A match up between former Southwest Conference foes and soon to be Southeast Conference members takes place at Cowboys Stadium this Saturday. Last week wasn't very good to either team. Texas A&M managed to squander a 20-3 halftime lead to Oklahoma State and ultimately lost 30-29. Arkansas on the other hand ended the first quarter in a tie before Alabama capitalized on defense and special teams to break the game open and win 38-14.
Texas A&M's fate falls directly on the shoulders of their QB Ryan Tannehill. He faced his first true test this season against Oklahoma State and rewarded the Aggie faithful with a 300 passing performance, two touchdowns and three costly interceptions. His decision-making abilities when passing must improve. The running back tandem of Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael is perplexing. Gray didn't do much with the bulk of his carries, while Michael did. Neither found the end zone last week. Wide out Ryan Swope needs to have a breakout game to open up the running game. His counterpart Jeff Fuller did find the end zone twice last week. The A&M defense had appeared to shut down the Cowboys in the first half performing well, but looked out of synch in the second half.
For the Arkansas Razorbacks, this is a game of redemption. They were completely manhandled by Alabama and need to right the ship. Junior QB Tyler Wilson has been less than stellar having to fill the shoes of departed helmsman Ryan Mallet. Other than the home opener, Wilson has managed to throw an interception in every game this season. His QB rating has dropped precipitously as well. The A&M defense will be looking to exploit his weaknesses come Saturday. RB Ronnie Wingo Jr. has only one 100-yard performance this season and must perform better to give the Razorbacks a chance to win. He does possess decent hands, so look for some screens. Wide receiver Cobi Hamilton is Wilson's favorite target. He'll need to be a difference maker. The defense was supposed to be the strength of the team, but with issues in the secondary look for A&M to throw some deep passes on their way to victory.
