No. 23 Texas A&M’s fumble recovery handed off for touchdown propels Aggies over No. 10 Arkansas

No. 23 Texas A&M were the victims of a huge upset at home to Appalachian State two weeks ago, but on Saturday, they took down No. 10 Arkansas at AT&T Stadium, 23-21.

A wild turnover proved to be a huge difference for the win.

Arkansas was mere inches away from taking a two-touchdown lead in the second quarter. Instead, KJ Jefferson fumbled at the goal line and it was recovered by Tyreek Chappell who ran it back to the 18-yard line. But just as he was getting tackled, he handed it off to Demani Richardson who took it the rest of the 82 yards for a touchdown with 3:11 left in the half. 

The Arkansas defense was able to force the Aggies to try a 53-yard field goal that missed wide left, giving the Razorbacks a chance to take the lead at their own 36 with 6:30 left. On 3rd and 6, Jefferson found Matt Landers for a gain of 19, followed by rushes of 11 and 10 yards by Raheim Sanders and Jefferson, respectively, to get to the opposing 21. 

But two plays later, a bad snap pushed them back to the 25. On 4th and 13, Cam Little came on for a 42-yard field goal to give Arkansas the lead, but he doinked it off the top of the right upright. A&M was able to knee out the clock for the win.

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A&M got the ball at the half, and drove 70 yards on six plays, including a 26-yard catch by Donovan Greene. Devon Achane ran it in for a nine-yard score, and the PAT gave the Aggies a 20-14 lead.

After Arkansas went three-and-out, the Aggies had a long, steady drive, and a 32-yard catch by Ainias Smith put them inside the red zone, but they wouldn’t go further and had to settle for a field goal. They did, however, give them a 23-14 lead with 3:48 left in the third.

After both teams exchanged punts, the Razorbacks’ 13-play drive was capped off by a Jefferson nine-yard rushing touchdown, cutting their deficit to two points with 10:05 to go.

Achane had 159 rushing yards on 19 carries, one of them for a score, while Max Johnson completed 11 of his 21 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown.

Jefferson only threw for 171 yards, but ran for another 105 as the team’s leading rusher. Warren Thompson had two catches for 57 yards and a touchdown, while Jadon Haselwood had 56 yards on five catches.

Texas A&M will visit Mississippi State next Saturday, while Arkansas will host Alabama.