Mike Elko talks about Texas A&M's offense getting going late against Arkansas

It's been a tough second half so far Arkansas And Texas A&M in a rivalry showdown. And at the start of the fourth quarter it was 14, Aggies head coach Mike Elko knew his attack needed to be stepped up.

Since the game was tied early in the second quarter, the Aggies' offense – and the Razorbacks' offense – had been inactive. To get things going, Elko said his team needs to start expanding the field a bit.

“We have to find ways to push the ball down the field. We have to provide some separation and do a better job of putting them in better positions,” Elko said.

The Aggies' head coach was certainly pleased when his team marched down the field on the ensuing drive and took a 21-17 lead with nine minutes to play.

And when Elko was talking to a sideline reporter Taylor McGregorthe Razorbacks got into scoring position. In a game where points were close, Elko said a stop was needed.

“We just have to bow out here, we have to find a way to get off the field,” Elko said.

The Aggies finally got there, forcing a field goal attempt that the Razorbacks converted to take a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman previously called for more consistency

While Pittman may not have had the offensive consistency he wanted after the first quarter, his team's defense answered the alarm bell.

On the ESPN broadcast after the first quarter, Pittman expressed his desire for his team to limit big plays – something that appears to have happened as Elko later complained about the lack of explosives.

“So inconsistent offensively. We have a bad shot down here. We have an offside position. We have to be better and more consistent. We have to protect the quarterback,” Pittman said. “That's what we said when we came in here and we don't do it very well. Defensively, we said don't give up on explosive plays, and all they did all night was make one play in the first quarter, and there were six of them. So we gotta get the guy down here on the ground, if he catches a 10-yard catch, we gotta get him on the ground!”

And ultimately, Pittman just thought his team needed to take a deep breath and settle in.

“But we have to calm down, we have to play better up front,” Pittman said. “We have to protect Taylor [Green] and defensively we just can’t give up big plays and we play pretty well defensively.”