MD
0
F
MidTN
3
Iowa
48
F
AzSt
24
Cal
17
F
USC
14
Wash
28
F
WaSt
13
Utah
38
F
Rut
0
Mich
52
F
UConn
21
UCF
56
F
TxAM
31
Ark
27
F
K St
13
OkSt
26
F
Ind
31
MSU
40
F
Navy
23
Mem
35
F
Duke
45
VaTec
10
F
SJSU
24
AF
41
F
C Mi
15
WestMI
31
F
Buff
20
MiaOH
34
F
NIU
18
Vand
24
F
Kans
14
TCU
51
F
BYU
21
Toled
28
F
HolyC
3
Syr
41
F
Del
14
Pitt
17
F
JMU
45
Elon
10
F
JacSt
33
APSU
52
F
CoCar
37
App
56
F
IASt
21
Bayl
23
F
GATec
2
Temp
24
F
MIN
38
Purd
31
F
Akr
29
UMass
37
F
FlAtl
45
UNCC
27
F
Wake
27
BC
24
F
SMU
48
SoFL
21
F
Cin
52
Marsh
14
F
ArkSt
50
Troy
43
F
ULLaf
37
GaSo
24
F
ECU
24
OD
21
F
NM
10
Lib
17
F
SamHu
28
McNee
17
F
SoAl
17
ULMon
30
F
Stan
31
OreSt
28
F
UAB
13
W Ky
20
F
Nich
3
TxSt
24
F
UTEP
13
SMiss
31
F
LT
23
Rice
20
F OT
ColSt
24
UtSt
34
F
KY
7
SCar
24
F
NCSt
13
FlaSt
31
F
UNLV
17
Wyo
53
F
Fres
30
NMS
17
F
Hou
46
NorTx
25
F
Hawaii
54
NEV
3
F
UCLA
17
Ariz
20
F

Sep 28, 2019, 12:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

(23) Texas A&M (3-2)

7

14

0

10

31

Arkansas (2-3)

0

17

7

3

27

Mond-Davis twice for No. 23 Texas A&M to beat Arkansas 31-27
Sat Sep 28, 2019 5:59 PM

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) No. 23 Texas A&M had a chance to really take control early when big defensive tackle Justin Madubuike intercepted a pass at the goal line.

That's just not what happens when the Aggies, even when favored by more than three touchdowns, play Arkansas. These games are always close.

Kellen Mond threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and Quartney Davis' second TD catch put the Aggies ahead to stay in a 31-27 win Saturday over Arkansas, which drove to the A&M 19 in the final minute before a fourth-down incompletion.

"I wouldn't say it's embarrassing. I've been playing this game for the past three years and it seems like every year it comes down to the wire," Davis said. "It's a pretty interesting game."

Instead of the Aggies (3-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) seizing momentum after Madubuike picked off the pass by Nick Starkel, DeJon Harris scooped up a fumble and returned it 6 yards for a touchdown on the next play to get Arkansas within 14-10 with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

Starkel, the grad transfer who played for Texas A&M the past two seasons, sustained a significant bruise on his left (non-throwing) arm when tackling the 304-pound Madubuike and didn't return.

"I had never had an interception in my life," Madubuike said. "I just looked up to see where the ball was and it just appeared right to my left peripheral. I turned and it was right there, and grabbed it and tried to run, and he tried to tackle me."

The Razorbacks even went ahead when Ben Hicks, who lost the starting job to Starkel after two games, made a nice back-shoulder throw to Mike Woods in the front corner of the end zone for a 13-yard TD.

A week after a home loss to San Jose State, the Razorbacks (2-3, 0-2) lost their 13th consecutive SEC game, including all 10 under second-year coach Chad Morris. They have lost eight in a row against Texas A&M since the Aggies left the Big 12.

"It hurts that it was that close and we couldn't do it, but I think it opened some eyes," Arkansas cornerback Kamren Curl said.

"We've got to find ways to win games like this," Morris said. "This was a pivotal week for our football team. We all knew this performance last week was unacceptable. And how we responded was the only thing that matters, and why we got the results that we did."

After Mond was picked off in the end zone late in the third quarter, the Razorbacks had to punt after Hicks was sacked at the 2. That set up a short drive for Mond's 3-yard TD to Davis with 12:21 left.

Davis' 22-yard catch-and-run 8 seconds before halftime had put A&M up 21-17. He spun away from a linebacker after making a short catch, then swept across to the other side of the field to score.

The teams traded field goals after Davis' second TD catch, and Seth Small's 50-yarder with 3:52 left was big for Texas A&M.

