Getting dirty and stained is a serious risk whenever venturing into a pig sty.
No. 4 Texas A&M hopes to keep its pristine record untarnished when the Aggies (6-0, 3) travel to face the Arkansas Razorbacks (2-4, 0-2) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT in another big Southeastern Conference football conflict.
The Aggies haven’t had much trouble defeating Arkansas since joining the SEC in 2012. A&M is 12-1 vs. Arkansas in that span.
Yet, only one victory — 45-33 in 2013 — was posted in Fayetteville. The Aggies haven’t returned since.
Also, the game marks just the second time A&M has left Kyle Field. The Aggies won at Notre Dame, 41-40, on Sept. 13.
Despite Arkansas’ modest record, A&M coach Mike Elko warned that winning in Fayetteville could be as difficult as winning in South Bend.
“I think anytime you go on the road in this conference, you've got challenges,” Elko said. “That's the nature of being on the road. There's no easy environments. There's no easy teams. There's no good opportunities. And so anytime you have to go play games on the road, you're going to be dealt with a lot of challenges and a lot of adversity, and you better be ready to overcome them.”
The primary challenges A&M faces come from Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green, who leads the nation in total offense.
Green, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound senior, has accumulated 2,158 yards. He has passed for 1,654 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has rushed for 504 yards and three scores.
Last season, Green passed for 279 yards and a touchdown in a 21-17 loss to the Aggies at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
With Green leading the way, Arkansas averages 36.6 points to rank fifth in the SEC in scoring.
“I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the country,” Elko said. “I think he's got the ability to hurt you so many different ways. He's got a big arm. We saw that last year. He can make a lot of throws.
“He's got unbelievable escapability, and so he's hard to pressure because he can get out of pressure and really hurt you. And then he's got the ability to be a running quarterback. They use him enough as a running quarterback to create problems and stress on the defense. And so I think he's a big piece of the reason why they're as successful as they are. He is certainly playing as well as anybody in the country right now.”
Obviously, the Aggies are playing well, too.
A&M’s defense has limited three SEC opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards. A&M also leads the nation in third-down defense, having allowed a mere 20.78 percent conversion rate on third down.
The Aggies' pass rush has produced 21 sacks. Defensive end Cashius Howell has produced 7.5 of them.
Mario Craver leads the SEC in receiving with 32 catches for 634 yards. KC Concepcion is fourth with 28 receptions for 447 yards. Quarterback Marcel Reed is fifth in the SEC in passing.
However, the Aggies suffered a setback with an injury to leading rusher Le’Veon Moss, who gained 117 yards vs. the Razorbacks last year.
With Moss out of the lineup, A&M turns to sophomore Rueben Owens II to take on the majority of the rushing load.
Owens, who missed most of last season with an injury, has rushed for 245 yards on just 41 carries in SEC play. He had a career-high 142 rushing yards vs. Mississippi State two weeks ago.
“Rueben's starting to hit his stride, which has been really good,” Elko said. “I think it took him a while to get back from his injury. He hasn't had a ton of reps in this offense because of the injury, and so he really didn't get healthy-healthy until the middle of the fall camp, where he was really starting to run and cut the way he wanted to.”
The Aggies should anticipate a tough challenge. It’s the Razorbacks' first home game of the season under interim coach Bobby Petrino.
Also, A&M-Arkansas games typically are close. Seven of the 13 SEC games were decided by a touchdown or less. Three went into overtime.
Elko knows winning in Fayetteville cannot be taken for granted. He has delivered that message to the Aggies.
“I just turned the film on and showed them that they're averaging 40 points a game at 500 yards a game, and they shouldn't have listened to any of the standard narratives that get created around records,” Elko said. “Because if you do that, you'll wind up in a really bad spot.”
