Anxiety increasing in Fayetteville as Arkansas loses to Texas A&M in OT again

For the third time in four years, Texas A&M and Arkansas played into overtime. And for the sixth time in a row in the series, the Aggies prevailed with a victory.

Arkansas had a 21-7 second quarter lead and was up 28-24 after three quarters, but Bret Bielema’s Razorbacks ultimately could not hold off the high-powered A&M rushing attack with the Aggies prevailing 50-43 in overtime.

Both offenses completely exploded in the fourth, but it was a defensive play that ended up sealing the deal for A&M. The teams traded touchdowns on four consecutive possessions in a span of less than six minutes and a four-yard touchdown run by David Williams put the Razorbacks back in front 43-40 with 3:39 to go.

The Hogs were burnt by a 100-yard kick return touchdown by A&M’s Christian Kirk a few minutes earlier, so Arkansas went with a pooch kick. It wasn’t brought back for a TD, but the Aggies were able to start their drive from midfield.

There was a fourth-down conversion and some shaky clock management along the way, but A&M was able to push the game into overtime when Daniel LaCamera hit a 27-yard field goal — his third of the game —with four seconds left.

The Aggies opened the extra frame with a 10-yard touchdown pass from freshman QB Kellen Mond (216 passing yards, 109 rushing yard) to Kirk after an Arkansas pass interference call on what looked like a third down stop.

When it was the Razorbacks’ turn on offense, Austin Allen forced one into coverage and A&M’s Armani Watts picked it off to seal the Aggies’ third consecutive victory.

Arkansas dropped to 1-2 with the loss, and the heat surrounding Bielema’s job status is only going to intensify. Arkansas AD Jeff Long insisted entering the season that Bielema, now in his fifth year in Fayetteville, was not on the hot seat. But Bielema’s teams continue to sputter.

The Razorbacks started the year with a win over FCS Florida A&M, but they followed it up with a lackluster showing in a 28-7 home loss to TCU. Yes, it’s early in the season, but anxiety around the job Bielema is doing continues to intensify for Arkansas fans.

Bielema led the Razorbacks to winning records in three of his first four seasons, but is now 10-23 in SEC play. That ain’t gonna cut it and his hot seat is getting hotter.

Speaking of hot seats, A&M’s Kevin Sumlin’s seat was scorching after blowing a huge lead in a Week 1 loss at UCLA. The Aggies haven’t looked great, but they’ve responded with three straight wins. There’s still a long way to go in the year — for Bielema and Sumlin — but for now Sumlin can breathe a little easier than his SEC West counterpart.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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