Texas A&M could be the defining game of Arkansas' season

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Arkansas football did not play well in any of its first three games. The defense was fine against North Alabama but got exposed versus Utah and Georgia. The offense struggled three straight weeks before finally offering some hope to UA fans with its performance against Tulsa. What emerges through four games and the month of September is that Arkansas has played teams at the extremes, at the opposite ends of the spectrum. North Alabama and Tulsa were feeble and unthreatening. Utah and Georgia are top-15 teams, maybe top-10, and equipped with superbly explosive weapons who can make a below-average team such as Arkansas look very bad. Arkansas has won its two games comfortably and has endured its two losses by lopsided margins. Now October arrives. Nonconference play is done. What will two months of SEC football have to offer the Hogs? Texas A&M is up first, and it might be the game which defines the rest of the season for Ryan Silverfield and Company.

Whereas UNA and Tulsa were easy wins and Utah and Georgia were blowout losses, Texas A&M could be a game which falls in the middle. It might not be a total squeaker which goes down to the last minute, but it might at least be a game which is decided by 10 points and isn't fully decided until about five minutes left in the fourth quarter. We will see. The larger point here is that Texas A&M, contrary to preseason expectations, is not in the same weight class as Utah and Georgia and other playoff-contending teams. A&M is almost certain to miss the playoff. It is likely to be an 8-4 team at best, and it easily could be worse. It is reasonable to say that Texas A&M is a team Arkansas can keep up with.

The matchup between Arkansas' offense and Texas A&M's defense is not pretty for the Razorbacks. UA doesn't do anything well enough to strike fear into a Mike Elko defense. That's the part of the game in which the Hogs are likely to fight uphill. However, there is the other side of the matchup, in which A&M's offense faces Arkansas' defense. That's where the Razorbacks can thrive and ultimately keep this game close. 

Texas A&M has no answer at the quarterback position. It also has a coaching staff which has shown nothing to suggest it will make relevant adjustments this coming week.

If Arkansas can play Texas A&M close for 60 minutes, win or lose, that would feel like a forward step for the Hogs. If the Razorbacks get thrashed by the Aggies, then it's time to worry about what the rest of the season will bring. Season-defining game? It sure sounds like it.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos