Southwest Classic: Texas A&M Favored In 79th Edition Of Rivalry

Arkansas (3-0 SU, 2-1 ATS) vs Texas A&M (2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS) has been around since 1903. It’s one of the oldest rivalries in all of college football. The Southwest Classic, as it’s now called, has seen these two local rivals go head-to-head 78 times over the past 118 years, beginning in 1903 when Texas won 6-0.

Arkansas has seen the better of the matchup over the course of its nearly 120-year history with an overall record of 42-33-3. The Razorbacks’ most dominant run was from 1958 through 1966 with nine straight wins and a +135 point differential over their rival in that span.

Texas A&M, though, has had its own nine-year dominant run in this matchup. From 2012 through 2020, the Aggies went 9-0 with a +124 point differential.

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Southwest Classic 2021 Recap

Texas A&M’s nine-game winning streak in the Southwest Classic came to an end with a 20-10 loss a year ago, which probably annoyed Texas A&M and their fans massively. Not only because they lost – obviously that’s no fun – but because the loss prevented the Aggies from hitting 10 wins in a row and the bragging rights that would have come with it. Not to mention the loss snapped the team’s overall 11-game winning streak.

Arkansas’ win in 2021 was led by quarterback KJ Jefferson, who threw for 212 yards, including a highlight-reel 85-yard pass to Treylon Burks for one of his two passing touchdowns. Kicker Cam Little put up the other eight points on the day to spoil Texas A&M’s party.

Southwest Classic 2022 Preview

Texas A&M opened as the 2.5-point favorite here, and the Aggies remain the favorite as we get closer to kickoff on Saturday. According to sportsbook Sportsbook, the spread has now dropped from -2.5 to -1.5 for Texas A&M. But there are considerable worries about the Aggies after their Week 2 loss to unranked Appalachian State.

Sure, they sort of recovered with a 17-9 win over Miami in Week 3 but falling to App State should not have happened. The Aggies offensive line was simply overpowered in Week 2, a concern that doesn’t necessarily go away after that Miami win.

Meanwhile, Arkansas has gone a perfect 3-0 with a +32 point differential on the season. But there are questions about the No. 10 Razorbacks, namely about the defense. Through three weeks, they’ve allowed an average of 27 points per game.

When looking at our college football net yards per play, Texas A&M is ahead with 1.62 net yards to Arkansas’ 1.02. The Aggies are simply the better team, even if they’re ranked No. 23 to the Razorbacks’ 10.

Southwest Classic History

Again, this game dates back to 1903 as a non-conference matchup. The first in-conference duel took place in 1927 when both sides were part of the Southwest Conference.

While this rivalry dates back some 118 years, only 78 contests have been played. The duel was discontinued for 15 years beginning in 1912 because Arkansas and Texas A&M were no longer in the same conference. That was fixed in 1915, but they still didn’t play against one another again until 1927.

The most prolonged uninterrupted period of play between the two was from 1934 to 1991, representing 58 years of rivalry with Arkansas being the better of the two thanks to a 34-21-3 record. In ’91, Arkansas left the conference.

The duel picked back up in 2009 when it was officially titled the “Southwest Classic” and would be played in neutral territory at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. Since 2009, Texas A&M owns the matchup with a 9-4 record.

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Southwest Classic Series History