Sept. 29, 2012
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Johnny Manziel threw for a school-record 453 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to lead Texas A&M over Arkansas 58-10 on Saturday for the Aggies' first Southeastern Conference win.
The Razorbacks were done in by a porous pass defense and three turnovers en route to a fourth straight loss.
Arkansas (1-4, 0-2) led 10-7 after one quarter before the Aggies (3-1, 1-1) scored 51 straight points to take the lead and cruise to the win. It broke a three-game losing streak to the Razorbacks, who beat A&M 42-38 last season after trailing 35-17 at halftime.
Manziel added 104 yards rushing to also break the school and SEC records for yards of total offense with 557.
Tyler Wilson threw for 373 yards and a touchdown, but he threw two interceptions as Arkansas was shut out after the first quarter.
Steven Terrell had two interceptions and Tramain Jacobs returned a fumble for a touchdown for Texas A&M.
Ryan Swope had five receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown, recording his school-record 10th career 100-yard game. Thomas Johnson added 108 yards receiving and Mike Evans had 83 yards and a score as A&M piled up 716 yards of total offense.
Manziel, a freshman, has accounted for 15 touchdowns in the Aggies' last three games.
Texas A&M's 58 points are the most it has scored against the Razorbacks in the 69-game history of the series.
Manziel, who finished 29 of 38, went 5 of 5 on the first drive, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans to make it 7-0. Evans bent down to scoop the pass before it hit the ground for his first career touchdown.
The Aggie defense forced a punt, but Taylor Bertolet's 39-yard field goal attempt on the next possession was wide right.
Wilson found Knile Davis on a short pass that he took 64 yards for a touchdown to tie the game about 7 minutes before halftime.
A 26-yard field goal by Zach Hocker gave Arkansas a 10-7 lead near the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was all A&M, with Bertolet redeeming himself after his early miss with a 46-yard field goal to tie it early in the quarter. His 26-yard field goal about 4 minutes later gave A&M a 13-10 lead.
Terrell's first interception came on the next drive by Arkansas. He fumbled at the end of the return, but it bounced back into his hands to give A&M the ball at midfield. A 29-yard run by Ben Malena got the drive going, and he finished it off with an 11-yard touchdown reception to push the lead to 20-10.
A tough drive by Arkansas where the team fumbled twice, but recovered both times, followed to force the Razorbacks to punt.
The Aggies went deep on the next play, with Manziel using a pump fake and Swope a double move to get behind the defense for an 80-yard touchdown reception.
Things weren't any better for the Razorbacks after halftime, and Wilson's first pass of the second half was intercepted by Terrell. He returned it 30 yards and A&M extended the lead to 30-10 with a 21-yard field goal.
Christine Michael bulled into the end zone on a 10-yard run later in the third quarter to leave A&M up 37-10.
Damontre Moore forced a fumble by Davis, which Jacobs scooped up and returned 28 yards for a touchdown on the Razorbacks' first play after Michael's touchdown.
Manziel capped his scoring for the day when he circled around and even went backward before zipping into the end zone on a 6-yard run with about 10 minutes left to make it 51-10. Trey Williams added a 13-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
Cobi Hamilton finished with 11 receptions for 162 yards for Arkansas, and Davis had 65 yards rushing.
ABOUT THE VICTORY
MORE MANZIEL MAGIC
MOST POINTS BY AGGIES VS. HOGS
RECORD-SETTING OFFENSE
SWOPE HAS BIG GAME
MISCELLANEOUS
CAPTAINS, 12TH MAN
ARKANSAS NOTES
Individual Notes
- Dennis Johnson broke the SEC record for career kickoff return yards. With 56 yards game, Johnson now has 2,755 in his career breaking the previous record of 2,718 held by Florida's Brandon James (2006-09).
- Dennis Johnson moved into third on UA's career all-purpose yards list. With 90 yards in the game, Johnson now has 4,566 all-purpose yards in his career, passing Gary Anderson (4,535, 1979-82).
- Cobi Hamilton broke the UA record for receiving yards in consecutive games. With 162 yards today added to his SEC-record 303 last week vs. Rutgers, Hamilton had 465 in the last two games. The previous record was 337 by Derek Holloway (141 vs. North Carolina, Dec. 28, 1981 and 196 vs. Tulsa, Sept. 11, 1982).
- Cobi Hamilton extended his consecutive games with a reception streak to 27 in the first quarter with a 10-yard reception. Hamilton's streak is the longest active in the SEC. He finished the game with a team-high 11 receptions for 162 yards.
