One common denominator for Razorbacks continuing to fall in one score games

For the second straight week, the Razorbacks find way to lose game it should have won

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman looks on against the Memphis Tigers during the first half at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Last week Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek mentioned that Arkansas doesn't have the means necessary to compete for a national championship, which was a slap in the face to the current student-athletes that don the cardinal and white.

He actually might have been right after all as this team doesn't appear to be competitive for an American Conference title either, losing 32-31 at Memphis Saturday afternoon.

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Mike Washington Jr. (4) runs with the ball against the Memphis Tigers during the second half at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

Although the Razorbacks outgained Memphis in total yards 500-489, the Tigers made adjustments in the second half to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive by erasing an 11-point second half deficit.

For everyone keeping up at home, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has been consistent in one area, losing one score games, as his record in such games is now 7-19 since his hiring in 2020.

"I think we're going to be fine, but we've got to get our confidence back defensively and we've got to help them with that," Pittman said following the loss. "Offensively, scoring three points in the second half we've got to get confidence back there, too.

"We've got to show them we're coaching them well enough to change that. I like the team, we're going to be fine as far as being ready for Notre Dame. We know they're a really good team."

Undisciplined football

Throughout the game, various Arkansas defensive players, even a few with the "C" on their shoulder were caught loafing on any given play. Those lack of effort plays result in missed tackles, missed assignments, and bad angles.

Senior linebacker and team captain Xavian Sorey's had several shoulder tackles go wrong, including one that resulted in Memphis quarterback Brendon Lewis scoring a second quarter touchdown.

Pittman mentioned postgame that Sorey could be dealing with a bruised quadricep muscle he sustained against Arkansas State.

Memphis Tigers running back Sutton Smith (5) runs in for a touchdown as fans cheer during the game between Memphis and Arkansas at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn. | Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Memphis running back Sutton Smith used bad angles taken by Arkansas defenders to go 64-yards for the game winning touchdown with 4:51 to go in the fourth quarter.

Even the Arkansas offense can't rid itself of discipline issues driving for the go ahead score with two minutes left only to have a different player fumble the ball away.

These same type of mistakes continue to happen with each passing season and there is a common denominator that goes along with it.

Coach Sam Pittman doesn't commit the penalties, fumbles, throws interceptions, misses tackles or kicks, but he is ultimately responsible for having his team disciplined.

Look around the country, at the good teams that are in the top half of every league and those teams don't make the same mistakes each week. Why? Because they learn from mistakes and don't allow to dwell on insanity.

Petrino offense stalls again

For the praise offensive coordinator receives for revitalizing Arkansas' offense, it's fair for his second half gameplan to be questioned.

The Razorbacks' offense has been held to 10 combined points in the second half over the previous two games which begs the question if Petrino's move to the press box has paid off at this point.

While Memphis was only able to get Taylen Green down for one sack, its defense utilized disguised blitzes to disrupt any tempo Arkansas was trying to run with.

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino during pregame warmupsregame warmups against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Razorback Stadium. | Ted McClenning-allHOGS Images

"The biggest thing is we weren’t running the ball in the second half," Pittman said. "On first down we were trying to run the ball and we were making negative yardage, and I think that was maybe the biggest thing.

"In the second half, we made a conscious effort, because we were running it pretty good in the first half, that we were going to try and run, and play action a little bit more in the second half. It’s hard to play action when the run’s not doing very good. So we just started behind the chains."

For the sixth time since 2023, Arkansas scored 30 points or more in a game and lost, which is tied for the national lead in that time span.