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Arkansas comes back to edge Texas A&M

Oct 2, 2011 - 12:01 AM Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Broderick Green broke through the line for a three-yard touchdown with 1:41 remaining, lifting No. 18 Arkansas to a 42-38 win over future SEC foe Texas A&M on Saturday.

Arkansas trailed the 14th-ranked Aggies by 18 points at halftime, but rallied back and tied the game in the fourth quarter when Jarius Wright recovered his teammate's fumble in the end zone.

Later, the Razorbacks' game-winning 80-yard touchdown drive was kept alive by a Texas A&M penalty. Wright had a 31-yard catch across midfield, and Green scored on a third down run for the lead.

Tyler Wilson was 30-of-51 for a school-record 510 yards and three touchdowns for Arkansas (4-1), while Wright set a single-game Razorbacks record with 281 yards receiving, scoring twice, and tied a school record with 13 catches.

"It took a full day's work to win that one," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. "Very, very proud of our football team. We came in at halftime and talked a lot about competing, tackling better, running full speed to the ball. Offensively, we needed to believe that we could come back and win the game if we keep executing."

Christine Michael rushed for 230 yards on 32 carries, scoring three touchdowns in the first half for the Aggies (2-2), who have lost two straight games. Ryan Tannehill passed for 247 yards and rushed for 56 in the loss.

"Certainly a disappointing second half of football," Aggies coach Mike Sherman said. "I thought we came out in the first half and played a solid first half. We made some mistakes on defense that I thought we were able to shore up at halftime. But again, pretty much the same plate as last week. Too little too late, and we came up short."

The teams, former Southwest Conference foes, will again be conference rivals when Texas A&M leaves the Big 12 to join the SEC next season.

Wright broke Mike Reppond's 1971 school record of 204 receiving yards against Rice, whle Wilson bettered Ryan Mallett's passing record of 409 yards against Vanderbilt last season.

Wright's 281 yards was the second-highest single-game total in SEC history.

Wilson and the Razorbacks, after falling behind 35-17 at halftime, tied the game on a fortunate turn of events early in the fourth quarter.

Cobi Hamilton received a short pass, but Texas A&M's Lionel Smith caught him from behind after a 15-yard gain and popped the ball out.

But he knocked it about 10 yards right into the end zone, where Wright came up with it after a scrum. Wilson kept the ball himself on a two-point conversion that tied the score at 35-35 with 11 minutes left.

At the other end, Tannehill scrambled on a 3rd-and-6 play from the Arkansas 10-yard line, but was stopped short and Texas A&M settled for Randy Bullock's 23-yard field goal for a 38-35 lead with 4:22 remaining.

The snap was low, but Tannehill recovered it and turned the ball in time for Bullock to kick it through the left side of the uprights.

Arkansas' game-winning touchdown drive was aided by a penalty on Texas A&M's Jonathan Stewart for hitting an Arkansas receiver with his helmet on an incomplete second-down pass.

Entering Saturday's game at Cowboys Stadium, the Razorbacks had outscored their opponents 92-27 in the first half.

This time, they were the early victims.

Michael kickstarted a spectacular first half with a 48-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to make it 7-0, and the Aggies hardly let up.

On their next possession, Ryan Swope leapt over a teammate and a defender on the left sideline during a 44-yard catch-and-run that helped set up Michael's four-yard TD burst.

But Tannehill was intercepted by cornerback Greg Gatson later in the quarter at the Arkansas 15-yard line, and the Razorbacks turned the pick into a six- play, 85-yard drive capped by Wilson's 68-yard touchdown pass to Wright.

Cyrus Gray rushed four straight times on a 54-yard Texas A&M drive in the second quarter and scored on a one-yard burst to make it 21-7, but the Razorbacks responded with a 73-yard march and Green's one-yard score.

The back-and-forth continued with an 84-yard Aggies drive, culminating in Michael's 29-yard touchdown.

Zach Hocker kicked a 26-yard field goal for Arkansas, but Texas A&M finished the half with an 82-yard drive that lasted under three minutes. Gray was untouched on a four-yard touchdown run around the right side to make it 35-17 with nine seconds left in the half.

Helped by 18 yards in Texas A&M penalties, Arkansas scored on its first drive of the third quarter, getting a 32-yard field goal from Hocker to pull within 35-20.

Later, Ronnie Wingo Jr. scored on a 13-yard touchdown catch when he dove near the goal line and stretched the ball inside the left pylon to make it 35-27. The score was upheld upon review.

Game Notes

Arkansas has won seven of the last 11 meetings, including three straight, and owns a 41-24-3 lead in the all-time series. Arkansas' last winning streak in the series of at least three games was a six-game run from 1977-82...The Aggies were coming off 30-29 loss to Oklahoma State in their final Big 12 season opener...The Razorbacks bounced back from a 38-14 loss to Alabama in their SEC opener...Attendance for the game was 69,838.