- Cobi Hamilton moved into a tie for fifth on UA's all-time career 100-yard receiving games list. Hamilton finished the day with 162 receiving yards and now has six 100-yard receiving games in his career, tied with George Wilson (2001-03).
- Cobi Hamilton became the eighth Razorback in school history with 2,000 career receiving yards. With 162 yards in the game, Hamilton now has 2,110 receiving yards in his career, which ranks seventh in school history, passing Greg Childs (2,066, 2008-11).
- Tyler Wilson set a new school record with 59 pass attempts in the game, breaking the previous record of 52 attempts, set by Clint Stoerner vs. Alabama in 1999.
- Tyler Wilson moved into sixth on UA's all-time pass attempts list. With 59 in the game, Wilson now has 692 in his career, passing Brad Taylor (644, 1981-84).
- Tyler Wilson moved into fifth on UA's all-time pass completions list. With 29 completions in the game, Wilson now has 423 in his career, passing Matt Jones (417, 2001-04).
- Knile Davis moved into a tie for 15th on UA's all-time career touchdowns list with his 64-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. Davis now has 21 in his career, tied with D'Arrius Howard (2002-05) and Quinn Grovey (1987-90).
- Zach Hocker moved into a tie for second on UA's all-time career made PATs list. With one PAT in the game, Hocker now has 125 in his career, tied with Bill McClard (1969-71).
- Zach Hocker moved into seventh on UA's all-time career points list. With four points in the game, Hocker now has 248 in his career, passing Alex Tejada (247, 2007-10).
Dylan Breeding moved into third on UA's all-time career punting yardage list. With 240 punting yards in the game, Breeding now has 8,109 punting yards in his career, passing Greg Horne (8,000, 1983-86).
Game Notes
- Today's captains for Arkansas were Knile Davis, Tyler Wilson, Tenarius Wright, Alonzo Highsmith, Alfred Davis and Travis Swanson.
- The attendance for today's game was 86,442.
HEAD COACH KEVIN SUMLIN
On keys to today’s win
"We had tremendous focus this week and great senior leadership. They led us and I'm really happy for them as a group.”
On Manziel and the overall score
"Johnny needs to continue to develop as a player. For the most part he is making strides every week. He threw some good balls and created some offense on his own. He continues to get better as we get a feel for him as coaches and he gets a feel for us. It goes back to our seniors. Older guys really led the way."
On the Aggies’ first SEC win
"We got the money off our back today. These guys were determined all week to play. Our players and coaching staff did a nice job. Execution is the key anytime you win a game in that fashion and we took care of the ball on offense. We are getting great effort out of our guys."
On Ben Malena
"We have three running backs, all three are going to play. Ben has been playing very well. There is great competition at that position and when you get in there you have to do your job. All three are playing well and we are going to need them throughout the season. They need each other, there is a long way to go and we will need all three of them."
On quarterback Johnny Manziel
"He is a different guy in the fact that he is such a good athlete. His ability to create offense is what makes him different. Our receivers are getting a feel for him and he continues to progress as a quarterback not just a guy who is out there. For the fourth straight week he has done a really good job taking care of the football."
On the program’s capability
"We have got to continue to improve. It’s not about the opponent, it’s about us. How we can get better, how we can eliminate mistakes, and become a smarter team. Our guys are listening and trying to do what we ask. We are capable of a lot, and confidence is a big part of that. Walking off after Florida was a bad feeling, but Monday we looked at film and saw how we could get better."
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR KLIFF KINGSBURY
On Manziel’s performance
“I felt like it was the best game he has played in the pocket. He still got out the same when it wasn’t there, but he really studied the film all week and knew the game plan. It was nice to see him be confident in his throws and be accurate.”
On the rushing game
“I thought the O-Line just kept pounding. They are a group that wanted to get six or seven guys in the box so we knew that it would be up to the O-Line to create some holes because we knew we wouldn’t have good numbers in that deal. They kept leaning on them, kept pounding and I think they did a great job creating holes for those backs.”
On defeating Arkansas
“I think they’ve had a tough stretch, obviously. I thought they played hard. It wasn’t a lack of effort. They just had some tough breaks. They were preseason top 10 for a reason. I’m sure they’re going to turn it around.”
