Hogs' defensive letdowns continue in loss to No. 4 Texas A&M
FAYETTEVILLE — If it sounds like we’re playing a broken record, it’s because we are. The Arkansas Razorbacks (2-5, 0-3 SEC) lost their fifth-straight game on Saturday to the No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies (7-0, 4-0 SEC) because the defense faltered yet again.
The Razorbacks’ offense did everything it could — 527 yards, no turnovers, 42 points — but the defense held up like a chain-link fence in a hurricane and the Aggies offense matched it step-for-step.
“Defensively, we came up with some stops, at times,” Interim head coach Bobby Petrino said postgame. “We defended the run better, at times, but then we rushed past the quarterback a number of times, and a guy that can run like that, you can’t rush past the quarterback. We had our defensive tackles and ends, at least four times, all past the depth of the quarterback and ended up killing us with that.”
It’s worth noting the Razorbacks were down several key defensive players for Saturday’s game, which was pushed back two hours due to inclement weather in the area. Defensive tackles David Oke and Danny Saili were both out with injury, which led to the other defensive linemen playing more snaps.
“I mean trying to rotate them in as much as possible and try to keep them healthy and fresh, but they are playing a number of snaps,” Petrino said. “The depth in that position is not where you’d like it to be.”
Arkansas defense couldn’t get off the field
One particular area that killed the Razorbacks defense was third and fourth down. The Aggies were 5-of-11 on third down, and three of those third-down stops led to fourth-down conversions.
Perhaps the most back-breaking fourth-down conversion came in the fourth quarter. Arkansas had just cut the deficit to three, 38-35, and the defense put the Aggies in a fourth-and-one situation at their own 36-yard line.
Aggies running back E.J. Smith, the son of NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith, took the handoff and the Hogs had their chance to stop him in the backfield, but he powered forward with a second effort and got the first down.
A&M scored five plays later with a 12-yard touchdown run.
“I don’t really think it was anything our defense could have done and should have done,” Petrino said. “I think it was playing an experienced offensive line and tight ends that were really good at short-yardage runs. I thought we had them one time and he gave second effort and made it. Yeah, if we could just get one of those we had an opportunity to change the game.”
Where do the Hogs go from here?
For the second-straight week, Arkansas came close but couldn’t get over the hump to a victory.
Petrino said the loss doesn’t just fall on the defense.
“One thing I wanted to make clear in the in the locker room was that it’s a team loss,” 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 accomplish that.”
The unfortunate elephant in the room is that the Arkansas offense has done nearly everything it can to win games. Amidst the five-game skid, the Hogs’ offense has put up an average of 30.4 points per game while the defense has surrendered 41.6.
Heading into the game, the Razorbacks were sixth in total offense in the FBS and 27th in scoring offense.
The Razorbacks will stay home for the next two weeks and will host the Auburn Tigers inside Razorback Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11:45 a.m. and the game will air on the SEC Network.
