Live Blog: Reacting to Arkansas vs. Western Carolina as It Unfolds
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – It's a relatively cool day at War Memorial, which takes away an advantage for Arkansas. Western Carolina has been practicing in temps in the 60s and 70s, so a game in the 90s would have been in the Hogs favor. Instead, things will kick off in the chilly low 80s.
Considering the Catamounts have had serious concerns about tackling, this is a game that lends itself to leaning heavily on the running game. However, there is a need to see how strong the chemistry between KJ Jefferson and his receiver group will be. As for the defense, there will be a bigger test today than expected. If there's one thing Western Carolina is good at, it's putting up points.
Follow along today for live reaction and analysis. There will also be halftime reports coming up later today.
First Quarter
The crowd has finally filed in from the golf course. It's pretty loud to start as the Hogs have deferred to the second half. We're going to get a look at this revamped defense first.
WESTERN CAROLINA
Hogs' linebacker Jaheim Thomas gets into the backfield and the first play of the game is a sack for a 2-yard loss. Arkansas brings pressure up the middle, forcing a quick throw and the Catamounts will punt. This is definitely a much more aggressive defense than we saw last season.
Everyone is excited to see Isaiah Sategna return a punt, but an ugly kick keeps that from happening. It rolls to the 21 and Arkansas will get started.
ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
Jefferson on the run fake slips into the bootleg and hits Luke Hasz on the first play of the game for 14 yards. That will make Razorback fans happy. That was missing a lot last year.
SCORING PLAY, Touchdown
Jefferson into the flat for Jaedon Wilson. He gets a huge block from Isaac TeSlaa and he's all alone up the sideline. No one on the field has the speed to catch him and Arkansas has a 65-yard touchdown.
Two plays, 79 yards in 36 seconds. Everything on that drive, even though it was short, looked way better than last season in execution. Wilson has already almost doubled his production from last year.
Arkansas 7, Western Carolina 0 (1Q, 13:03)
WESTERN CAROLINA
The defensive line looks great on first down. However, on second down, Western Carolina had a receiver running free and the quarterback Gozalez just missed him. Against pretty much any other team, that's a touchdown. That was a worry coming into the season. That will need to be cleaned up quickly.
The crowd creates its first penalty of the game as a delay of game makes it 3rd & 15. Gonzalez tries to hit a receiver in double coverage that fortunately for him misses wide. Had it been on target, it probably would have been picked off.
The Catamounts have to punt. It's another ugly one, but Sategna picks it up, reverses field, finds a seam up the middle and is brought down after a decent gain that shouldn't have resulted in any yards at all. Do not miss a punt return this season because this kid is as hyped. He's going to break several returns this year. He's lightning fast and cuts on a dime. It's a jolt of adrenaline when he fields a punt.
Arkansas 7, Western Carolina 0 (1Q, 12:06)
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Hogs start in Catamount territory and Raheim Sanders touches the ball for the first time. It doesn't go well as he lost a few inches. They throw to him on second down and it's a loss of three. Not sure anyone had Rocket with two touches and -3 total yards. On 3rd & 13, Jefferson finds TeSlaa who beats his man over the middle. Jefferson does a good job of throwing him away from help defenders and it's a first down after a 25-yard gain.
Jefferson with a brilliant fake to the running back that has everyone biting. He flips the ball to Sategna for a first down on the 13. Had that throw not been way behind him, it would have been a touchdown. There was nothing but empty space in front of him. This offense is creating lots of space on the passing routes.
SCORING PLAY, Touchdown
Sanders finally gets things going with a couple of runs for nine yards to the 3-yard line. Enos goes to Sanders again and he gets a perfect block on the left side of the line that splits a wide hole off tackle for the touchdown. Arkansas had two tight ends on the play and it looks like blocking on the left side between the tackle and tight end is going to be strong this season.
The passing game looks great, although Jefferson will need to adjust to the speed of Sategna. Who thought the area that will need work throughout the game would be the running game. We will see how that shakes out as things move forward.
Arkansas 14, Western Carolina 0 (1Q, 8:40)
Western Carolina
Possession starts at the Catamount 25 and the snap is high. Before Gonzales can really corral the ball, Landon Jackson swallows him up from the backside for a 12-yard loss.
