FAYETTEVILLE -- Texas A&M was having its way with the Arkansas Razorbacks on Oct. 1, 2011.
The University of Arkansas, led by quarterback Ryan Mallett and a pretty salty defense, had won the first two games in the revived Southwest Classic in 2009 and 2010.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporters who covered memorable Arkansas sports events of the past share their insights from today.
This time, the No. 14 Aggies were gouging the No. 18 Hogs, who had lost 38-14 the previous week at Alabama. And they were doing it seemingly at will in the first half at the stadium fans call Jerry World for the Dallas Cowboys' billionaire owner Jerry Jones, a starting lineman for Arkansas' 1964 national championship team.
Before the day was done, Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino -- known for his brilliance as a play-caller and his offensive designs -- would make the most critical defensive tweak of his four-year run with the Razorbacks to save the game.
But not before the Aggies ripped the Hogs' run defense to shreds.
Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill ran for 26 yards on the Aggies' first snap of the day, and Christine Michael scored from 48 yards out two plays later.
Michael capped a 71-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run a few minutes later, and the Aggies were off to the races with a 14-0 lead.
Arkansas kept battling to stay in contention. Quarterback Tyler Wilson found Jarius Wright down the tender middle of the Texas A&M defense for a 68-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.
Wilson and Wright would wear out the Aggies in record-breaking numbers when the smoke cleared. Broderick Green finished off a 73-yard Arkansas drive on the heels of Wright receptions for 25 and 18 yards with a 1-yard scoring run to pull the Hogs within 21-14 midway through the second quarter.
The Aggies had plenty of firepower left in the tank before halftime.
Michael scored again from 29 yards out, then Cyrus Gray added his second rushing touchdown, a 4-yarder with 9 seconds to go before halftime to make it 35-17.
If not for a Greg Gatson interception at the Arkansas 15-yard line with Texas A&M ahead 14-0 midway through the first quarter, the Razorbacks might have fallen hopelessly behind.
Petrino took over defensive coordinator Willy Robinson's dry-erase board for a few minutes at halftime. The Razorbacks would have to widen their defensive ends further to what is called "9 techniques" to get a handle on A&M's devastating cutback runs.
The maneuver helped.
Texas A&M rushed for 225 yards and piled up 404 total yards and 18 first downs by halftime.
In the second half, the Aggies managed 156 rushing yards, 224 total yards and 12 first downs, and more importantly, just three points.
After finding a way to slow the Texas A&M run game, it was just a matter of continuing to click on offense.
Wilson and Wright took care of that.
Wilson obliterated Ryan Mallett's school passing record by 101 yards by completing 30 of 51 passes for 510 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Wright grabbed 13 passes for 281 yards, crushing Mike Reppond's single-game school record of 204 yards, which had stood for 40 years. As a side note, Wright's record would last less than a year, as Cobi Hamilton broke it with a 303-yard game the next season against Rutgers.
Zach Hocker kicked a 32-yard field goal, his second of the game, early in the third quarter. Then Ronnie Wingo's 13-yard touchdown catch brought Arkansas within eight points midway through the period.
Wright recovered a Hamilton fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with 11 minutes left in the game, and Wilson tied it at 35-35 with a two-point conversion run.
To the Aggies credit, they responded by driving inside the Arkansas 10-yard line. Tannehill had running room on a third-and-6 call, but Eric Bennett and Byran Jones combined to stop him 2 yards short of the first down. Randy Bullock's 23-yard field goal gave the Aggies their final lead at 38-35 with 4:22 remaining.
The Razorbacks were not going to be denied.
An illegal hands to the face penalty and Wright's 31-yard catch and run got the Hogs within striking distance. Three runs by Dennis Johnson for 17 yards put Arkansas inside the 10, and Green capped the series with a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:41 left.
The drama was not over. Moments later, the Aggies faced fourth and 2 from their 39 with 1:20 remaining. Coach Mike Sherman tried another run with Michael, who rushed for 230 yards in the game, but he got none on that play. D.D. Jones burrowed in the hole and linebacker Alonzo Highsmith stopped Michael for no gain to send the Razorbacks off the field in a frenzy.
Arkansas shot back up to No. 10 in the AP poll after the victory and would crest at No. 3 in the BCS rankings with a seven-game winning streak heading into Thanksgiving weekend.
Razorback fans could poke out their chests at the stadium then and during bowl season, as a 29-16 victory over Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl gave Arkansas a 4-0 record at the 3-year-old venue.
However, Texas A&M has turned the tables since, reeling off six consecutive victory at AT&T Stadium over the Razorbacks.
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