Meant to get this up earlier
arkansas.rivals.com
OXFORD, Miss. — The Arkansas Razorbacks (2-4, 0-3) once again dropped a game they could've won in a 27-20 loss at the No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels (5-1, 2-1 SEC) on Saturday evening in front of a rowdy crowd at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
On a chilly evening that brought plenty of jackets out, the Arkansas offense wasn't able to stay warm enough and do enough against the Ole Miss defense. The Razorbacks gave up five sacks and nine tackles for loss as quarterback KJ Jefferson was once again running for his life way too often.
A respectable effort from the Arkansas defense against a potent Ole Miss offense was not enough to overcome the lack of five punts and an interception by the Razorbacks' offense.
Here are my thoughts, observations, notes, stats and more from Saturday's game in Oxford...
One of the touchdowns came after a KJ Jefferson interception set the Rebels up at the Arkansas 3-yard line and three of the points came via a field goal.
The Hogs held the Rebels to a missed field goal to end the first half, and their first two drives of the second half resulted in a punt and a turnover on downs.
Ole Miss started 0-for-9 on third downs until they converted on two during a drive midway through the fourth quarter that resulted in a touchdown to give the Rebels a 24-20 lead with 7:48 to play.
After another Arkansas three-and-out, the Rebels drove 63 yards in eight plays to end up hitting a field goal to make it a 27-20 game.
Ole Miss ended up totaling 349 yards of offense in the game, with 153 coming through the air and 196 on the ground. Running back Ulysses Bentley IV led all rushers with 94 rushing yards and one score in the contest.
Arkansas' defense forced four punts, a turnover on downs and a missed field goal in Saturday's game. It also added two sacks, six quarterback hurries, four pass breakups and eight tackles for loss.
After combining to have 25 penalties in the LSU and BYU losses, Arkansas didn't have a single penalty in last week's loss to Texas A&M.
That changed Saturday, as the Hogs had 10 total penalties against the Rebels. Of those penalties, five came against the Arkansas offensive line.
The offense didn't play up to snuff, but the penalties didn't help whatsoever. Kind of similar to the LSU game, I don't think you can look back on any of the penalties (without rewatching the film) and say they cost the Hogs the game.
I think KJ Jefferson had one of his worst games as a Razorback back in his home state of Mississippi. He threw a pair of interceptions, and had a few more throws that should've been picked off.
Jefferson was missing running lanes he would usually hit the past two years and he just doesn't seem to be seeing the field well right now. I don't know if it's a confidence issues, a scheme issue, or what, but he's had a rough two games in a row.
After shaking things up on the first team offensive line in practice during the week, Pittman did in fact trot out a new-look group up front. Josh Braun was the only guy to stay where he's been all year (right guard), while the rest of the group was different.
Patrick Kutas moved from right tackle to center, while Beaux Limmer moved from center to left guard. Brady Latham moved from left guard to right tackle and Andrew Chamblee played at left tackle in place of Devon Manuel, who started there in the Texas A&M and LSU games.
The group struggled a bit to start, as they allowed four negative plays, Latham had a false start and he also gave up a sack. Arkansas managed to score on the drive, but it ran five plays from behind the sticks and also had to convert on a 4th-and-4.
To begin the second half, everything went back to the way it's been for most of the season — LT Chamblee, LG Latham, C Limmer, RG Braun, RT Kutas.
Saturday was just another game of the Arkansas offensive line getting pushed around and forcing KJ Jefferson to run for his life nearly every drop back. Jefferson was sacked five times in the contest and the Rebels also totaled six quarterback hurries and nine tackles for loss.
The Razorbacks rushed for just 36 yards in the game on 29 carries (1.2 yards per carry).
Without going back and watching the film, it just seemed to me like the offensive line was getting beat off the ball every play in the first half and they started to see some sort of push in the second half. It's still the weakest group on the team, but I think the look of that group in the second half is what they are going to have to keep rolling with.
In the absence of freshman tight end Luke Hasz, who broke his clavicle in the Texas A&M game, the Razorbacks needed another tight end to step up against the Rebels.
Redshirt freshman Ty Washington answered the call right away with five catches for 56 receiving yards and a 3-yard touchdown on the Razorbacks' first drive of the game. Prior to Saturday's game, Washington had just one reception in his career — a 17-yard touchdown in the Liberty Bowl win over Kansas last year.
He didn't receive another target — let alone catch another pass — until the first drive of the second half. Washington's biggest catch of the game then came on a 17-yard score with 13:11 to go in the fourth quarter to give the Razorbacks a 20-17 lead.
For a guy who had played primarily special teams snaps up until Saturday's game, Washington looked like a seasoned veteran. I thought he ran routes well enough to get open often and he had no mistakes with drops or penalties.
The loss of Hasz was monumental in the A&M game and it felt like it could really hurt the Hogs moving forward, but Washington gave them some hope with his performance against the Rebels.