Gonzales gets better protection this time and hits Calvin Jones underneath with a lot of space where the linebackers cover in the passing game. That's good for about 11 yards. He gets even more time on the next play and is able to hit his tight end, but it's not enough. Western Carolina punts and Sategna does a good job with a difficult fair catch in traffic.
Arkansas 14, Western Carolina 0 (1Q, 6:49)
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Hogs will start around the 20. Jefferson gets no protection as he is running for his life. He shakes a tackle and finds Andrew Armstrong for a first down with a 12-yard catch. That's not what you want to see today. Great play, but do not want to see Jefferson under duress.
The Hogs make a few good plays that should have kept the chains moving, but penalties kill the Razorbacks and they punt for the first time today on 4th and 18. You get the feeling Arkansas is the only team that can stop this offense today.
Arkansas 14, Western Carolina 0 (1Q, 4:21)
Western Carolina
Former Harvard QB Charlie Dean is on the filed for the Catamounts now. What a defensive possession for Hudson Clark. He makes a huge tackle for a loss on a pass to the running back and then he snags the interception over the middle to give the Hogs a short field at the 31-yard line. Huge play for the Arkansas vet.
Arkansas Razorbacks
SCORING PLAY, Touchdown
Dan Enos wastes no time making Western Carolina pay for the mistake. TeSlaa takes a move inside to beat the first defender and blows past the help defender and Jefferson delivers a strike for the touchdown near the back of the right side of the end zone. This is a much more versatile and aggressive offense than what we saw last season. Those records Jefferson is chasing look like they're going to fall pretty quick this year.
Arkansas 21, Western Carolina 0 (1Q, 3:03)
Western Carolina
As the score adds up quickly, if the defense keeps playing sharply, you have to wonder how many more series Jefferson will get.
The running back Adams gets what looked like a 9-yard run around the right side as he got the edge, but Jordan Crook hit him a good yard or so after he went out of bounds and Western Carolina will move further than it has all day near midfield.
Dean finds Tamarez in a soft spot in the secondary for 21 yards. There were four defenders around him. It was just a good route and pass.
Arkansas gets hit with pass interference and Western Carolina has now used a pair of huge mistakes to get into the red zone. Dean has a receiver running wide open for a touchdown, but he doesn't see him, so Arkansas gets a lucky break. It's now 3rd & 11. Again, another receiver is running open and Dean doesn't see him. Instead, it's almost picked off to force a punt.
SCORING PLAY, Field Goal
The Catamounts get a 34-yard field goal and that series looked a lot like the Razorback defense of a year ago. There were multiple chances for touchdowns and bad decisions that led to costly penalties. That has to be cleaned up.
Arkansas 21, Western Carolina 3 (1Q, 0:15)
Arkansas Razorbacks
AJ Green gets his first action of game with a carry for a couple of yards. The passing game is killing it, but the Hogs are struggling in the running game. That is going to be something to keep an eye on as we move to the second quarter.
Arkansas 21, Western Carolina 3
SECOND QUARTER
As we enter the second quarter, Arkansas has six carries for five yards.
Jefferson opens the quarter with a 10-yard pass to TeSlaa over the middle in tight coverage. He then hits Hasz in the flat for a short gain. Hasz fights for extra yards on hard contact and then takes a late hit out of bounds to add another 15 yards.
Arkansas crosses midfield, but a bobbled snap leads to Jefferson getting what he can for a 3-yard gain to the Western Carolina 38. The next snap goes over Jefferson's shoulder, resulting in a loss of 19 yards. This isn't a good look. Jefferson flips a pass to Dubinion for a gain of 1, but a false start penalty on the next play continues the sloppy play for Arkansas. That brings 4th & 30 from Arkansas territory and the Hogs will punt.
That is not the defensive-offensive series Sam Pittman wants to see. It was sloppy in every way possible. Also, there is reason to have major concern about the Arkansas running game now for which there is no excuse.
Arkansas 21, Western Carolina 3 (2Q, 11:59)
Western Carolina
The Catamounts take over at the 15-yard line, but that doesn't matter. Dean starts picking apart the Arkansas secondary. He hits Jones for 15 at the Carolina 34, then Lee for five yards to the 39.
