FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman paid his respects to Georgia Southern after Saturday's 45-10 rout of the Eagles, but it was clear he was acutely aware of what lies directly ahead of his Hogs.
The Razorbacks, who moved up four spots to No. 16 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll on Sunday, will square off against No. 7 Texas A&M (3-0) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Arlington, Texas, in the national broadcast by CBS sports.
"I'm proud to be 3-0," Pittman said. "Not me, our team and our coaches. Texas A&M is a great football team. They finished what, fourth last year?
"I know this, when we played them last year they were the best team we had played at that time and that's no disrespect to Georgia because we had played them. But that day they were the best team we had played and I told [Texas A&M Coach] Jimbo [Fisher] that."
"We're excited to get down to Dallas. We've got a week to get prepared for them and we will. ... But it's on CBS, it's a big deal. All of them's a big deal. But it's nice to get some exposure for the University of Arkansas."
The Razorbacks will enter their first clash with another ranked opponent since late 2016 with their confidence running high.
"Honestly, just from my point of view, as a team, we're just rolling," receiver Treylon Burks said. "We're not worried about us being ranked, the 3-0. It's good, but we still want to play like we've always played: A blue-collar team with a chip on our shoulder, and just keep playing ball like we know how."
Scoring the ball
Arkansas is in a four-way tie for 21st in the country with 123 points through three games, a scoring average of 41 points per game.
The Razorbacks are tied with Alabama, Rutgers and Utah State in that slot. Arkansas and Alabama both have 15 touchdowns, 6 made field goals and are 15 of 15 on PAT kicks.
Ahead of them in the SEC: The national scoring leader Ole Miss (52.7 points per game), No. 2 Auburn (47.3) and No. 15 Tennessee (42.7).
Shaky second
The Razorbacks built a 21-0 lead through their first five possessions and because Georgia Southern had just 40 yards on 19 snaps through five possessions, it seemed Arkansas was in position to wallop the Eagles.
However, Georgia Southern outscored the Razorbacks 10-3 the rest of the second quarter, starting with quarterback Justin Tomlin's 76-yard touchdown sprint. Arkansas had three three-and-out sequences sandwiched around a 7-play, 99-yard touchdown drive as the Eagles settled down for a spell.
Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson had a stretch in which he completed 3 of 9 passes from late in the first quarter well into the second quarter.
"It was all about timing," Jefferson said. "Timing and me just making sure and knowing where the pressure was coming from. I kind of got a little confused out there. They were trying to hide some different stuff and got me a couple times. The main thing on the missed throws was timing basically."
Georgia Southern concluded the half with a 12-play, 60-yard field goal drive, which doubled the amount of plays of its previous longest drive.
Coach Sam Pittman's discontent was evident in his halftime interview with the SEC Network.
After the game, Pittman said he was frustrated at the half against Rice, when Arkansas trailed 10-7, and disappointed on Saturday.
"It wasn't that they were playing bad, I was just disappointed in the enthusiasm that we had in basically letting them back in the game there," Pittman said.
Burks for 100
Junior wideout Treylon Burks notched his fifth 100-yard receiving game with his 127 yards on Saturday.
The junior from Warren posted this 100-yard game on the fewest receptions, three, on which he's hit the standard, helped enormously by a 91-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the third quarter.
Roughing it
Graduate transfer Tre Williams leads the Razorbacks with 1.5 sacks, but he also tops the team with three roughing-the-passer penalties, including two against Georgia Southern.
Williams drew a personal foul penalty on the Eagles' second possession and another one for a hit in the back on quarterback Justin Tomlin after he released a pass early in the third quarter.
"The message from the coaches is just stay composed," Williams said. "Stay composed, stay smart. When to hit the quarterback and when not to hit the quarterback."
Williams posted his solo sack and a combo-sack with fellow Missouri transfer Markell Utsey against the Eagles.
"Having a sack and a half I would be happy about it, but at the same time it's just the breakthrough," Williams said. "Sacks come in bunches and it's about that time."
Foreign ground
The Razorbacks used wholesale substitutions in the fourth quarter on both sides of the ball, including the use of backup quarterbacks Malik Hornsby and John Stephen Jones.
Coach Sam Pittman was pleased the Arkansas backups outscored Georgia Southern 7-0 in the fourth.
"We have not had that situation since I've been here, you know," Pittman said. "That was foreign territory. Get so and so in the game. Or more importantly, get somebody out of the game. We haven't had that. I was so proud of the guys, they were ready to go in there and play."
Hornsby runs
Reserve quarterback Malik Hornsby had five carries and one pass attempt during his playing time in the fourth quarter.
On his 6-yard touchdown run, which capped a 12-play, 66-yard drive, Hornsby appeared to have slot man Trey Knox breaking open on the right edge. However, Hornsby saw an open channel as he rolled right and used his speed to score his first college touchdown.
"I thought he's still fast," Coach Sam Pittman said. "He made the one guy miss him and he went in there and scored. You know he could have thrown the ball on one of them."
9 for runs
Nine different Razorbacks had runs with positive yardage against Georgia Southern, including quarterbacks Malik Hornsby (5 carries, 22 yards) and KJ Jefferson (5-18) and wideout Treylon Burks (1-2).
Dominque Johnson led the way with 72 yards, including a 48-yard burst and an 11-yard touchdown. Raheim Sanders contributed 10 carries for 43 yards, while senior starter Trelon Smith (8-39) added a touchdown, and AJ Green (7-37), Javion Hunt (4-19) and Josh Oglesby (3-17) all contributed.
Smith still leads the Razorbacks with 216 rushing yards. He's scored a rushing touchdown in every game this season. Jefferson is second with 180 rushing yards, while Sanders (137), Johnson (132) and Green (104) have all eclipsed 100 yards.
Johnson's 8.8 yards per carry lead the team, with Hornsby (8.5) close behind, followed by Jefferson (7.5), Green (7.4), Sanders (5.5) and Smith (5.1).
Catch 7
Seven different Razorbacks caught passes on the day, with no receiver grabbing more than the 3 notched by Treylon Burks and De'Vion Warren. Tyson Morris, Jaquayln Crawford and tailback AJ Green had 2 catches apiece, while Warren Thompson and tight end Blake Kern caught 1 pass each.
Thompson had his first touchdown for the Razorbacks, a 60-yard bomb in the third quarter, while Crawford made his first career receptions as an Arkansas player.
Players of the week
Offense
QB KJ Jefferson
Jefferson completed 13 of 23 passes for a career-high 366 yards and 3 touchdowns. The redshirt sophomore from Sardis, Miss., added 18 rushing yards to give him 384 total yards.
Defense
S Jalen Catalon
Catalon recorded a game-high 9 tackles, including 6 solo stops. The redshirt sophomore from Mansfield, Texas, also notched 2 pass breakups to lead the Razorbacks in that department.