The Aggies vaulted to the upper echelon of the SEC West with a convincing 34-22 victory over Arkansas in the Southwest Classic, their 11th win in the past 12 matchups with the Razorbacks. The win lifts Texas A&M to 4-1 for the season and 2-0 in SEC play, setting up next week’s big showdown with Alabama.

Max Johnson stepped in nicely for the injured Conner Weigman at quarterback. For one half, anyway, he looked like Max Heisman (13-for-17, 169 yards, 2 TDs) before turning the game over to his defense and “Swiss army knife” Ainias Smith to finish it out. Smith had 202 all-purpose yards, highlighted by an 82-yard punt return to the house.

Player of the Week: Edgerrin Cooper

The Aggies linebacker led an impressive defensive performance, one that limited Arkansas to 42 yards rushing on 39 attempts.

Cooper was the team’s co-leader with 6 tackles, including 4 solo. He broke through for 2 sacks and a total of 3 TFLs for 17 yards.

Freshman of the Week: Taurean York

The 6-0, 230-pound linebacker turned in another big game. He totaled 5 tackles, assisted on a sack, and added a QB hurry.

York is developing into a bright spot at a position the Aggies were looking to improve upon coming into the season.

Biggest surprise: Johnson’s fast start

He was focused and ready for the challenge. At least for one half.

Johnson came out of the gate on fire, completing his first 7 passes, including a 32-yard TD to Evan Stewart. He followed that up with a 2-yard scoring toss to Earnest Crownover just before halftime. For 30 minutes, he played like the veteran that he is.

Biggest concern: Second-half Max

After looking Heisman-like in the 1st half, staking the Aggies to a 17-6 lead, Johnson more resembled a back-up QB over the final 2 periods. His 1st pass of the 2nd half was a pick-6, his 1st interception in an Aggies’ uniform. He fumbled handoffs and missed open receivers.

He was just 4-of-11 with an interception over the final 2 quarters, generating just 3 points of offense. The 2 Aggies’ 2nd-half TDs were scored on a Chris Russell Jr. pick-6 and Smith’s electrifying punt return.

Developing trend: Line dominance

The offensive and defensive lines are developing into a force. The defensive line especially. While the offensive line was impressive for one half, the Aggies’ defensive line was impenetrable throughout.

Holding the Razorbacks to 1.1 yards per carry, the Aggies bottled up Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson and gave him no time to generate a meaningful passing game. They sacked him 7 times, and in 18 total carries he finished with minus-3 yards rushing.

Key stat: 414-174 total yards

That was the discrepancy in the 2 teams’ offense. The Aggies more than doubled Arkansas’ output. The game wasn’t even as close as the score might indicate. Only 2nd-half mistakes (3 turnovers) allowed the Razorbacks to hang around.

First impression about Week 6: Alabama is still the measuring stick

This probably isn’t the best Alabama team under head coach Nick Saban, but it’s still how all others are measured. The Aggies will get their opportunity next Saturday in a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Kyle Field to show the college football world how they stack up.

They’ve put themselves in position to challenge for SEC West honors, now the chance to climb to the top is right in front of them. A victory at home over Alabama next Saturday would remove the target from the backs of the Tide and put it squarely on the Aggies.