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Arkansas-Texas A&M Preview

Oct 5, 2010 - 7:57 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Arkansas (3-1) at Texas A&M (3-1), 3:30 p.m. EDT

When Arkansas and Texas A&M renewed their former Southwest Conference rivalry last season after an 18-year break, it showed a wide gap between the programs - one the Aggies are hoping to demonstrate they have closed.

Texas A&M hopes to do a better job slowing down Ryan Mallett and the No. 11 Razorbacks this time as the teams meet at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday.

The schools are in the second year of a 10-year contract to play at the Cowboys' facility - a deal that restarted a rivalry in which they met every year from 1934-91 as members of the Southwest. Arkansas (3-1) left for the SEC in 1992.

Their first meeting since those days came Oct. 3, when a 1-2 Razorbacks team dominated a 3-0 Texas A&M squad in a 47-19 victory. Mallett threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns in front of a crowd of 71,872 that included Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a co-captain on Arkansas' 1964 national championship team.

"We're excited to go back to Dallas," Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino said. "It was a lot of fun last year with the unbelievable atmosphere and an unbelievable stadium to play in. I think we have 26 guys on our roster from the state of Texas so getting to go back there and playing is a great deal for us. We are certainly looking forward to it."

Mallett has followed up a strong first season with the Razorbacks with a strong start to 2010, ranking second in the FBS in passing yards per contest with 359.5. He's done an outstanding job of spreading the ball around to receivers Joe Adams and Greg Childs and tight end D.J. Williams - each of whom has at least 19 receptions.

"It's a complete offense in regards to the passing game," Aggies defensive back Trent Hunter said. "They have a big quarterback who can throw the ball and receivers that can catch and run. It will be a big challenge for us this week."

Mallett and the Razorbacks have had two weeks off since a 24-20 home loss to No. 1 Alabama on Sept. 25. The quarterback turned in his worst effort of the season with one touchdown and three interceptions as Arkansas blew a 13-point second-half lead.

The poor showing hurt Mallett's Heisman Trophy hopes, and he's looking forward to erasing that memory with a performance similar to last year's effort against Texas A&M (3-1).

"I think it makes you work harder, when you watch it and you see the pain you went through after you had them by throat and you just didn't finish it," Mallett said. "It adds something to you."

The Aggies also blew a second-half lead in their last game, a 38-35 loss at Oklahoma State on Sept. 30 in their Big 12 opener. Jerrod Johnson threw four interceptions for the second straight game as Texas A&M faltered after leading by 14 points at the half.

Johnson's giveaways have been a surprise for the Aggies, who rank sixth in the FBS in offense with 509.8 yards per game but have committed 14 turnovers - tied for fifth most in the nation.

"There are a lot of issues and areas that we've addressed, obviously not well enough because we're still turning the ball over," coach Mike Sherman said. "Decision-making is a big one, not forcing balls. We spend lot of time on that with our quarterbacks."

The turnovers are troubling since Johnson set a Big 12 record last season with 242 straight completions without an interception. He's been sacked 14 times this year working behind a rebuilt offensive line.

"A lot of people are making a big deal about the offensive line," Johnson said. "They're young, and those guys are doing what they can. It's not all their fault."

The Razorbacks are looking to take some of the pressure off Mallett. They rank last in the SEC with 412 rushing yards and are tied for last with six touchdowns on the ground.

"The idea of we want is to be very balanced on offense, to be able to run and throw the ball," Petrino said. "Right now, we've got to get our running game to catch up to what we're doing passing the ball."