"You always feel good because you find ways to persevere and have success, but you're not satisfied, you're not content," Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher said. "You know there's a lot of issues that we have to get fixed to go on down the road to play good football."

SO CLOSE

A close game between the former Southwest Conference rivals really should be no surprise. The Aggies won by a touchdown last year, after three of the previous four meetings went to overtime.

THE TAKEAWAY

Texas A&M: After losses to No. 1 Clemson and No. 7 Auburn, the Aggies again found themselves in a tight game against Arkansas. Texas A&M had a chance to take control early after Madubuike's interception, but the scoop-and-score by Arkansas on the next play quickly changed the tone of things again.

Arkansas: Hicks, who lost the starting job to Starkel after two games, had already converted one fourth down on the final Arkansas drive, and had an impressive 17-yard scramble before his final pass was incomplete. He finished 15 of 27 for 188 yards.

Morris said afterward, "Nick's our starter."

CAPTAIN'S STADIUM

The game was played again in the home stadium of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, who are owned by Jerry Jones, a captain for Arkansas' 1964 undefeated team. Jones was at the game. His grandson, John Stephen Jones, is a Razorbacks quarterback.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Texas A&M was the only two-loss team in the latest AP Top 25. The Aggies likely did enough to hang in the poll.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M: The Aggies have an open date before hosting second-ranked Alabama on Oct. 12, which starts a stretch of four of five games at home.

Arkansas: The Razorbacks play Oct. 12 at Kentucky after an open date.

---

More AP college football: http://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

TxAM Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
K. Mond 35 23 65.7 3 251 30 1 103.4
Ark Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
B. Hicks 27 15 55.6 1 188 31 0 89.7
N. Starkel 17 12 70.6 0 109 27 1 63.1

Rushing

TxAM Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
J. Kibodi 9 38 4.2 14 0
K. Mond 14 33 2.4 18 0
Ark Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
R. Boyd 18 89 4.9 24 0
D. Whaley 3 12 4.0 11 1

Receiving

TxAM Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
J. Ausbon 7 82 11.7 17 0
A. Smith 5 80 16.0 30 1
Ark Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
C. O'Grady 8 91 11.4 27 0
M. Woods II 4 62 15.5 22 1

Fumbles

TxAM F FL
K. Mond 1 0
I. Spiller 1 1

Returning

TxAM KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
A. Smith 1 31.0 0 31 1 9.0 0 9
Ark KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
T. Burks 0 0 0 2 17.5 0 32

Punting

TxAM Punt Yds Avg LgPu
B. Mann 4 198 49.5 59
Ark Punt Yds Avg LgPu
S. Loy 3 116 38.7 45

Takeaways

TxAM Int Yds InTD
J. Madubuike 1 18 0
Ark Int Yds InTD
D. Harris 0 0 0
M. Brown 1 12 0

Team Stats Comparison

TxAM Ark
Points For 31 27
Total Yards 340 395
Rushing Yards 89 98
Passing Yards 251 297
Passing Completions / Attempts 23/35 27/44
Turnovers 2 1
Interceptions Thrown 1 1
Fumbles - Lost 3/1 0/0
First Downs 24 26
Penalties - Yards 6/55 8/48
Time Of Possession 37:37 23:23
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 5/10 5/13
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 0/0 1/2
Punts - Average Yards 4/50 3/39

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter TxAM Ark
TxAM 12:04 TD Ainias Smith 9 yd pass from Kellen Mond (Seth Small kick) 7 0
2nd Quarter TxAM Ark
Ark 00:45 FG Connor Limpert 46 yd FG 7 3
TxAM 05:12 TD Isaiah Spiller 4 yd run (Seth Small kick) 14 3
Ark 09:30 TD De'Jon Harris 6 yd fumble return (Connor Limpert kick) 14 10
Ark 13:05 TD Mike Woods 13 yd pass from Ben Hicks (Connor Limpert kick) 14 17
TxAM 14:52 TD Quartney Davis 22 yd pass from Kellen Mond (Seth Small kick) 21 17
3rd Quarter TxAM Ark
Ark 04:26 TD Devwah Whaley 11 yd run (Connor Limpert kick) 21 24
4th Quarter TxAM Ark
TxAM 02:39 TD Quartney Davis 3 yd pass from Kellen Mond (Seth Small kick) 28 24
Ark 06:14 FG Connor Limpert 40 yd FG 28 27
TxAM 11:08 FG Seth Small 50 yd FG 31 27

Game Information

Stadium: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 51,441
Game Time:
Weather: