Texas A&M Football: 2023 Schedule Preview – Arkansas

Offensively, the Hogs will rely chiefly on QB KJ Jefferson and RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders as their bread and butter. Jefferson has almost a Cam Newton-esque build and is unafraid to throw his weight around in order to get the needed yardage. He still has to improve in his passing game, however, as he has yet to wow against elite defenses—though his deep ball is impressive. Sanders has a proven pedigree as a rusher, benefitting from Briles’s system as much as anyone on the team to showcase his speed and ability to break tackles in the open field.

In two games against the Jefferson-led Hogs, Texas A&M football has done a decent job defensively, allowing 20 and 21 points. In both games, however, the Aggies have allowed the majority of those points early before clamping down late in the game. With the progression of this Texas A&M football team on the defensive side that we hope to see, I think it may again prove tough for the Razorbacks to score effectively against the Ags—not only due to said progression, but also due to factors such as losing stud C Ricky Stromberg right from the middle of their OL, and the replacement of Kendal Briles with Dan Enos at the OC spot. Nothing against Enos, but I don’t foresee him being able to replicate the production of a Briles offense.

It’s the thought of this Texas A&M football team on offense, however, that is giving every Hog fan across the country nightmares when they consider this matchup. For that, we have the new Aggie OC to thank. Bobby Petrino took Arkansas football to untold heights during his short tenure as their head coach before flaming out spectacularly in a blaze of scandal. He has spent the time since not so much rehabbing his image as much as continuing to be a somewhat grouchy offensive genius that gives Arkansas fits whenever he matches up against them. Make no mistake, Petrino will have something special dialed up for this one, with Weigman, Stewart, Muhammad, and the rest of the Aggie offense as the beneficiary.

This final factor is the decisive one for me. This Texas A&M football team is on the way up, and the window for excellence may already be closed for this edition of Arkansas under Sam Pittman. I expect the Aggies to deal another blow to the Hogs and get this series marker even closer come September 30.