That's followed by a roughing the passer call. Dean threw it up for grabs, but got hit way late, although it looks like the Arkansas player got blocked into him. That will be an extra 15 yards and the Catamounts are in Razorback territory again. This is starting to get away from the Hogs' defense.
Dean then hits Reid to move Western Carolina to the Arkansas 34-yard line. Dean misses Lee, but it looks like there is a flag. This will be devastating if it goes against Arkansas. Turns out it's offensive pass interference and the Hogs finally catch a break.
Western Carolina decides to go conservative, returning to its dink and dunk passing game, which plays right into the Razorbacks' hands. Two catches go for a total of one yard and instead of at least getting a field goal, the Catamounts will end a long drive with a punt. Nearly four and a half minutes roll off the clock with nothing on the score board.
Arkansas 21, Western Carolina 3 (2Q, 7:30)
Arkansas Razorbacks
Jefferson will bring his team to the line at his own 6-yard line. Enos tries to go to Sanders the first two plays and there is just nothing going in the running game. Sanders totals four yards. The face mask breaks off his helmet on the last carry.
Jefferson just misses Armstrong and the Hogs will have to punt deep in their end zone. Who say this sort of dominance of the Arkansas running game by an FCS school after all the hype we heard about how much stronger these players are supposed to be. This is concerning.
Arkansas 21, Western Carolina 3 (2Q, 6:00)
Western Carolina
As hot as Arkansas came out, the last several series have raised tons of concern. This should be at least 21-10 with the momentum trending in the Catamounts' favor. It looked like a game where a lot of guys would get to be sat early, but not anymore.
BIG PLAY, Interception
A good run for seven yards gets things going for the Catamounts, but Dean throw a long out toward the sideline for a receiver who was bracketed and Dwight McGlothern comes away with the leaping interception. He is able to return it to the Carolina 32.
Arkansas 21, Western Carolina 3 (2Q, 5:14)
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Hogs go with Dubinion and try to lean heavily on the running game. No big plays from Dubinion, but enough to create a 4th & 1 situation at the 23. He gets enough for the first down, but fumbles it. A Catamount should have come up with it, but a Razorback offensive lineman is able to save the turnover for the Hogs.
KJ Jefferson wastes no time in making Western Carolina pay for not coming up with the fumble recovery. He runs the RPO with Dubinion who snaps down on the hand-off. Jefferson wants to keep though and rips so hard to get the ball back he spins Dubinion all the way around, Once he finally pulls it away, he jets through an open hole in the middle of the field for a 17-yard touchdown. It was ugly, but it worked.
That run, his first, makes Jefferson the Hogs' leading rusher today.
Arkansas 28, Western Carolina 3 (2Q, 2:56)
Western Carolina
BIG PLAY, Fumble
Branson Adams burns Arkansas for a huge running play. He's free on the sideline for 22 yards. It will be for naught though. Jaedon Johnson puts a helmet on the ball that jars it lose along the sideline and freshman TJ Metcalf picks it up. The Hogs take over on the fumble at the Western Carolina 47.
Arkansas 28, Western Carolina 3 (2Q, 2:44)
Arkansas Razorbacks
A short pass to Jaedon Wilson gets four yards and Sanders gets a pair of runs for a total of seven yards to get a first down. Jefferson then drops a perfect pass to Armstrong deep over the middle for 29 yards near the five-yard line.
Sanders gets a pair of yards and then Jefferson with a dangerous run. He was spun around with his arm outstretched with the ball hanging out there. He's lucky he didn't lose it or that it didn't get hit with a helmet. He's just inside the one, but that's something we've seen him do in the past that needed to be cleaned up and it appears it hasn't.
Jefferson lines up under center and runs the quarterback sneak from a half yard out. The offensive line got absolutely no push and Jefferson is stopped short.
SCORING PLAY, Touchdown
That will lead to a 4th & Goal from the 1-yard line. Jefferson goes under center. He hands it off to Sanders who follows Dubinion as a blocking fullback. Dubinion picks up the linebacker and Sanders walks into the end zone.
Arkansas 35, Western Carolina 3 (2Q, 0:00)
HALFTIME
That might have been the most concerning 35-3 first half blowout of all time. Receivers were running free. Costly penalties came often at inopportune times. The offensive line got no push, which killed the running game.
