Marcel Reed accounted for three scores Saturday and remained perfect as starting quarterback for the No. 24 Texas A&M Aggies, who improved to 2-0 in Southeastern Conference play by topping the Arkansas Razorbacks 21-17 in the final Southwest Classic held in Arlington, Texas.
With top quarterback Conner Weigman (shoulder sprain) unavailable for a third straight game, the Aggies (4-1 overall) continued with backup Reed, who went 11-for-22 for 163 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score. He moved to 3-0 as a starter.
Le’Veon Moss carried 13 times for 102 yards, and Noah Thomas caught six passes for 109 yards and a score as the Aggies improved to 12-1 in the past 13 series meetings.
Taylen Green was 23 of 41 for 279 yards, with a touchdown and an interception for Arkansas (3-2, 1-1). The SEC’s leading rusher at 118 yards per game, Ja’Quinden Jackson had just 37 yards on 10 carries and scored. Isaac TeSlaa had five catches for 120 yards and a TD.
The matchup between the two teams, who first played in 1903, was the final one in the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. The series will continue on the Arkansas campus next year.
On the game’s third play from scrimmage, Green scrambled away from defenders and hit TeSlaa for a 75-yard score, but the Aggies evened it up when Reed found Thomas for a 58-yard catch-and-run score on their second series.
The first-quarter fireworks continued after Arkansas punter Devin Bale took off for 25 yards on a fake punt, keeping the drive alive for Jackson’s ninth TD and a 14-7 lead.
In the second quarter, Aggies defensive end Shemar Stewart disrupted a play in the backfield, forcing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Scooby Williams at the Arkansas 10. Reed tied it two plays later on a five-yard keeper.
Kicker Kyle Ramsey, who had made just five of his nine field goal attempts coming into the game, gave the Razorbacks their third lead by drilling a 45-yarder to end a 10-play, 58-yard drive at 13:24 of the fourth.
However, the Aggies went 75 yards on the following series with Reed flipping a short pass to Trey Watson to make it 21-17 — their only lead — with nine minutes remaining.
Texas A&M sealed the game on Nic Scourton’s sack of Green and Jaydon Hill’s fumble recovery with 90 seconds left.
–Field Level Media