Texas A&M stands No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, which makes the Aggies the highest-ranked team in the Southeastern Conference.
But the Aggies are expecting to be without top rusher Le’Veon Moss when they take on host Arkansas (2-4, 0-2 SEC) on Saturday afternoon in the annual Southwest Classic.
Head coach Mike Elko said Monday that Moss will be out “for a significant period of time” with an ankle injury, which adds a layer of difficulty for the Aggies (6-0, 3-0) as they try to build on their best start since 2016.
Moss exited to the locker room before the end of Texas A&M’s 34-17 home win over Florida on Saturday. He has rushed for 389 yards and six scores in just 70 carries this season.
“It’s an unrelated injury to anything that he has been dealing with,” Elko said. “It has nothing to do with last year. It has nothing to do with what he has been dealing with earlier this year. It is an isolated injury on that tackle (the play he was injured on). It’s an ankle, not a knee, which is a really positive sign. He is going to have to go get it looked at and we will kind of figure out where it is at.”
Rueben Owens II is likely to pick up most of the slack in Moss’ absence as he was the Aggies’ leading rusher last week with 51 yards and his first touchdown of the year.
Quarterback Marcel Reed (1,490 yards, 12 touchdowns, four interceptions) leads a balanced Aggies offense that averages 34.7 points per game. Defensively, the Aggies have been solid against the run and rank 22nd nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (103.3).
Arkansas leads the all-time series 42-36-3, but the Aggies have won the past three meetings.
This will be the first time the Southwest Classic game will be played on Arkansas’ home field since 2013. The past 11 matchups were played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., with the exception of the 2020 game, which was played at College Station, Tex.
The Razorbacks are riding a four-game losing streak, but they played much better last week in a 34-31 loss to Tennessee during interim coach Bobby Petrino’s first game since taking over for Sam Pittman after he was fired following a 56-13 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 27.
Arkansas lost three fumbles in the game, but Mike Washington ran for 131 yards and a touchdown. The Razorbacks were tied at 17 at halftime and cut a 34-17 deficit to three late in the fourth on a pair of touchdown passes by quarterback Taylen Green, who was sacked five times.
Arkansas has had one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, ranked 27th with 36.3 points per game. But the Razorbacks are ranked 114th in scoring defense (30.7 points per game) and 118th in turnover margin (minus-5).
“We were very, very competitive,” Petrino said Monday. “I liked the way we played with emotion and excitement, but we got to actually play the game of football better to get a win like that.”
