No. 10 Texas A&M Gets 45-24 Win Over No. 17 Arkansas
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ARLINGTON (AP) — The momentum quickly turned for 10th-ranked Texas A&M when Trevor Knight, the quarterback already with two long touchdown runs, had another big play right after a huge defensive stand by the Aggies.
Knight hit Josh Reynolds for a 92-yard tiebreaking TD pass two plays after 17th-ranked Arkansas was stopped three times from the 1, ending a 19-play drive that took nearly 10 minutes, and the Aggies went on to a 45-24 victory late Saturday night.
"A big-time momentum-changer," Knight said.
Reynolds caught the ball in stride just short of midfield and quickly shed defensive back DJ Dean on his way to the end zone to break a 17-all tie and put the Aggies (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) ahead to stay.
Texas A&M has won five straight against the Razorbacks (3-1, 0-1), all since joining the SEC in 2012.
"This game has been something else," Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin said. "I was proud of our guys. They hung in there, and it just really showed the maturity of our team tonight."
The long catch-and-run by Reynolds came two plays after Keon Hatcher was tackled by Armani Watts for a 5-yard loss on fourth down, ending the drive that started after A&M fumbled from the Arkansas 2.
"Everybody talks about fourth-down stops, but it took three others to create a fourth-down stop, you know, from closer than that," Sumlin said. "So it wasn't just the fourth-down stop. It was the three before it."
Quarterback Austin Allen was stopped twice from the 1, though officials reviewed the third-down run before ruling the play stood. One overhead replay showed just how close the ball was to the goal line, with Allen's tight end basically pulling him toward the end zone.
"I've got to believe that the right call was made," Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said. "It took forever. When those reviews take that long, usually it's because they're going to get overturned. Obviously a huge, huge play."
Earlier, the Razorbacks had to settle for a field goal after six snaps from the 2 on the same series.
Knight's 48-yard TD run just before halftime tied the game at 17, after an earlier 42-yard scoring run. He finished with 10 rushes for 159 yards, the last a 62-yarder on third down in the final minute of the game.
"We're trying to grow with Trevor. I think tonight he struggled early throwing, but he got running, and that was it," Sumlin said. "Somebody asked me what his best stat is, and I said it's winning."
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