ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M coach Mike Elko had some fun with his players about facing Arkansas for the last time as a scheduled neutral site opponent inside the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
The 24th-ranked Aggies will try to finish a run of dominance at AT&T Stadium against the alma mater of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. It's the final game on the fertile recruiting ground of Dallas-Fort Worth before the schools switch to campus sites for the first time as Southeastern Conference foes.
“So I told our guys ... in kind of a joking manner, if you’re a Cowboys fan, it’s the last chance you get to go up there and play a game in Cowboys Stadium,” Elko said of Saturday's meeting at the 80,000-seat venue with a retractable roof and giant video board hanging above the field.
“And if you’re not a Cowboys fan, it’s the last chance you get to beat Jerry Jones’ team in Cowboys Stadium,” said Elko, the first-year coach who was A&M's defensive coordinator in four meetings with Arkansas from 2018-21. “It works both ways, whether you like the Cowboys or not.”
The schools signed a 15-year contract, and the Razorbacks (3-1, 1-0 SEC) won the first three meetings in Arlington starting in 2009, the year Jerry World opened.
That was before the Aggies (3-1, 1-0) joined the SEC in 2012. Since then, Texas A&M is 11-1 in the series. The domination started with a home-and-home sweep, followed by six consecutive victories in Arlington and another in College Station during the pandemic-altered 2020 season.
The Razorbacks ended a nine-game slide with a 20-10 victory three years ago. Six of their nine losses since 2014 have been one-score games, with three going to overtime.
“Gotta find a way to go finish the game,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “I don’t think it’s a mystique about A&M or playing in Dallas or anything like that. I just think that we’ve got to figure out how to finish and hold on to the ball and just basic things you do in every game.”
Elko is hopeful quarterback Conner Weigman can play after missing the past two games with a sprained throwing (right) shoulder. But Marcel Reed is 2-0 as the starter.
Reed's first collegiate start was the 33-20 victory at Florida, which was followed by last week's 26-20 win over Bowling Green.
“I still think there’s some progressions, reads, checks that he’s still working through,” Elko said. “I just think he’s a young quarterback who gets better every time he takes snaps under center.”
The Aggies are eighth nationally at 265 yards rushing per game, with running back Le’Veon Moss averaging 88.5 yards per game to Reed’s 72.3.
Taylen Green's debut as Arkansas quarterback after three years at Boise State has been up and down. While he directs an offense that ranks eighth nationally at 524 yards per game, Green is completing just 54% of his passes with four touchdowns and four interceptions.
“Taylen’s got to make good decisions,” Pittman said. “But at the same time, we’ve got to get a lot better around him, especially in protections, for us to hit on all cylinders.”
Both teams are trying to maintain momentum that has been building since early nonconference losses to ranked opponents. Arkansas, which lost at No. 20 Oklahoma State in Week 2, is coming off a 24-14 victory at Auburn. The Aggies opened with a home loss to 16th-ranked Notre Dame. The Razorbacks have a chance to go 2-0 in the SEC for the first time since 2006.
Texas A&M defensive back Marcus Ratcliffe has an interception in three consecutive games, including one in the end zone late against Bowling Green. Ratcliffe’s three picks lead the SEC and are tied for second nationally. Arkansas DB TJ Metcalf had two interceptions, two pass breakups and a forced fumble against Auburn. He’s the first to do that for the Razorbacks since 1999.
Ja’Quinden Jackson leads the SEC at 118 yards rushing per game and has reached eight touchdowns in a season faster than any Arkansas running back since 1995.
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