Arkansas' next opponent faces a quarterback crisis

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

Arkansas football is done with nonconference games. The Razorbacks now turn their attention to two months of SEC football, starting with this coming weekend's first October game of 2026 against the Texas A&M Aggies. Texas A&M has a quarterback crisis revolving around Marcel Reed, who has been an absolute disaster this season.

Sports Illustrated has more details:

"Saturday’s 35-6 loss to LSU dropped them to 0-2 in conference play, just a week after the Aggies suffered the upset loss at home to Kentucky, which now sees Texas A&M all but officially eliminate itself from SEC Championship contention. Yes, they can still find a path to Atlanta, but they’d have to run the table the rest of the way and find help from others. If Aggie fans thought last Saturday’s 31-21 loss to Kentucky was bad, quarterback Marcel Reed described the loss in Baton Rouge as “rock bottom.”

“'We had trouble up front, and some of that’s on me,' Reed said. 'We still gotta show up to practice every week and prepare for the next opponent. Right now, it’s bad. We’re at rock bottom. But we gotta dig ourselves out of this one.'

"It’s a shocking 180 from where Texas A&M stood a year ago. Last time they went to Baton Rouge, they turned Death Valley into a bunch of empty seats in the fourth quarter of a dominant 49-25 win over the Tigers. This year was very different. The Aggies were left on the other side of the thrashing, as the 14-3 halftime deficit exploded into a 21-3 run in the third quarter for LSU.  The Tigers found a way to bounce back from an emotional loss at Ole Miss the week prior, while Texas A&M seemingly got worse after the loss to Kentucky. 

"Reed, the junior quarterback, continued to show signs of a worrying regression, completing just 10 of his 26 passes for 106 yards and one interception. His 31.3 quarterback rating on Saturday is the third-lowest mark of his career, while his 38.5 completion percentage is rock bottom in that category. Nothing went right for the Aggies or Reed. Even his legs, which were a major factor in each of the last two matchups, where he totaled 170 yards and five rushing touchdowns versus the Tigers going into Saturday, he finished with -13 yards on 10 attempts.

“'I'm sure they knew and understood that I was effective at running the ball the past two years,' Reed said. 'You know, things didn't open up like they did last year, so, you know, I had to play the game, and you know, with what they showed me and what was called, and that's what I tried.'"

A lot of Texas A&M fans think Marcel Reed has become unplayable. Do the Aggies have a real No. 2 option at quarterback? This is not the slam-dunk obvious loss for Arkansas which experts predicted before the season began. We'll have much more on this game as the week continues.

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