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Arkansas (3-1) vs. No. 24 Texas A&M (3-1)
Date: Saturday, September 28
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
The age-old internet question of how to deal with 30-50 feral hogs rings loudly for this game.
How do you deal with the Razorbacks? They’re coming off a 24-14 win as road underdogs against Auburn two weeks after having to right the ship from a 39-31 loss at Oklahoma State.
On Saturday, Arkansas faces a new-look Texas A&M.
The pick — Texas A&M -3.5 (-118, FanDuel)
I’m not too high on Auburn. I think Hugh Freeze’s team is cooked, and quite frankly, the Tigers don’t have the talent to do anything if they still care about the season. So Arkansas’s road win over Auburn didn’t impress me much.
The Razorbacks travel for the second straight week (albeit to a neutral field at AT&T Stadium in Arlington) to play a team that’s much better than Auburn, and just like last week, they are 3 1/2-point underdogs.
I just don’t see it. Texas A&M should win this game by maybe a touchdown or more. The Aggies have seemingly found a quarterback in freshman Marcel Reed, who can run an effective offense unlike former starter Conner Weigman. Reed has thrown for a combined 351 yards and four touchdowns in the two starts. The most important number in his stat line right now: zero interceptions.
Reed’s arm and legs (217 rushing yards, 1 TD) have improved the Texas A&M offense in a transformation worthy of “Extreme Makeover: College Football Edition.” The Aggies suddenly find themselves with a renovated offense to go with their strong defense.
Texas A&M hold top-50 numbers in opponent EPA per rush and opponent EPA per dropback. The Aggies also are 43rd in points per game (21.0) and are top-50 in stopping teams on third and fourth down. Arkansas is going to have a tough time finding its rhythm.
I’ll gladly be part of the 12th Man this week and ride Texas A&M in a good spot against an overhyped team.
Season record: 8-8, -0.32 units