Football Hogs by the Numbers: Arkansas trends impressive once again in 37-27 come-from-behind win over UAB in RRS opener

By Kevin McPherson

The best medicine for a heartbreaking loss is to bounce back with a win the next time out, and though it was a struggle for much of Saturday that’s exactly what Arkansas accomplished in its home opener of 2024 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville as the Hogs erased a double-digit deficit to defeat non-conference visitor Alabama-Birmingham, 37-27, while establishing more impressive statistical markers and trends in the process.

“We came out and played extremely slow in the first half,” said fifth-year Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, whose Hogs overcame a 14-point first-half deficit on Saturday after coming off a disappointing 39-31 double-overtime road loss to then-No. 16 Oklahoma State last weekend. “We couldn’t throw or catch it, 3-of-14 (passing in the early stages of the game). We got bailed out a little bit because we could run the ball. We got 250, 260 yards again. That bailed us out because we couldn’t throw it.

“Defensively, we got whipped on both sides of the ball in the first half. They were in second and five, second and four, second and three. Just turning around handing the football off. That should not happen to us but it did.”

From offense to defense to special teams — and everything in between — there were multiple key takeaways from statistical, trend, and game-critical-play standpoints …

1 - Despite an 0-of-5 passing effort with 1 interception to start the game, junior transfer quarterback Taylen Green bounced back to finish No. 1 in rushing touchdowns as he crossed the goal line twice in the game — a 14-yard weaving effort down the left sideline to tie the game at 17-all with 4:48 left in the second quarter, and a 9-yarder on a 3rd-and-goal keeper left after scooping up a low snap to effectively ice the win, 37-27, with 3:36 left in the game. Green finished with a season-high 96 rushing yards to go with the 2 TDs on 17 carries, and he improved enough through the air to finish 11-of-26 passing for 161 yards and the aforementioned interception. Through three games, Green is 53-of-94 passing (56.4%) for 806 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, and he’s rushed 41 times for 245 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns.

2 - Total number of turnovers in the game as each team suffered an interception in the matchup, but the Blazers were the only team to convert a giveaway into points (7 on an offensive touchdown and PAT after UAB’s interception was returned to the UA 15-yard-line early in the game). Last week, Arkansas lost the turnover battle against OSU, 3-1, as the Football Hogs’ giveaways were lethal while resulting in 18 OSU points (6 coming on a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown with 8:50 left in the second quarter after the Hogs had jumped out to a 14-0 lead and were driving again near the red zone for a third time in the game). Neither Arkansas nor UAPB suffered a turnover two weeks ago in the season opener.

3 – A double-digit first-quarter lead was established for the third consecutive Arkansas game to start the season, but this time it wasn’t the Football Hogs taking command early. UAB used an Arkansas turnover to jump out to a 10-0 lead just past the midway point of the first quarter, and the Blazers would build on that advantage with a second touchdown coming on a 3rd-and-10 play from the UA 34-yard-line on the first snap of the second quarter to increase their lead to 17-3. But Arkansas struck back with its own “17-3 run” to pull even at halftime, 20-all, before winning the second half, 17-7, to earn a 10-point win. The Razorbacks had cobbled together double-digit leads in the first quarters of both of their first two games of the season (14-0 at OSU last week and 28-0 in a 70-0 romp over Arkansas-Pine Bluff two weeks ago in Little Rock).

3.4 - Yards per carry for UAB on Saturday (119 yards and ZERO touchdowns on 35 carries), a pedestrian collection of rushing stats on the surface but it represents the best ground performance for an Arkansas foe through the first three contests of the season. Last week, Arkansas shut down Oklahoma State’s vaunted rushing offense (59 yards on 26 carries for a 2.3-yards-per-carry average) as the Football Hogs powered down Heisman Trophy candidate and 2023 Doak Walker Award winning running back Ollie Gordon (17 carries for 49 yards and 1 touchdown). Against UAPB two weeks ago in a 70-0 win, Arkansas held the Golden Lions to 0.3 yards per carry (23 rushing attempts for 7 yards). Through three games, the UA run defense has yielded a total of 185 rushing yards (61.7 yards per game) and only 2 touchdowns on 84 carries (2.2 yards per carry).

4 - Arkansas improved to 4-1 in RRS-openers (a.k.a their first Fayetteville game of the season) under Pittman, which includes an unblemished 4-0 mark against non-conference foes (counts wins over Kent State in 2023, 23rd-ranked Cincinnati in 2022, and Rice in 2021). The lone loss was against 4th-ranked Georgia in the covid-shortened 2020 season when SEC teams played only league opponents in a 10-game campaign.

4 again - For the fourth consecutive season, Arkansas (now 2-1) sports a winning record through its first three games. The Football Hogs started 2-1 in 2023, 3-0 in 2022, and 3-0 in 2021.

4 more - Spanning its last seven games going back to November 2023 that followed a brutal 6-game losing streak in the middle of last season, Arkansas now has 4 wins against 3 losses (includes wins over Florida on the road in overtime and Florida International at home — both played in November 2023 — and wins over UAPB and UAB so far this season, plus home losses to Auburn and Missouri — both played in November 2023 — and a loss at No. 16 OSU so far this season). Arkansas has not been able to string together consecutive wins since the first two games of 2023 (wins over Western Carolina and Kent State).

