We’ve seen this show before, haven’t we?
Texas A&M 50, Arkansas 43 in overtime at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
It was the sixth consecutive win for the Aggies over Arkansas, tying the record set from 1938-43.
If Coach Kevin Sumlin’s team could play the Razorbacks more often, he wouldn’t be on the hot seat. Sumlin is 6-0 against the Hogs, and Bret Bielema is 0-5 against the Aggies. Three of the past four Arkansas losses in the series have come in overtime
A&M is 5-0 in overtime games under Sumlin. Both Arkansas and Texas A&M have 12 overtime victories, tying them for the second most overtime wins in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
The Aggies continue to have Arkansas’ number, and the Razorback fan base grows increasingly restless with a team that’s 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the Southeastern Conference.
It appears the weather will be wonderful in Arkansas on Saturday. It will be a good day for college football with games in seven Arkansas cities — Fayetteville, Conway, Magnolia, Russellville, Arkadelphia, Searcy and Batesville.
In what could turn out to be the game of the year in the Southland Conference, 3-0 Sam Houston State travels to Conway to take on 2-1 UCA. Sam Houston State is No. 3 nationally in the Football Championship Subdivision, and UCA is No 12 in the FCS. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
And in what could turn out to be the game of the year in the Great American Conference, 3-1 Ouachita travels to Russellville to take on 4-0 Arkansas Tech. The Wonder Boys are No. 11 in this week’s American Football Coaches Association Division II poll. It’s the highest ranking for a Tech team since 2005. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
We were 6-3 on the picks last week, making the record 24-8 for the season.
Here are the picks for Week 5:
Arkansas 40, New Mexico State 30 — Arkansas must take on another group of Aggies, and it’s another 11 a.m. kickoff. New Mexico State comes to Fayetteville with a 2-2 record. The wins have been by scores of 30-28 over New Mexico and 41-14 over UTEP. The losses were by scores of 37-31 to Arizona State and 27-24 to Troy. Normally this should be a blowout. But this is an Arkansas team that gives up big plays. Texas A&M’s Christian Kirk, for example, had a 100-yard kickoff return, two touchdown catches and 246 all-purpose yards. A&M had four plays of 44 yards or longer. So expect this new group of Aggies to hang around for most of the game with Arkansas pulling away at the end.
Sam Houston State 33, UCA 28 — This is an opportunity for the Bears to make a statement and move into the Top 10. And they’ve had two weeks to prepare for this one. Sam Houston State has won games by scores of 48-34 over Richmond, 44-31 over Prairie View and 66-17 over Nicholls State. This should be a highly entertaining battle against a Bear team that bounced back from an opening loss at Kansas State to post victories over Murray State and Southeastern Louisiana.
Alabama A&M 15, UAPB 14 — The Golden Lions are off to a 1-0 start in the SWAC (2-2 overall) following a 34-27 overtime victory over 0-4 Jackson State on Saturday. UAPB trailed 27-16 at the end of the third quarter but got a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 13:10 remaining. A 33-yard field goal with 15 seconds left forced overtime and set the stage for the Golden Lion victory. Alabama A&M lost its three nonconference games by scores of 38-7 to UAB, 42-0 to Vanderbilt and 45-0 to the University of South Alabama. A&M won its SWAC opener by a final score of 30-13 over Texas Southern. Which team will move to 2-0 in the SWAC? We’ll give Alabama A&M the slight edge as the home team.
Arkansas Tech 35, Ouachita 27 — The Wonder Boys upset the preseason favorite in the conference — Southern Arkansas — on the final night of August in Russellville and have gotten better each week with subsequent victories over Henderson, Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene. In last Saturday’s 52-0 victory over 2-2 Southern Nazarene, Tech quarterback Ty Reasnor was 16 of 22 passing for 205 yards. Ouachita, meanwhile, defeated 1-3 East Central Oklahoma 45-14 as Drew Harris out of Benton scored three touchdowns for the Tigers. Ouachita has won its two road games by margins of 28 and 31 points, but Southwestern Oklahoma and East Central aren’t to be confused with Tech. Ouachita could easily be 4-0 had its defense shown up in the first half of a 41-35 loss to a Southeastern Oklahoma team that’s now 4-0.
Henderson 41, Southern Nazarene 19 — Those used to seeing Henderson win GAC games were stunned when the Reddies started the season 1-2. Henderson appeared to get back on track Saturday with a 37-14 victory against a 1-3 Southwestern Oklahoma club. That extended the nation’s longest road winning streak to 28 games. Look for the Reddies to gain some confidence in Arkadelphia on Saturday afternoon while improving their record to 3-2.
Harding 34, UAM 26 — Yes, Henderson’s 1-2 start was surprising. Even more surprising was the 0-3 start by Harding, which was 11-0 in the regular season a year ago. The defending conference champions finally picked up a victory, going on the road and defeating 0-4 Oklahoma Baptist by a final score of 45-14 in Shawnee. There are a number of first-time starters on this Harding team, and the Bisons’ double-slot offense takes time to perfect. Expect Harding to get better and better as the season goes along. UAM is 2-2 following Saturday’s 41-21 loss at 4-0 Southeastern Oklahoma. UAM quarterback Cole Sears was limited to just 79 yards passing in that game.
Southern Arkansas 37, Oklahoma Baptist 12 — The Muleriders were picked by most to win the GAC in 2017 but find themselves 2-2 following a 38-16 loss to a 2-2 Northwestern Oklahoma team that had upset Henderson the previous week. Barrett Renner passed for 295 yards for SAU in the losing cause. He should be able to pick a bad defense from Oklahoma Baptist apart in Magnolia on Saturday night.