Third Times the Charm, Slovis' Sweet Revenge on Hogs for BYU

On his third team, Slovis signs signature win off with side of revenge over Pittman's Hogs

Author:
Daniel Shi
Publish date:
Sep 16, 2023 9:30 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When head coach Kalani Sitake pulled quarterback Kedon Slovis out of the transfer portal, this was the type of win that he imagined. Almost exactly 11 months to the day after the Hogs stormed into Provo, Utah and beat BYU on their home turf, the Cougars returned the favor Saturday night in a scintillating 38-31 win over the Razorbacks in dramatic fashion.

Slovis, a graduate transfer after pit stops at both USC and Pittsburgh capped off one of his best wins in his long collegiate career with 17 unanswered points to finish the game.

"Pretty emotional," Slovis said. "Lots of ups and downs. Proud of the way the guys battled and came back and won."

After kicker Will Ferrin missed a kick wide right that would have given the Cougars a 10-point lead, the Hogs were given one last reprieve as KJ attempted to lead a game-tying drive with 1:55 left in the game. The evil yellow flag, which had been a thorn in the Razorbacks' side all night led to 14 penalties for 125 yards. A holding penalty on team captain senior offensive lineman Brady Latham (who had to shift along the line late in the game after an injury) at the BYU 16, his third penalty of the quarter sealed the Hogs' fate.

"I want to give BYU credit," Pittman said. "We knew they were going to have a team who played extremely hard, and they certainly did. They took care of the ball a little bit better than us, and they certainly did in the penalty area. I want to give them credit. They played a good football game. We've got a lot of things to clean up."

If Pittman's goal was to start fast, he certainly accomplished that. There was just one minor issue, after the first 5 minutes, not much went right as the Hogs saw an early two-touchdown advantage disappear into the night sky.

Run, AJ Run! A week after starting off slow and only averaging 3.8 yards per carry against Kent State, running back AJ Green streaked up the right sideline for a 55-yard touchdown run on just the fourth play from scrimmage to give the Hogs an idyllic start.

In what can only be described as a polar opposite to the Kent State game, the defensive line immediately began to wreak havoc on a struggling BYU offensive line and forced a booming punt from Ryan Rekhow. Hog speedster and punt returner redshirt freshman Isaiah Sategna took the punt from one sideline to the other for an 88-yard touchdown return and quickly doubled Arkansas' lead to 14-0.

Rekhow continued to keep BYU in the game while Slovis and the rest of the offense struggled to find their rhythm. This time another angled punt pinned Arkansas inside the 5-yard line. A subsequent three-and-out shifted the momentum. A little trickery from BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick saw backup freshman wide receiver Parker Kingston throwing to a wide-open Aidan Robbins in the corner of the endzone to make it 14-7, as the game quickly had vibes of the 2022 shootout.

Just as it looked like the offenses were going to click into high gear, both teams stalled again. BYU went three-and-out and a controversial offensive pass interference call on freshman tight end Luke Hasz had Pittman livid on the sidelines and killed a promising Hog drive. A shank from sophomore Max Fletcher gave BYU another short field. The Cougars made short work of the good fortune, running back LJ Martin took it to the house for 45 yards to tie the score after the end of the first quarter; the play was more than double the longest run that BYU had all year.

The double-digit lead that the Razorbacks once held was a distant memory as Fletcher punted for the fourth time. Just as the Razorback offense went ice-cold, Slovis began to find his rhythm. He completed two passes to his leading receiver, tight end Isaac Rex, including hanging in the pocket for an impressive 26-yard completion. The drive was capped off by Martin's second touchdown, this time from 1-yard out.

"Oh my gosh," Sitake said about Slovis. "He's such a beast I was hoping he would go to the NFL last year. He is such a presence... When he is comfortable, he is dangerous."

After yet another Razorback three-and-out, graduate transfer defensive lineman John Morgan III came up with a much-needed sack that finally halted the rampant Slovis-led offense.

Offensive Coordinator Dan Enos employed back-to-back screens in an effort to get Jefferson who finished the first 30 minutes of play 9-for-14 with just 93 yards through the air. Jefferson was able to stop the bleeding by methodically orchestrating a 10-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in finding Luke Hasz in the back corner of the zone for Hasz's first career touchdown.

The BYU offense was on the field for all but one play before senior cornerback Dwight McGlothern came in with a hard hit on receiver Chase Roberts and forced a fumble which was recovered by senior safety Hudson Clark. Arkansas would have to settle for three as sophomore kicker Cam Little nailed his first field goal attempt of the season, a chip shot 26-yarder as time expired for a 24-21 lead.

Momentum did not shift after the break, as BYU started the second half with consecutive three-and-outs. The offensive rhythm pendulum for the offense had swung once again fully towards Arkansas. The vaunted rushing attack, which had been dormant for over two weeks came to life. Jefferson rushed for 19 yards on a quarterback keeper and Green finished the drive with his second touchdown on the day to stretch the lead back to 31-21.

Arkansas' momentum came to a screeching halt when for the second week in a row Pittman decided to go for it on a critical fourth down. This time he opted to hand the ball off to Rashod Dubinion on fourth and 1 right at the 50. He was stuffed up the middle for no gain and handing a short field on a silver platter to the Cougars. The defense bailed Pittman out again, coming up with a third-down sack to hold BYU to a Will Ferrin 43-yard field goal.

After being one of nine FBS teams without turnover after the opening two games, Jefferson picked an inopportune time to throw his first interception of the season. Pressure on second and line forced him to get the ball out into the waiting arms of linebacker Max Tooley. One play later, Slovis threw his first touchdown of the day, a 19-yard touchdown pass to Kingston to tie the game at 31.

A one-quarter shootout in front of the eighth largest crowd in school history beckoned for the 74,821 people at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium as deja vu struck again as almost a year after Little just missed a critical field goal against Texas A&M, his 49-yarder hit the upright to keep the scoreboard in total equilibrium.

On the ensuing drive, Slovis converted a critical third-and-8 with his legs and immediately found Keelan Marion down the left sideline for 37 yards and the longest play of the day for BYU. Two plays later, he found Roberts as the BYU faithful near the North End Zone came to life as their Cougars took a 38-31 lead with eight minutes to play.

"Every time we made a mistake they came back and executed," defensive end Landon Jackson said. " We’ve got to be able to put teams out when we get up, and that’s not what we did today. We’ve got to play a better game in all three phases of the game."

On the ensuing drive, Sam Pittman opted to go for it on fourth and 1 at his own 34 with 06:47 left to play but quickly reversed course after a false start on Latham forced Fletcher to punt again. On the next Arkansas drive, as motivation turned to desperation, Jefferson fumbled the ball on third and seven as the dying embers of hope painfully began to dissipate.

The Hogs had their chances late, but they must quickly turn the page against LSU at Tiger Stadium Saturday, Sep. 23.