No Substance for Razorbacks as Sam Pittman Loses Sixth Straight

Dan Enos' offense lifeless despite being given every opportunity to showcase talent

Author:
Daniel Shi
Updated:
Oct 21, 2023 5:27 PM EDT
Original:
Oct 21, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Neither offense was exactly lighting the world on fire. In the first half, quarterback KJ Jefferson had one more passing yard than Mississippi State quarterback Mike Wright (46 vs. 45). Neither offense ever showed any sign of life.

With about four minutes left in the third quarter with the Razorbacks trailing, 7-3, Jefferson cobbled together enough yards, mainly with his legs, to allow kicker Cam Little to try a 51-yard field goal. In a moment that encapsulates the spirit of the season, the Razorbacks took too long getting the unit out there and the delay of game penalty took the Hogs out of field goal range, forcing yet another punt, the 10th of the day between the two teams.

"I didn't know what to do to be perfectly honest with you," Pittman said. "So, I was probably eight seconds in on the 40-second clock. I decided to kick a field goal, and we didn't get it off in time. That's the truth. I did not want to call a timeout at that point because I wasn't even sure I wanted to kick a field goal to be perfectly honest with you. We kicked it down to the two and the fans got really involved in it."

Later, on 4th & 1 in the fourth quarter, the Razorback defense appeared to have claimed its obligatory defensive touchdown to spark the team after a bad snap led to a fumble scoop and score, but in a twisted curse, the play was called back because a pre-snap penalty on the Bulldogs blew the play dead.

Bad luck mixed with awful play led to the Razorbacks' sixth straight loss. The team must finish undefeated the rest of the year to maintain bowl eligibility. Jefferson finished the day with just 97 passing yards, his lowest since having 65 against No. 1 Georgia in 2021 in a 37-0 shutout loss.

"I thought we could exploit them in the secondary," Pittman said. "We just didn’t have time to do it. But it’s very frustrating. Everything’s frustrating. Hell, you’re frustrated. You should be. Everybody’s frustrated. There’s one head coach and I’ve got to figure out how to get it done. And I’m obviously not doing a good enough job."

Fans of the late-arriving Arkansas crowd were still settling into their seats when safety Alfahiym Walcott picked off the very first pass that Wright threw. The offense had everything they could have possibly asked for on a silver platter as Jefferson and company started their first drive at the Bulldogs' 35-yard line. It was a chance to establish an early rhythm against a struggling Bulldog Defense on Homecoming weekend.

Except none of that happened. The Razorbacks offense's red zone struggles continued, forcing the Hogs to settle for a 24-yard field goal. The rest of the first quarter, the offense managed one first down and finished with 55 yards offense.

In the biggest twist of irony, Mississippi State used to perfection what Razorback fans have called for offensive coordinator Dan Enos to use all season. Bulldog offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay used a mix of screens to running back Jo'Quavious "Woody" Marks and designed quarterback runs to score the only touchdown of the game. Barbay was aided by two 15-yard penalties on the drive, eventually resulting in Marks' two-yard touchdown catch.

The second quarter was somehow worse for the Razorback offense, managing only 23 yards. A sack of Jefferson stalled any hope of the two-minute offense bringing life to the Hogs, leading to a small chorus of boos as the teams headed to the locker room.

"There’s nothing exactly that I can put my finger on," offensive lineman Brady Latham said. "I can just say that we need to go play as hard as we can, every single snap. We need to take pride in what we do. We need to take pride in playing for Arkansas, and we need to get it fixed."

The punt-a-thon continued into the second half. After the botched field goal operation, punter Max Fletcher pinned the Bulldogs at their own three-yard line as an announced home crowd of 71,505 based solely on tickets sold got loud for the first time all day. The noise led to a myriad of pre-snap penalties for Mississippi State, but on 3rd & 11, Wright uncorked his only deep ball of the day to bail his team out with a 30-yard completion to Justin Robinson.

The defense held on to force another punt, but shortly after, Jefferson responded with a pick as time slowly slowly ticked into the fourth quarter with neither team sniffing a scoring opportunity.

The defense continued to give Jefferson and the offense chance after chance to win the game. A missed 29-yard field goal from Bulldog kicker Kyle Ferrie gave the Hogs the ball back for the final time with 74 seconds left to try and score a touchdown to somehow win the game.

Jefferson got the ball into Bulldog territory to pad the stats, which finished with exactly 200 yards of total offense. His last-gasp Hail Mary attempt fell mercifully short of the end zone.

Arkansas will come out of its bye week having not won a game in almost two months. The next hit the field Saturday, Nov. 4 at Florida. A game time and network has not been announced.