Something that has been a topic of debate for basically the entire season continued on Saturday. Nobody is perfect, but when the same kind of mistakes continue to happen, it's not a good trend.
Late in the first half, the Razorbacks three straight three-and-outs on offense. One of those directly led to a touchdown, while another should've at least resulted in a field goal.
After taking over with 4:50 to go in the second quarter on their own 8-yard line, the Razorbacks ran 2:14 off the clock for three plays. After being stopped for a 4th-and-1 on the Hogs' 17-yard line, Pittman elected to run the clock down and burn a timeout just to run his punt team out after the break.
To me, I think it would've been better just to run the punt team out and snap the ball right before the play clock runs out instead of burning a timeout for a play that you don't have to think about. The Rebels scored a touchdown just over a minute later to take a 10-point lead.
The next drive resulted in another three-and-out for the Hogs, but this time they took just 26 seconds off the clock thanks to a pair of Ole Miss timeouts stopping the clock.
Arkansas' defense did its job and forced a three-and-out, allowing Pittman to burn his second timeout and give his offense a shot. Out of the timeout, special teams coordinator Scott Fountain's punt team was flagged for an illegal substitution to give the Rebels a fresh set of downs.
Luckily for the Hogs, the Rebels missed a field goal as time expired in the half, but just about everything else went wrong in that final five minutes.
Even on the team's first drive of the second half, Pittman burned a timeout on 4th-and-7 from the Ole Miss 38-yard line to decide to kick a field goal, which Cam Little hit from 56 yards out.
I'm just going to let Arkansas converting on 3rd-and-1 with a quarterback sneak speak for itself.
~ Ole Miss fans striped Vaught-Hemingway Stadium out with red and baby blue stripes in every other section.
~ Linebacker Chris "Pooh" Paul Jr. suffered an injury to the head/neck area with 19 seconds to go in the first half and he had to be helped back to the locker room. He didn't return to the game, but he was spotted on the sideline in street clothes during the second half.
~ Scouts from the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets were in attendance for Saturday's game.
~ A representative from the Liberty Bowl was in attendance for Saturday's game.
HawgBeat - Six quick thoughts from Arkansas' loss at Ole Miss
HawgBeat provides notes, observations, stats and more from Arkansas' loss at Ole Miss on Saturday.
arkansas.rivals.com
OXFORD, Miss. — The Arkansas Razorbacks (2-4, 0-3) once again dropped a game they could've won in a 27-20 loss at the No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels (5-1, 2-1 SEC) on Saturday evening in front of a rowdy crowd at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
On a chilly evening that brought plenty of jackets out, the Arkansas offense wasn't able to stay warm enough and do enough against the Ole Miss defense. The Razorbacks gave up five sacks and nine tackles for loss as quarterback KJ Jefferson was once again running for his life way too often.
A respectable effort from the Arkansas defense against a potent Ole Miss offense was not enough to overcome the lack of five punts and an interception by the Razorbacks' offense.
Here are my thoughts, observations, notes, stats and more from Saturday's game in Oxford...
That defense, man
Defensive coordinator Travis Williams' group continues to (mostly) do its part each week, and that was no different against a dangerous Ole Miss offense on Saturday. The Rebels were held to just 17 points in the first half, and really only seven of those points were on the defense.One of the touchdowns came after a KJ Jefferson interception set the Rebels up at the Arkansas 3-yard line and three of the points came via a field goal.
The Hogs held the Rebels to a missed field goal to end the first half, and their first two drives of the second half resulted in a punt and a turnover on downs.
Ole Miss started 0-for-9 on third downs until they converted on two during a drive midway through the fourth quarter that resulted in a touchdown to give the Rebels a 24-20 lead with 7:48 to play.
After another Arkansas three-and-out, the Rebels drove 63 yards in eight plays to end up hitting a field goal to make it a 27-20 game.
Ole Miss ended up totaling 349 yards of offense in the game, with 153 coming through the air and 196 on the ground. Running back Ulysses Bentley IV led all rushers with 94 rushing yards and one score in the contest.
Arkansas' defense forced four punts, a turnover on downs and a missed field goal in Saturday's game. It also added two sacks, six quarterback hurries, four pass breakups and eight tackles for loss.
Penalties return, Jefferson off his game
After combining to have 25 penalties in the LSU and BYU losses, Arkansas didn't have a single penalty in last week's loss to Texas A&M.
That changed Saturday, as the Hogs had 10 total penalties against the Rebels. Of those penalties, five came against the Arkansas offensive line.
The offense didn't play up to snuff, but the penalties didn't help whatsoever. Kind of similar to the LSU game, I don't think you can look back on any of the penalties (without rewatching the film) and say they cost the Hogs the game.
I think KJ Jefferson had one of his worst games as a Razorback back in his home state of Mississippi. He threw a pair of interceptions, and had a few more throws that should've been picked off.