On Manziel’s improvisation
“He’s done it a long time. He feels comfortable doing it. You don’t want him to get hit but he’s been pretty conservative with the football when he does make those plays, so it’s not either get rid of the football or get it out of his hands and not take a sack. Like I said, I thought improvisation was down a lot this week, which is good. He made a bunch of throws from the pocket when it was there so hopefully we can keep progressing that way. You don’t want him taking shots. It comes with the territory.”
SENIOR RECEIVER RYAN SWOPE
On the 80 yarder
"That was a double move and a great call by Coach Kingsbury, I knew it was my time. Johnny made a great pass. The line gave great protection. It really got us moving."
On meshing with Manziel
"It really reflected the way we practiced this week. Johnny had a great week of practice. I tip my hat to these coaches who are pushing us in practice."
On the Arkansas Defense
"They were a good defense, I feel like we executed really well today. There is always room for improvement. We will take this win but have to get better."
On Manziel’s performance
"He did some special things for us today. He is really positive on the field and has a competitive nature. We need to keep practicing hard, are going to really need him."
On the SEC win
"It’s really big and will give us confidence going into next week. We need to look at film and keep moving forward."
SENIOR LINEBACKER JONATHAN STEWART
On what adjustments the team made at the half
“Really, we didn’t make any big adjustments in the second half. It was just guys keeping to the gap and taking it in. Just doing what we need to do.”
On this game compared to last year
“We didn’t even really mention last year at halftime. We knew that in that locker room, probably they were like ‘OK last year, we were down by 17 or 18 and we can come back’. Defensively if we stop them, their offense is going to stop fighting. They’re going to start giving up and that’s what we want them to do.”
On causing turnovers
“Getting turnovers has been our focus all season long. We didn’t get very many in the first three games, but today we made them. We still missed too many opportunities. There are still more opportunities. We’re not happy with how many turnovers we got today – three – because we left opportunities right there on the table and in a close game, we have to make them if we’re going to win those games.”
SENIOR LINEBACKER SEAN PORTER
On beating Arkansas
“This felt good for our seniors. We had to beat them. This was our first time ever beating them. It was a rainy day at Kyle Field – football weather. Arkansas came here and we got them finally. I’m just proud of all of the guys and I think we played good defense today.”
On closing the game after a big lead after the half
“We have been talking about that all summer. We talked about just coming out and finishing, coming out in the second half and continuing to play the way we’ve been playing. If we just play our game – it’s all about us – I think we can compete with anybody.”
On Manziel’s performance
“That reminded me of high school. I played against Johnny in high school and he put up ridiculous numbers like that every week. I was like, ‘Man, I can’t believe he’s doing the same thing in high school.’ It was a flashback today.”
JUNIOR RUNNING BACK BEN MALENA
On Manziel
“When you’ve got a quarterback like Johnny, you’ve got to stay on your toes. He does a great job of extending the play, but he also does a great job of running the offense and setting the tempo for us.”
On what went right today
“The offensive line is doing an excellent job for us. When you’ve got an offensive line like that, all you have to do is follow your keys and stay behind them.”
On beating Arkansas
“It was just the mindset. This win was for the seniors. Since I’ve been a part of this program, we haven’t beat Arkansas. The seniors hadn’t beat Arkansas so we really came in with something to prove and we really just wanted to get this win for the seniors.”
SENIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN PATRICK LEWIS
On the game’s importance
“This game was really important. The last three years we haven't fared to well against Arkansas, so it was important. We really wanted to prove a point, get our first SEC win, and beat Arkansas with something we haven't done in the past."
On giving Manziel time
“Communication was a big factor. It was something that we have been lacking in the past weeks so we put a big emphasis on it. The more we communicate the better we play. We had a lot of communication today and that was a big part of our success."
On Manziel's running
“The longer you play with him you start to see that every day. When there is nothing else to make a play with he will make a play with his feet. He is a special football player. He is like the kid in the neighborhood that no one can stop, nobody run with him, nobody can jump with him, catch or throw with him. He is just that special player for this offense."
JUNIOR DEFENSIVE LINEMAN DAMONTRE MOORE
On the play against Davis before the fumble
“It happened so fast. I got back there and thought I should have had a TFL but I let him slip out and he bounced out to the right. I was so determined, since I missed that tackle, that I needed to go back and make something happen and be a “difference maker.” Our coaches preach about how we need to be difference makers and get our turnover margins up. I saw the perfect opportunity. They already had some fumble issues earlier in the game and he didn’t see me. I came from behind and just punched the ball out.”
