All Hogs

Instant takeaways from second straight Arkansas heartbreaking loss on road

Razorbacks have colossal meltdown in final quarter as Tigers boost playoff chances a week after dropping game to Ole Miss
Daniel Shi|
Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) hands the ball to running back Braylen Russell (0) during the first half against the Memphis Tigers at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) hands the ball to running back Braylen Russell (0) during the first half against the Memphis Tigers at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

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Arkansas RazorbacksMemphis Tigers

It was a fitting way for Arkansas to lose 32-31 to Memphis.

After seeing a 18-point first half lead disappear, Arkansas looked to have set freshman kicker Scott Starzyk up for his signature moment. All Arkansas had to do was bleed the clock out for a chip shot walk-off field goal.

For the second straight week, a fumble, this time by running back Mike Washington at the 7-yard line of Memphis gave the ball back to the Tigers and iced the game.

This loss was almost identical to the one last week at Ole Miss, 41-35, when Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman was convinced they were driving for a winning touchdown.

"The first thing you do is you look internally," Pittman said. "I look at myself, I look at the staff and what we can do better. Are we playing as well as we can with who we have and all that stuff, and the answer is no. So we have to continue to find out what our kids can do a little bit better."

Here are three instant takeaways.

No end in sight for the defense

The defense was the main contributor to the absolute capitulation in the second half. Linebacker Xavian Sorey missed a tackle that allowed a 64-yard touchdown out of the backfield.

Arkansas was forced to drop back eight into coverage to slow Memphis down, allowing dual-threat quarterback Brendan Lewis to run the ball with great effect. He finished the game with 103 yards on 16 carries on the ground.

The Razorback defense still had many of the same tackling issues as last week against Ole Miss, noted by coach Sam Pittman after the first quarter in an interview on the ABC broadcast.

As a parting gift for the road, redshirt freshman backup quarterback Arrington Maiden appeared in the game for the first time with with about a minute left on third down because Lewis' helmet fell off. It was Maiden's second career game.

The 6-2, 204-pound Maiden dragged Arkansas' 6-5, 387-pound defensive lineman Ian Geffard 11 yards for the first down to ice the game.

"We held him for a minute," defensive end Cam Ball said about Maiden. "He just kept moving, and we should've put him on the ground, but he just kept going. We got too lackadaisical on that specific play. Tackling in general, I just feel like as a whole we try to be too aggressive."

Memphis quarterback outshines Green in key moments

Lewis' day got off to an awful start. He missed multiple wide open receivers to start the game and found himself 2-for-10.

Lewis finished the day 13 for his last 20 and engineered two touchdown drives in the second half.

2024 Taylen Green returned for Arkansas in the second half just as Lewis got more comfortable. After starting 8-for-12 through the air, he went 6 for his next 18.

He also threw two interceptions and had a few other passes that were dropped by Memphis defenders. Arkansas is now 1-7 in games that they lose the turnover battle dating back to the start of last season.

" I want to take ownership of the two picks and putting in my defense in a tough situation because they just got off the field and stuff," Green said. "So, that's on me too. It's not just on the defense."

Devin Bale is good, really good

Punter Devin Bale is the shining star despite the chaos that continues to happen around him on special teams. Two separate penalties on punt formations being unable to line up properly hindered the Hogs in an otherwise clean first half for Arkansas.

Bale launched a beauty that landed at the one-inch line that was downed by Miguel Mitchell, but an illegal formation gave Memphis a free first down on the re-punt even though Bale pinned another one just outside the 10-yard line.

Another penalty forced the Hogs to give up 5 yards of field position on another punt formation. The Hogs were able to recover an onside kick attempt from Memphis in one of the few bright spots as a unit.

In the second half, Memphis came up with a big sack on third down to knock the Hogs out of field goal range. Bale came to the rescue and pinned the Tigers at their own 6-yard line.

It was a shame that three plays later the Tigers found themselves in the end zone after another missed tackle from the linebacker core.

While the rest of the team melted down around him, Bale was the lone bright start for the entire game.

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Daniel Shi
DANIEL SHI

Covers baseball, football and basketball for Arkansas Razorback on SI since 2023, previously writing for FanSided. Currently a student at the University of Arkansas. He’s been repeatedly jaded by the Los Angeles Angels since 2014. Probably silently humming along to whatever the band is playing in the press box. Follow me on X: @dsh12

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