Mond-Davis twice for No. 23 Texas A&M to beat Arkansas 31-27

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Quartney Davis caught two of the three touchdowns thrown by Kellen Mond, including the go-ahead score for No. 23 Texas A&M, and the Aggies held on to beat Arkansas 31-27 on Saturday.

After Mond was picked off in the end zone, the Razorbacks failed to get a first down and punted after Ben Hicks was sacked at the 2. That set up the short drive for Mond’s 3-yard TD to Davis with 12:21 left to put Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC) ahead 28-24.

The Razorbacks (2-3, 0-2) lost their 13th consecutive SEC game, including all 10 under second-year coach Chad Morris. They have lost eight in a row against Texas A&M since the Aggies left the Big 12.

Davis’ 22-yard catch-and-run with 8 seconds before halftime put A&M up 21-17. He spun away from a linebacker after making a short catch, then swept across to the other side of the field to score.

Mond finished 23-of-35 passing for 251 yards. Hicks was 15 of 27 for 188 yards and a score after taking over in the second quarter for injured starter Nick Starkel, the grad transfer who played for Texas A&M the past two seasons.

Starkel hurt his left (non-throwing) arm after throwing an interception at the goal line, and then tackling 304-pound defensive tackle Justin Madubuike.

De’Jon Harris scooped up a fumble and returned it 6 yards for a touchdown on the next play to get the Razorbacks within 14-10. They went ahead when Hicks made a nice back-shoulder throw to Mike Woods in the front corner of the end zone for a 13-yard TD.

THE TAKEAWAY

Texas A&M: After losses to No. 1 Clemson and No. 7 Auburn, the Aggies again found themselves in a tight game against Arkansas. Texas A&M had a chance to take control early after Madubuike’s interception, but the scoop-and-score by Arkansas on the next play quickly changed the tone of things again.

Arkansas: Hicks, who lost the starting job to Starkel after two games, helped lead the Razorbacks to the A&M 19 in the final minute. He had already converted one fourth down on the drive and had an impressive 17-yard scramble before another fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Texas A&M was the only two-loss team in the latest AP Top 25. The Aggies likely did enough to hang in the poll.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M: The Aggies have an open date before hosting second-ranked Alabama on Oct. 12, which starts a stretch of four of five games at home.

Arkansas: The Razorbacks play Oct. 12 at Kentucky after an open date.