There were bright spots. The passing game looks amazing and the defense did a great job of forcing turnovers. That's why the score is what it is, and that's a lot of cause for excitement. The defensive line has made a few plays here and there also.
However, Pittman has to be losing his mind in the locker room right now. His offensive line has been dominated by an FCS school in the running game. The Hogs have 17 yards total rushing and that's because of an ugly play that Jefferson turned into a touchdown that would have resulted in a fumble if he didn't have such strong hands. I don't think anyone saw this coming.
Arkansas vs. Western Carolina first half stats
THIRD QUARTER
Arkansas Razorbacks
We said Arkansas has electricity in an area they haven't in a while as Sategna runs a kick-off back from deep in his end zone to the Western Carolina 45. However, the Razorbacks have the most Arkansas of moments as an unneeded block in the back moves it back to the Arkansas 9-yard line. For those doing the math, that's roughly a 44-yard penalty.
The offense generates nothing from the shadow of its own end zone beyond a 6-yard run by Sanders. Jefferson gets rocked from his backside on 3rd down and fumbles the ball toward the end zone. The Hogs manage to get it back and will punt from their own 2-yard line. More of the same from what we saw beginning around the second quarter.
Fletcher will punt in a tight space. He booms one and Western Carolina will be in business around mid-field.
Arkansas 35, Western Carolina 3 (3Q, 13:11)
Western Carolina
The Catamounts waste no time seizing the momentum. The dink and dunk results in a 4th& 1 that Western Carolina converts on a 2-yard run by Reid. They then strike at what has been the Hogs weakness defensively. The secondary gets beat for 40 yards with a pass from Dean to Lee to put the Catamounts at the 2-yard line.
SCORING PLAY, Touchdown
Reid runs it in for the touchdown and everyone has to wonder what this game might look like if the defense hadn't come up with so many turnovers. The Hogs have 21 points off turnovers, which is the difference in a blowout and a nail biter.
Arkansas 35, Western Carolina 10 (3Q, 10:59)
Arkansas Razorbacks
Jefferson with a big pass to Wilson for 18 yards along the sideline, but it gets wiped out by a holding penalty. Fortunately for the Razorbacks, Western Carolina had a helmet off, so it's off-setting.
AJ Green has a couple of carries for 17 yards on this drive. Sanders is trying to find his footing. He gets five yards and then he finally gets a hole. He's into open field, but he's brought down for a 14-yard gain. That's a play where he's gone to the house against faster defenses, so you have to wonder if he has retained his speed despite the extra size. That sets up a first down just across mid-field.
Jefferson misses TeSlaa by a good bit on the play action pass, which sets up 3rd &11. Jefferson responds with a 18-yard pass to Armstrong over the middle and he threw that just high enough to get over a leaping linebacker. That sets up a first down in the red zone.
SCORING PLAY, Touchdown
Jefferson flips another to Armstrong. He has a man draped all over him, but he uses his big body to block out the defender and his fifth catch is a 16-yard touchdown. The Hogs can throw all day long with these big receivers. You'd think that will be it for Jefferson, especially since he came up limping a little at one point on that drive, but expect these running backs to not get a break anytime soon.
Arkansas 42, Western Carolina 10 (3Q, 6:13)
Western Carolina
Louisiana Tech transfer Keevie Rose gets his moment in the spotlight with a stop of a 2-yard loss deep in Western Carolina territory after a penalty killed a big kick-off return.
On 3rd & 10, Gonzales finds Reid just shy of the first down, but he is able to break multiple tackles for a 23-yard reception to keep the chains moving. Gonzales then tosses one over the middle to White in the teeth of the Arkansas rush and the Catamounts are now at mid-field.
BIG PLAY, Sack, Interception
Rose with a great swim move to beat his man and he swallows up Gonzales for a 7-yard sack and Rose is really starting to find something on that left side. Gonzales then rushes the throw on 4th down instead of waiting on his receiver to make his read and the miscommunication leads to an interception by Johnson. It would have been better to not have caught it, but who can blame Johnson for getting an interception.