On the feeling after winning against Arkansas
“Right now, I’m speechless. I’m excited and overwhelmed. Everybody was overwhelmed. It felt like the Nebraska or Oklahoma games all over again because we all came into the locker room, whooping and hollering, splashing Gatorade all over the place. The seniors are in the middle and everybody is just coming close together. It just felt like a big relief. Coach has been telling us that stuff like this can happen anytime if we put our minds to it and we just stick to the scheme. Just to see it all come in to play and work out like the coaches said, everybody is overwhelmed. This is a great field win, especially for some of these seniors that I’m pretty sure were crying, though I can’t remember exactly. Everybody’s excited because the last three years, they’ve been beating us. The past two years, we’ve been up and they came back at half time and beat us. Just to get this win for all these seniors that have been through the Arkansas rivalry, it was an overwhelming experience.”
On not getting a sack this game
“When the coaches took us out, I was a little sad because I was so close. We had been telling them about the holding and getting there just a half second late. We talked about all this. When I thought about it when he took me out, I thought, “Oh, I didn’t get my sack today.” At the same time, it plays a factor in the maturity thing. I don’t care about the sacks. The coaches put me in the best position that’s possible. Me doing my scheme and the other players doing what they do allows me to get one-on-one match-ups or free releases to get the sack. I’m happy I get them, but I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about what I can do. If I do my assignment right and I just hold them and one of the other guys gets the sack, I’m just as happy because it’s not about me, it’s about the team. It’s about getting the win. It’s selfishness like that, when you’re worried about the sack. At the end of the day, you wouldn’t be happy about the sack if you come up with a loss.”
SENIOR DEFENSIVE BACK STEVEN TERRELL
On turnovers
“This whole week we have emphasized turn overs. As great as our offense is if we get any turn overs, they want to turn it into points. All we've been working on is trying to get turn overs and luckily we finally got some this week."
On Tyler Wilson
"With their offense we knew they were going to do a lot of short underneath routes, so the biggest thing was not giving up the deep ball and making sure he is not getting behind us. I really don't think he had that many deep passes, overall we did a pretty good job containing him."
On interceptions
"The first on they had been getting us on the curl route so I just sat in the zone and he threw it right to me. On the second one they had been setting us up and I knew it was coming eventually so I acted like I wasn't coming for it and he threw it right to me again."
Arkansas Post-Game Quotes
Senior Quarterback Tyler Wilson
“We had a bunch of yards, but unfortunately those don’t turn into points. You don’t get points for first downs or yardage. You get points for touchdowns, and we didn’t have many of those. We moved the ball, and executed well between the 20 yard lines. But, once we got down in the red zone we struggled. There is no doubt about that. We get inside the 5 yard line about to score a touchdown. But, then we get a penalty that moves us back, and consequently throw a pick. You have to eliminate that, but you also have to eliminate the penalty inside the 5 yard line.”
Head Coach John L. Smith
“You have to give credit to Texas A&M, and credit to their quarterback. Johnny Manziel was awfully good and made a bunch of good plays. What we have to do is turn the page to get ready for Auburn. A lot of young guys were playing and making a bunch of mistakes. There were different guys in the secondary, and there are no excuses. We are going to go, and work, and get better. We moved the ball at times down the field. We got close but we just couldn’t get it in enough. Our ability to run the ball has a little bit to do with that. There are no excuses. We are going to go to the field tomorrow to work, and get ready for Auburn. I told the team after the game that we are going to turn the page and get ready for Auburn. It is very troubling how many yards we gave up. We couldn’t stop the vertical route, and Johnny Manziel ran around us. He did a very good job; he is very athletic. We have to cover better. We have to tackle better, and maintain gap control. Overall, we have to get the young guys ready to play.”
Junior Running Back Knile Davis
“We had a bad game. We have to play better, get some practice in, and keep fighting. The season is going south, but we have to resurrect it. We as a team have to get better. It is not one guy; it is us as a team struggling. I don’t know where we went wrong. We had the momentum flowing, but it turned away from us. We can’t quit. I have never quit, and I am not surrounded by quitters. We played hard the whole game, but we just didn’t get it done. We are going to continue to fight and not give up.”
Senior Safety Ross Rasner
“Johnny Manziel was shifty and fast. He had good vision and a lot of space to run. It comes down to fundamentals. You can’t get down on your teammates. Every week we have an opportunity to win. The great thing about football is you get another week to play.”