10 Things to Know - Texas A&M

Arkansas returns to conference action against Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 11 a.m. at AT&T Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and the ESPN app. Here are 10 things to know before kickoff on Saturday.

1.  It will be the 76th meeting between the Razorbacks & the Aggies, and the 10th in Arlington. Arkansas leads the all-time series, 41-31-3, but trail in games played in Arlington, 6-3. The Razorbacks will be the home team on Saturday. Six of the last seven games between the Razorbacks and Aggies have been decided by seven points or fewer. Both teams will be playing their second SEC contest of the season. Arkansas traveled to Oxford in the second week of the year, dropping a 31-17 game against the Rebels. Texas A&M opened conference play last weekend at home against Auburn, falling by a score of 28-20.
2. Several members of Arkansas’ current roster have ties to Texas A&M. Arkansas head coach Chad Morris is a graduate of Texas A&M, earning his degree in mathematics in 1992. Razorback defensive coordinator John Chavis also served as the D.C. for the Aggies from 2015-17. Defensive backs coach Ron Cooper was a member of Chavis’ defensive staff in 2017 in College Station. Quarterback Nick Starkel and running back Rakeem Boyd spent part of their collegiate careers in College Station. Boyd never played a down for the Aggies, moving to Independence CC in Kansas for a season before coming to Arkansas last year, while Starkel played as both a redshirt-freshman and sophomore, seeing action as both a starter and a reserve.
3. Starkel saw most of his production as a redshirt-freshman, throwing for 1,793 yards on 123-of-205 passing. His top performance came in the Belk Bowl against Wake Forest, setting the Texas A&M bowl game records for attempts (63), completions (42) and passing yards (499). Starkel transferred to Arkansas after graduating from Texas A&M this summer.
4. Sophomore wide receiver Mike Woods posted a career night in the receiving game against San Jose State. He hauled in four receptions for 115 yards, scoring once in the contest. His 115 receiving yards is a career-high and marked the 13th consecutive season Arkansas has had at least one 100-yard receiver, accomplishing the feat once last season thanks to Jordan Jones’ 132-yard performance in the season opener. Woods’ first reception of the night went for the longest of his collegiate career, a 62-yard deep ball in the first quarter to tie the game at 7 and match the longest offensive play of the season for the Razorbacks this year. All four of his receptions against the Spartans went for first downs. With his performance in week four, Woods has now surpassed his yardage total from last season (206 yards on 18 catches), piling up 239 yards on 17 receptions in 2019.
5. Over the last two games, Arkansas has accumulated over 1,000 yards of total offense, including a season-best 520 against Colorado State on Sept. 14. The Razorbacks haven’t had a two-game stretch of 1,000+ yards since 2016, doing so against Mississippi State (661) on Nov. 19 and Missouri (503) on Nov. 25. Arkansas is averaging 440.8 yards per game this season, compared to 375.5 after week four of the 2018 campaign.
6. Nick Starkel has thrown for 300+ yards and three touchdowns in each of the last two games. His 305 passing yards vs. CSU were the first by an Arkansas QB under head coach Chad Morris and the third of his career. It was the first time a Razorback quarterback had thrown for 300+ yards and three touchdowns in a game since Austin Allen in 2016. Starkel is the first Arkansas QB since Ryan Mallett in 2010 to throw for 300+ yards and 3 touchdowns in back-to-back games. His 356 passing yards against San Jose State were the most by a Razorback since Austin Allen threw for 400 on Oct. 8, 2016, against Alabama. Starkel is the 12th Arkansas quarterback to throw for 300 yards in a game and the seventh to do it multiple times in a season.
7. Freshman wide receiver Trey Knox arrived on the Hill with a lot of hype, and has backed it up over the first four games of the year. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native has led the team in receptions in each of the last three games, while finishing second on the team in the season’s opening contest. Knox leads all Arkansas receivers with 21 catches and 299 yards, racking up over 80 yards in each of the last three games. His week three performance of 90 yards on six receptions are the most by a true freshman since Hunter Henry tallied 109 on Sept. 28, 2013, against Texas A&M. Knox termed “SnagCrew” to define the wide receiver unit before arriving at Arkansas, originally calling himself the C.E.O., before turning over the title to WR coach Justin Stepp and taking up the title of C.O.O. of the unit.
8. Through four games this season, the Razorbacks have produced eight takeaways, which ranks fifth in the SEC and 19th in the country. In the first game of the year, Arkansas racked up three interceptions, all from different defenders in Kamren Curl, Joe Foucha and Jarques McClellion. Curl & Foucha were responsible for both of Arkansas’ takeaways at Ole Miss, this time coming via fumbles. Foucha recovered a loose ball from QB Matt Corral in the third quarter, while Curl ripped the ball free from TE Octavious Cooley early in the fourth quarter and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown. Against Colorado State, the Razorbacks added two more fumble recoveries thanks to Montaric Brown, who picked up the ball after McTelvin Agim jarred it loose in the second quarter, and LaDarrius Bishop, who returned the fumble that Hayden Henry popped loose in the fourth quarter for a TD. Curl added his second INT of the year on Saturday vs. San Jose State, picking off a pass in the first quarter.
9. Senior kicker Connor Limpert picked up where he left off last season, connecting on two field goals against Portland State. The left-footed kicker nailed attempts from 34 and 25 yards in the first and fourth quarters, respectively, to help propel the Razorbacks to a 1-0 start to the season. He connected on a 36-yard field goal on the road at Ole Miss, then added two more from 54 and 22 yards against Colorado State. His 54-yarder against the Rams was one yard shy of his career-long and is tied for the ninth-longest in school history. He was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 16 for his performance against Colorado State, this first conference weekly honor of his career. He added another FG against San Jose State, a 48-yarder for his second 40+ yard kick of the year. The Lou Groza Award semifinalist sits alone at eighth in the school’s record books in career field goals made with 33 made in 40 attempts, and now ranks 10th in FG attempts at Arkansas. He entered the 2019 campaign with a career field goal percentage of 81.8, which now sits at 82.5 and leads all Arkansas kickers. Limpert is one of 40 collegiate kickers on the 2019 Lou Groza Award Watch List.
10. Eight players on the 2019 Arkansas roster are wearing the SEC Graduate Patch this season having already earned their undergraduate degree: DL McTelvin Agim, TE Chase Harrell, LB De’Jon Harris, QB Ben Hicks, OL Colton Jackson, LB Grant Morgan, DL TJ Smith and QB Nick Starkel. The special patch on their jersey highlights their academic achievement. The patch features a red and white SEC logo with a “stole” wrapping underneath it emblazoned with the all-important word, “Graduate.”