About every ten years, I need to replace my central air & heat system after it starts needing repairs every few months. That's where most of this day's been spent, and the job's nearly done. Now I have time to think about another Texas A&M football game.
This week, A&M's opponent is Arkansas (3-1) and the venue is Arlington, as it has been for most of the UA games played since 2009. Television coverage on ESPN begins at 2:30 PM Central. The Aggies are 11-1 versus the Hogs since joining the SEC in 2012, and are slight favorites at 3 1/2 points to win tomorrow. In the old SWC years, Arkansas was usually the stronger team, so watching the Aggies kick asses and take names is really enjoyable now.
According to College Football News, these teams are comparable because both have effective running games on offense, and both have defenses that can limit rushing offenses. This indicates the game could be a low-scoring slugfest. The Arkansas quarterback can create problems when he scrambles, and Mike Elko is apparently undecided about Conner Weigman returning as his starter. In my opinion, Marcel Reed seems like a bigger threat than Conner as both a runner and passer, but I'm not buying tickets. CFN prediction: Aggies gain a slight advantage in turnover margin and escape with a 27-23 win.
Update 4:15 PM Saturday: Both teams have made a few very good offensive plays and some very good defensive plays, and both have looked average the rest of the time. That's resulted in a 14-14 tie at halftime.
Final update 6:03 PM Saturday: Trailing 17-14 in the fourth quarter, the Aggies put together a few more good offensive and defensive plays and pulled out a 21-17 win. This will be the last game in Arlington for awhile.