Texas A&M Football: 2023 Schedule Preview – Arkansas
![Nov 19, 2022; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson (1) celebrates after a game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 42-27. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports Nov 19, 2022; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson (1) celebrates after a game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas won 42-27. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/07b30ca5328c6f906ff17311f3986188ca3c847c852e27be151e4c1dec5983d6.jpg)
Since joining the SEC, the annual Southwest Classic between Texas A&M football and Arkansas has been a bit of a one-sided affair. The Aggies have won all but one matchup—the 2021 edition, where the Hogs triumphed 20-10. This series in recent history has been marked by Texas A&M either pulling out a close/improbable victory, like in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and this past year, or—less commonly—blowing the doors off Arkansas, such as in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2020.
Though this is the series in which the Aggies have been the most dominant since joining the conference—with the possible exception of South Carolina—there is a much longer history between the Aggies and Razorbacks than any other conference-mate of Texas A&M football. The Ags and Hogs have a rivalry that dates back to their time in the Southwest Conference. Arkansas holds an all-time lead in the matchup, but the Aggies have certainly done much to close that gap over the last decade or so. The tally currently stands at 42-34-3 in favor of the Hogs. Both teams have recorded a 9-game winning streak in the history of this series, and the Aggies hold the largest margin of victory with a 48-point drubbing doled out by Johnny Manziel and crew in 2012.
“Luck” in college football normally balances itself out…
— Carter B (@CarterthePower) September 25, 2022
But not in Texas A&M vs Arkansas.
No annual SEC matchup has been more one-sided in terms of brutal misfortune.
From the Dan Skipper leg whip to now this.
Pure. Insanity.
pic.twitter.com/YNi27RmEie
Despite the lopsided win totals in recent memory, the Hogs have done a good job of giving the Aggies trouble, no matter how overmatched they may seem. In a year that Arkansas lost to North Texas, they played the Aggies right down to the wire, for example. Jimbo Fisher and company would do well, then, to have this matchup circled yearly as one to watch carefully year in and year out—and this year, with one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the conference at the reins, Arkansas will be a formidable foe.
Let’s check out where the Hogs fared the best and the worst last year, and then how they project moving forward.