KJ Edwards needed one carry to make the second Texas A&M touchdown look rather less ceremonial. From the Arkansas 20, the freshman running back found the end zone on a 20-yard run, pushing the Aggies to a 14-0 lead in Saturday’s 34-7 victory at Kyle Field. The score belonged to Edwards. The work getting there was shared.
Texas A&M earned its first SEC victory of the season while recording the 800th win in program history. The round number deserves its place in the scrapbook. The sturdier football evidence came from a rushing attack that involved several contributors, a defense that turned an early opportunity into points and a kicker who handled the possessions that stopped short.
Carsyn Baker had already started the scoring with a 2-yard run. That opening drive covered 28 yards in eight plays and included Marcel Reed converting fourth-and-1 at the Arkansas 19. Rueben Owens II gained 4 yards before Edwards ran for 5 yards and 2 yards on successive plays before Baker finished the possession.
Texas A&M’s next touchdown drive was longer and more revealing. The Aggies went 78 yards in 10 plays, with Reed adding a 23-yard run and Baker moving the chains on third-and-1 from the Texas A&M 44. After the drive reached the Arkansas 20, Edwards supplied the sudden finish. The drive required both Reed’s longer gain and Baker’s short conversion before Edwards could finish it.
The freshmen’s scoring share mattered because the Aggies did not ask one runner to explain the result. Texas A&M ran 49 times for 231 yards. Edwards and Baker combined for 92 yards and three touchdowns: Edwards carried 11 times for 66 yards and two scores, while Baker had 26 yards on 12 attempts and one touchdown.
Reed added 66 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Rueben Owens II contributed 43 yards.
That is a useful distinction. The freshmen supplied most of the rushing touchdowns, but the team’s production came from a broader rotation. Reed’s legs repeatedly kept drives alive, while Owens absorbed a meaningful share of the carries. The offense could therefore win ordinary downs before Edwards occasionally made one look extraordinary.
Edwards’ second touchdown arrived on the opening possession of the third quarter. He gained 2 yards and then 16 before Kiotti Armstrong’s 54-yard reception moved the ball to the Arkansas 3. Edwards finished the four-play, 75-yard drive with a 3-yard run, making the score 31-7. Reed’s 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter had supplied the other Aggie rushing score.
The defense gave that rushing balance room to matter. Arkansas’ opening possession began with Sutton Smith’s 5-yard run and an 11-yard completion from KJ Jackson to Chris Marshall. On Arkansas’ third offensive snap, Dalton Brooks intercepted Jackson and returned the ball 39 yards to the Razorbacks’ 28.
