Dating all the way back to the days of the old Southwest Conference, the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Texas A&M Aggies have been bitter rivals with one another. They were separated by conferences when the Big 8 and the SEC pillaged the Southwest, but they renewed their rivalry in 2009. Now though, they are back in the SEC West together, and the stakes really couldn’t be higher than they are right now. No matter how good or bad either of these teams turn out to be, every year, this is always one of the best games on the college football schedule, and that’s why it is our #12 game of our Countdown to Kickoff: The Top 25 Games of the College Football Season.

Arkansas Razorbacks @ Texas A&M Aggies Picks & Info
Arkansas Razorbacks @ Texas A&M Aggies Date: Saturday, September 29th
Arkansas Razorbacks @ Texas A&M Aggies Location: Kyle Field, College Station, TX
Arkansas Razorbacks @ Texas A&M Aggies Spread: Arkansas Razorbacks -3.5

The Hogs know that this is going to be a year with a heck of a schedule. The team has games in conference against Alabama and LSU at home, and Auburn, Texas A&M, South Carolina, and Mississippi State on the road. It’s not going to be easy to say the least. This is going to be a crucial game, because in all likelihood, Arkansas is going to be 0-1 already in the SEC, as its opener comes at home against Alabama on September 15th. Lose this one, and the likelihood is there that there is no chance whatsoever to get to the SEC Championship Game. Last year, this was the game in which QB Tyler Wilson really proclaimed his presence. He threw for 510 yards and three TDs, and he did so on the comeback trail, leading the team from down 35-17 at halftime to win with 25 second half points. Of course, the bad news is that most of Wilson’s receivers are now gone, but at least he is back and ready to give it another go at the Aggies. Remember that last year at that point, the Hogs were still trying to figure out how to find receivers aside from WR Greg Childs, and WR Jarius Wright had 13 grabs for 281 yards and two TDs. Someone else is bound to step up.

Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Texas A&M Aggies Past Games (Since 1995)
2011: Arkansas 42 – Texas A&M 38
2010: Arkansas 24 – Texas A&M 17
2009: Arkansas 47 – Texas A&M 19

Head Coach Kevin Sumlin knows that this is going to be one of the biggest games of his entire season this year. Just getting to a bowl game is going to be tough as could be, knowing that the team has to go 7-5 just to make it thanks to the fact that it has a pair of FCS teams on the slate. The Aggies might be 4-0 at this point (and that’s only if they avoid the upset at SMU and find a way to beat Florida in their SEC opener), but from here, there just aren’t all that many wins that we see on the schedule. With QB Ryan Tannehill gone, Texas A&M is going to struggle to find a pass happy offense. QB Johnny Manziel looks to be the man that is going to have the job at the outset of the season, and this is a heck of a lot to be putting on the back of a redshirt freshman in the SEC. There are going to be some growing pains for sure, and this is one of those games that could turn out to be a vital one in the youngster’s career. The entire offensive line is back in front of Manziel, which should help out quite a bit, and the defense brings back eight, but those eight were embarrassed in the second half by these Razorbacks last season.

Arkansas @ Texas A&M Free Picks^^: Even though this game is going to be played in College Station, we just don’t see how the Aggies are going to be able to keep up with the Hogs. Matters can really only get worse, not better for Texas A&M. If it loses to either Florida or SMU, its stock is going to slide. No one really figures on Arkansas beating the Tide, but if it did, that would be a huge boost in its stock as well. We can only see this point spread going up, not down, and for that reason, we are going to jump on board right now with the Razorbacks.

^^Note: These college football picks are independent of the picks of our Expert NCAA Football Handicappers. These NCAA football picks are made as of 8/12/12, though we will keep the college football matchup page updated for this clash on the week of the game.

When the Arkansas @ Texas A&M odds are on the board on the week of 9/29, we will have our college football picks that you won’t want to miss!