Razorback Report: Respect mutual for coaches

Sam Pittman and Jimbo Fisher are going to play each other in the Southwest Classic on Saturday. Pitt is the head coach of No. 10 Arkansas and Fisher is coach at Texas A&M. The two have met twice before, with Texas winning both times.   . . .. For more information on the game, visit the event's website. for details on tickets, call the Arkansas Razorbacks' office at (800) 715-8255.

Arkansas leads the series against Texas A&M by a 42-33-3 count dating back to their first meeting in 1903. The teams have played in five cities and Arkansas leads in three of them: Fayetteville, Little Rock and College Station. Texas Aggies lead in Arlington (7-4), including a six-game winning streak between 2014-2019, and in Dallas (1-0).

Arkansas lost the turnover battle 3-0 against Missouri State last week. The Razorbacks devoted more practice time to a ball security circuit Wednesday. Arkansas ranked eighth in the country with a plus-2.0 turnover margin through two games. A team that loses the turnovers battle by 3 points has an 11% chance of winning the game.

Max Johnson played well at quarterback for Texas A&M last week. He completed 10 of 20 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown and ran 7 times for 23 yards. Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman praises his performance.

Bryce Stephens, No. 14 on offense, electrified the home crowd with his 82-yard punt return touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give Arkansas its first lead at 31-27. Stephens also had returns of 34 and 10 yards that were brought back by holding penalties. Jordan Domineck racked up 2.5 sacks among his seven tackles.

Arkansas came back from a big deficit to beat Missouri State 38-27 on Saturday. It was the first time in 27 games that Arkansas had trailed in the fourth quarter.

Arkansas had 300 rushing yards against South Carolina, but KJ Jefferson kneeled on the final snap to drop that total to 295. In Saturday's game against Missouri State, Arkansas had 600 total yards before Jefferson knelt for a 3-yard loss on a final play.

Arkansas had a season-low six penalties for 58 yards last week. The Razorbacks are 3-0 despite ranking 123rd among 131 FBS teams with 80.67 penalty yards per game and tied for 99th with 7. 67 penalties per games.

The odds for Arkansas to win the national championship more than tripled after the Razorbacks struggled to down FCS Missouri State. Georgia remains the betting favorite at 19-to-10, followed by Alabama, Alabama (21- to- 10), Ohio State (7-2), Clemson and Michigan (12-To-1).

72,000 plus attended Arkansas' game against Missouri State. It's the third straight season that the Razorbacks have had three consecutive games with crowds of 72,00 or more.