Pittman and Jefferson talk about the final play of today's wild shootout...
arkansas.rivals.com
OXFORD, Miss. — Arkansas couldn’t summon any more two-point magic inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Six years after the Razorbacks won on a two-point conversion - following a wild fourth-and-25 play - in overtime, they couldn’t pull it off again with no time left in regulation Saturday, losing a 52-51 shootout with Ole Miss.
Despite KJ Jefferson’s pass sailing out of the back of the end zone on the final play of the game, head coach Sam Pittman stood behind his decision to play for the win rather than take his chances in overtime.
“Going down to that last one, I told the offense that if we score with little time left on the clock, we’re going to try to win the game,” Pittman said. “And while I wish the outcome was different, I’d do it again.”
Pittman’s decision was swayed by his defense’s inability to stop Ole Miss on the other side of the ball. The Rebels scored on eight of their 12 possessions, with three of them ending in touchdowns that took less than 45 seconds off the clock.
The quickest of those scores was fresh on his mind, as Arkansas tied the game at 45-45 on a touchdown with 1:22 remaining only to see the Rebels regain the lead two plays later on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Matt Corral to Braylon Sanders.
“Ole Miss was just scoring - we were too, but they were scoring easily,” Pittman said. “We had to work for a little bit of ours, but theirs were coming in bunches and in a bunch of yards. So I thought that's what I wanted to do and we just didn't convert it.”
The play Arkansas called for the two-point try had three options. Lined up with a running back on either side of him and two receivers bunched close to the right side, Jefferson could throw a shovel to Dominique Johnson, attempt a pass into the end zone or keep it himself.
Pittman said they really thought the shovel pass would be there, but Sam Williams and Tavius Robinson got pressure on the play and - as Jefferson said - “muddied” that option. With two players in his face, he had to throw up a prayer and it went well over Burks’ head.
"They came out in a different package than we were expecting,” Jefferson said. “They played coverage to the play we were thinking they were going to play man to. They just played great coverage on the back end. I tried to get one my guys a play, just throw it and let them make a play."
It was one of only a few unsuccessful plays for Arkansas in the second half, as it scored on six of its seven possessions after halftime and racked up 400 yards along the way.
The Razorbacks finished with 676 yards of offense - their fourth-most ever and a school record for a conference game, surpassing their 661 at Mississippi State in 2016. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was obviously frustrated with his defense, even though his team came out with the win.
“They went for two and we stopped them on that,” Kiffin said. “We stopped them on one play in the second half and that’s a good thing.”
That one play prevented what would have been another dramatic victory for the Razorbacks in Oxford, where they’ve previously won in seven overtimes, with the Henry Heave and pulled off their largest comeback in school history.
With six seconds left, Jefferson threw an incomplete pass that hit the ground with just one second remaining. After a timeout by Ole Miss, he found Warren Thompson in the back of the end zone with triple zeroes on the clock.
"I thought he overthrew it, to be honest with you, when it was in the air,” Pittman said. “He went up and caught it. That was a great drive, to go down, we had 6 seconds on the clock and ended up with 1, but it was a really well-executed 2-minute drive by the offense, and I wish the results were different.”
Things don’t get any easier for the Razorbacks, who host No. 18 Auburn in Fayetteville next Saturday. If the Tigers don’t fall out of the AP Poll after playing No. 2 Georgia, they’ll be Arkansas’ fourth straight ranked opponent and fifth in six weeks.
Pittman discusses decision to go for 2 at Ole Miss
Arkansas couldn’t summon any more two-point magic inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
OXFORD, Miss. — Arkansas couldn’t summon any more two-point magic inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Six years after the Razorbacks won on a two-point conversion - following a wild fourth-and-25 play - in overtime, they couldn’t pull it off again with no time left in regulation Saturday, losing a 52-51 shootout with Ole Miss.
Despite KJ Jefferson’s pass sailing out of the back of the end zone on the final play of the game, head coach Sam Pittman stood behind his decision to play for the win rather than take his chances in overtime.
“Going down to that last one, I told the offense that if we score with little time left on the clock, we’re going to try to win the game,” Pittman said. “And while I wish the outcome was different, I’d do it again.”
Pittman’s decision was swayed by his defense’s inability to stop Ole Miss on the other side of the ball. The Rebels scored on eight of their 12 possessions, with three of them ending in touchdowns that took less than 45 seconds off the clock.
The quickest of those scores was fresh on his mind, as Arkansas tied the game at 45-45 on a touchdown with 1:22 remaining only to see the Rebels regain the lead two plays later on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Matt Corral to Braylon Sanders.
“Ole Miss was just scoring - we were too, but they were scoring easily,” Pittman said. “We had to work for a little bit of ours, but theirs were coming in bunches and in a bunch of yards. So I thought that's what I wanted to do and we just didn't convert it.”
The play Arkansas called for the two-point try had three options. Lined up with a running back on either side of him and two receivers bunched close to the right side, Jefferson could throw a shovel to Dominique Johnson, attempt a pass into the end zone or keep it himself.
Pittman said they really thought the shovel pass would be there, but Sam Williams and Tavius Robinson got pressure on the play and - as Jefferson said - “muddied” that option. With two players in his face, he had to throw up a prayer and it went well over Burks’ head.
"They came out in a different package than we were expecting,” Jefferson said. “They played coverage to the play we were thinking they were going to play man to. They just played great coverage on the back end. I tried to get one my guys a play, just throw it and let them make a play."
It was one of only a few unsuccessful plays for Arkansas in the second half, as it scored on six of its seven possessions after halftime and racked up 400 yards along the way.
The Razorbacks finished with 676 yards of offense - their fourth-most ever and a school record for a conference game, surpassing their 661 at Mississippi State in 2016. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was obviously frustrated with his defense, even though his team came out with the win.
“They went for two and we stopped them on that,” Kiffin said. “We stopped them on one play in the second half and that’s a good thing.”
That one play prevented what would have been another dramatic victory for the Razorbacks in Oxford, where they’ve previously won in seven overtimes, with the Henry Heave and pulled off their largest comeback in school history.
With six seconds left, Jefferson threw an incomplete pass that hit the ground with just one second remaining. After a timeout by Ole Miss, he found Warren Thompson in the back of the end zone with triple zeroes on the clock.
"I thought he overthrew it, to be honest with you, when it was in the air,” Pittman said. “He went up and caught it. That was a great drive, to go down, we had 6 seconds on the clock and ended up with 1, but it was a really well-executed 2-minute drive by the offense, and I wish the results were different.”
Things don’t get any easier for the Razorbacks, who host No. 18 Auburn in Fayetteville next Saturday. If the Tigers don’t fall out of the AP Poll after playing No. 2 Georgia, they’ll be Arkansas’ fourth straight ranked opponent and fifth in six weeks.