Arkansas 42, Western Carolina 10 (3Q, 1:34)
Arkansas Razorbacks
Surprisingly, Jefferson is still in the game. However, we have our first Dominique Johnson sighting as he gets three yards on his first carry. Really good to see him out there. He gets a second carry for seven yards and the Hogs move the chain. He then gets another crack at it for what looks like about five yards before his helmet comes off to end the quarter with the Hogs at their own 40-yard line.
FOURTH QUARTER
Jefferson comes onto the field again here in the 4th, which is not only surprising, it's a little concerning. This is playing with fire.
Johnson with a huge bock on third down. That gives Jefferson time to throw, but he's just a tad late to Sategna on a sideline route. The ball is knocked away at the last second, avoiding a huge play and the Razorbacks will punt.
Arkansas 42, Western Carolina 10 (4Q, 14:08)
Carolina takes over inside its own 20 and on second down the Razorbacks get hit with a personal foul. Linebacker Chris Paul hit the quarterback late. That will be costly. Now they are asking to look at it for targeting. If this happens, it will be even more costly. It looks like he tried to pull up, but he definitely got him with the crown of the helmet. This will be interesting.
While we wait, former Razorbacks Myles Slusher and Jordan Domineck have played a big part in Colorado shocking the defending national runner-up TCU Horned Frogs on the road with Kendal Briles calling the plays for TCU and Chandler Morris making the throws at quarterback. And Paul is gone. Targeting is official.
Gonzales over the middle and Jaheim Thomas barely missed the interception. If he could have held on it likely would have been a touchdown because he had a lot of open field ahead of him.
Western Carolina will have to punt and Sategna comes up big again. He fields it at the 14 and then weaves his way 38 yards to the Western Carolina 48-yard line before he's finally brought down. You cannot miss a single kick return this year as long as Sategna is healthy. He is going to be a game changer.
Arkansas 42, Western Carolina 10 (4Q, 11:46)
Arkansas Razorbacks
Finally Jefferson gets a break as Jacolby Criswell gets into the game. He looks sharp as he snaps a quick throw over the middle to Wilson for a first down to get things started.
We have another first as Isaiah Augustave gets his first carry as a college running back for five yards. He follows that up with a 4-yard carry, running over three Catamounts while doing so. The freshman continues to show off his power as he carries half the Western Carolina team for eight yards to set up a first down at the 25.
SCORING PLAY, Touchdown
Augustave gets another solid run before Criswell runs the play action pass and nails a wide open Davion Dozier for the touchdown. Dozier made his defender toast a few yards before on a crossing route and the shine is on yet another freshman we highlighted earlier this week. These newcomers on offense are giving a lot of reason to get excited. Nice soft touch on the pass by Criswell.
Arkansas 49, Western Carolina 10 (4Q, 7:55)
Western Carolina
Now we're getting a new kicker. Blake Ford is on for the kick-off. Jaheim Singletary gets in on a tackle as Dean hits Washington for eight yards and Booker for 13. He's making sure there is no additional yardage after the catch.
However, Singletary and Metcalf get crosses up as their receivers rub their route which leaves Washington wide open for a 24-yard completion.
SCORING PLAY, Interception / Touchdown
We've been talking about freshman Brad Spence and the noise he has been making with his big hits, but he makes his first impression with his hands. Gonzales was under heavy pressure and tried to throw short toward the sideline. However, Spence jumped the route and took it 86-yards to the house with an escort by fellow freshman Jaylen Lewis.
Arkansas 56, Western Carolina 10 (4Q, 4:19)
Western Carolina
The Catamounts have a new quarterback who leads his team on a pretty big drive, but the big concern is an injury on a play where Palhegyi slid late, which led to a questionable personal foul. Freshman Quincey Rhodes, who is from North Little Rock, was immediately flat on his back with his arms laid out flat in a cross formation. He didn't move for a very long time as trainers checked on his neck. Surprisingly, he was able to finally get up and leave on his own power. Time runs off, but we have a timeout, so they will put two seconds back on the clock. The Catamounts will kick a field goal and that will be it. The Hogs get a win to open the season.
FINAL SCORE
ARKANSAS 56, WESTERN CAROLINA 13
Final Stats: Arkansas vs. Western Carolina