Jefferson was missing running lanes he would usually hit the past two years and he just doesn't seem to be seeing the field well right now. I don't know if it's a confidence issues, a scheme issue, or what, but he's had a rough two games in a row.
The offensive line
After shaking things up on the first team offensive line in practice during the week, Pittman did in fact trot out a new-look group up front. Josh Braun was the only guy to stay where he's been all year (right guard), while the rest of the group was different.
Patrick Kutas moved from right tackle to center, while Beaux Limmer moved from center to left guard. Brady Latham moved from left guard to right tackle and Andrew Chamblee played at left tackle in place of Devon Manuel, who started there in the Texas A&M and LSU games.
The group struggled a bit to start, as they allowed four negative plays, Latham had a false start and he also gave up a sack. Arkansas managed to score on the drive, but it ran five plays from behind the sticks and also had to convert on a 4th-and-4.
To begin the second half, everything went back to the way it's been for most of the season — LT Chamblee, LG Latham, C Limmer, RG Braun, RT Kutas.
Saturday was just another game of the Arkansas offensive line getting pushed around and forcing KJ Jefferson to run for his life nearly every drop back. Jefferson was sacked five times in the contest and the Rebels also totaled six quarterback hurries and nine tackles for loss.
The Razorbacks rushed for just 36 yards in the game on 29 carries (1.2 yards per carry).
Without going back and watching the film, it just seemed to me like the offensive line was getting beat off the ball every play in the first half and they started to see some sort of push in the second half. It's still the weakest group on the team, but I think the look of that group in the second half is what they are going to have to keep rolling with.
Ty Washington
In the absence of freshman tight end Luke Hasz, who broke his clavicle in the Texas A&M game, the Razorbacks needed another tight end to step up against the Rebels.
Redshirt freshman Ty Washington answered the call right away with five catches for 56 receiving yards and a 3-yard touchdown on the Razorbacks' first drive of the game. Prior to Saturday's game, Washington had just one reception in his career — a 17-yard touchdown in the Liberty Bowl win over Kansas last year.
He didn't receive another target — let alone catch another pass — until the first drive of the second half. Washington's biggest catch of the game then came on a 17-yard score with 13:11 to go in the fourth quarter to give the Razorbacks a 20-17 lead.
For a guy who had played primarily special teams snaps up until Saturday's game, Washington looked like a seasoned veteran. I thought he ran routes well enough to get open often and he had no mistakes with drops or penalties.
The loss of Hasz was monumental in the A&M game and it felt like it could really hurt the Hogs moving forward, but Washington gave them some hope with his performance against the Rebels.
Game Management
Something that has been a topic of debate for basically the entire season continued on Saturday. Nobody is perfect, but when the same kind of mistakes continue to happen, it's not a good trend.
Late in the first half, the Razorbacks three straight three-and-outs on offense. One of those directly led to a touchdown, while another should've at least resulted in a field goal.
After taking over with 4:50 to go in the second quarter on their own 8-yard line, the Razorbacks ran 2:14 off the clock for three plays. After being stopped for a 4th-and-1 on the Hogs' 17-yard line, Pittman elected to run the clock down and burn a timeout just to run his punt team out after the break.
To me, I think it would've been better just to run the punt team out and snap the ball right before the play clock runs out instead of burning a timeout for a play that you don't have to think about. The Rebels scored a touchdown just over a minute later to take a 10-point lead.
The next drive resulted in another three-and-out for the Hogs, but this time they took just 26 seconds off the clock thanks to a pair of Ole Miss timeouts stopping the clock.
Arkansas' defense did its job and forced a three-and-out, allowing Pittman to burn his second timeout and give his offense a shot. Out of the timeout, special teams coordinator Scott Fountain's punt team was flagged for an illegal substitution to give the Rebels a fresh set of downs.
Luckily for the Hogs, the Rebels missed a field goal as time expired in the half, but just about everything else went wrong in that final five minutes.
Even on the team's first drive of the second half, Pittman burned a timeout on 4th-and-7 from the Ole Miss 38-yard line to decide to kick a field goal, which Cam Little hit from 56 yards out.
Finally, a QB sneak
I'm just going to let Arkansas converting on 3rd-and-1 with a quarterback sneak speak for itself.
Other notes
~ For the first time this year, Arkansas wore the uniform combination of red helmets, white jerseys and red pants.~ Ole Miss fans striped Vaught-Hemingway Stadium out with red and baby blue stripes in every other section.
~ Linebacker Chris "Pooh" Paul Jr. suffered an injury to the head/neck area with 19 seconds to go in the first half and he had to be helped back to the locker room. He didn't return to the game, but he was spotted on the sideline in street clothes during the second half.
~ Scouts from the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets were in attendance for Saturday's game.
~ A representative from the Liberty Bowl was in attendance for Saturday's game.