4 perfection - The two teams combined for four 4th down conversions on as many attempts — perfection — as UAB was 3-of-3 and Arkansas was 1-of-1.

7 – Marks the Hogs’ average yards per carry against UAB on Saturday (266 yards and 4 touchdowns on 38 carries). Against OSU last week, the Arkansas generated 232 yards and 3 touchdowns on 47 carries. Two weeks ago against UAPB, nine Razorbacks registered at least one rushing attempt against the Golden Lions as Arkansas had 33 carries for 279 yards and 8 touchdowns (six different Hog rushed for at least one touchdown). Through three games, Arkansas has totaled 15 rushing touchdowns after registering only 9 all of last season as the Hogs are averaging 259.0 rushing yards per game, 6.6 yards per carry, and 5.0 rushing touchdowns per outing.

7 again - The Razorbacks converted on 7-of-12 third-down plays against UAB on Saturday. Last week they were 11-of-19 on third-down plays against OSU, and two weeks ago against UAPB they were perfect on third downs converting all nine of those plays into either first downs or scores. On the season, they’re 27-of-40 for a stellar 67.5% conversion rate on third downs.

8 - The Football Hogs improved to 8-2 at RRS against non-conference opponents under Pittman, and when including his 3-0 record in games played at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, the program is 11-2 in all non-conference games played in-state during the Pittman era.

10 - Total number of offensive possessions in the game for Arkansas (includes the final snaps of the game when the Hogs intentionally “took a knee” in victory formation), so counting only legitimate attempts to drive the ball on offense the team scored either a touchdown or field goal on 7-of-9 possessions against UAB while missing a field goal and having an interception on the two stalled drives. Arkansas scored on five consecutive possessions bridging the first quarter to a touchdown-culminating drive to open the third quarter. It also means for the second game of the season, Arkansas did not punt the ball. In the season opener against UAPB, the Hogs were a perfect 10-of-10 in their touchdowns-to-drives ratio. Arkansas has punted only three times on the season — all coming against OSU last week off the foot of punter Devin Bale, who averaged 45.7 yards per punt against the Cowboys.

10 again - Number of tackles each for Arkansas defenders Stephen Dix, Jr. (included 5 solo) and Jayden Johnson (included 4 solo and 1 tackle for loss). Despite continued issues with tackling, it was an Arkansas defense that was once again mostly stingy plugging up the run but did falter at times in pass defense.

15 - The number of third down plays that UAB ran on Saturday, and after starting the game 3-of-4 on third downs on their opening drive the Blazers managed only 2-of-11 the rest of the way en route to converting only 5 total third down plays in the contest. Last week, OSU ran 16 third-down plays converting 5 into first downs against Arkansas’ defense. Combined with holding UAPB to 1-of-10 on third downs two weeks ago, the Hogs’ defense has yielded only a combined 11-of-41 on third downs on the season (26.8%).

22 - That’s the number of Arkansas’ wins under Pittman when leading at the end of the third quarter as the Razorbacks are now 22-3 in such games. The Hogs trailed 17-3 in the second quarter before storming back to tie the game at halftime, 20-all, and then they outscored UAB 7-0 in the third quarter to carry a 27-20 lead into the fourth period.

25 – The total number of wins Pittman has now compiled at Arkansas against 26 losses. He ranks 11th all-time at the school in total wins, and he needs one more victory to tie Danny Ford (26-30-1, 1993-1997) for 10th place and four more wins to tie Bret Bielema (29-33, 2013-2017) and Hugo Bezdek (29-13, 1908-1912) for 9th place. Current Arkansas offensive coordinator and former UA head coach Bobby Petrino was 34-17 in his four seasons as Head Hog (2008-2011), ranking 7th all-time in total wins.

124 - Combined yardage on senior kicker Kyle Ramsey’s 3-of-4 performance booting field goals on Saturday, the second of which was a season-best 51-yarder just before halftime that allowed the Hogs to pull even, 20-all, after trailing most of the first half. He also converted on kicks of 28 and 45 yards, but missed from 45 yards out late in the third quarter as Arkansas was looking to add to a 27-20 lead. Ramsey is now 4-of-7 on field goals through three games.

137 - Yards receiving on 8 receptions for Arkansas veteran wideout Andrew Armstrong as he extended his consecutive games with at least one reception to 30 straight outings (the streak is tops in the SEC, and it includes 25 straight games with multiple receptions) dating back three seasons / three teams ago. Last week against OSU in his 2024 debut (he missed the UAPB game with an injury), Armstrong notched 164 receiving yards on 10 receptions. He’s the Football Hogs’ first pass catcher with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since the 2022 season.

147 - That’s how many rushing yards were tallied against UAB by senior transfer running back Ja’Quinden Jackson, who also notched a touchdown run (a 16-yarder to cap the opening drive of the third quarter that gave Arkansas the lead for good at 27-20) as part of his 15 carries to go with one reception for 8 yards on Saturday. He’s rushed for 100-plus yards in each of the team’s first three games, and he’s rushed for at least one touchdown in each of the team’s first three games (he has a team-leading 6 rushing touchdowns so far this season). Through three games, Jackson has totaled 397 rushing yards and 6 TDs on 47 carries (that’s 132.3 yards per game and 8.4 yards per carry) to go with 5 receptions for 49 receiving yards.

174 - Total penalty yards combined by both teams, and after losing the turnover battle a week ago Arkansas actually won that important miscue stat on Saturday with 6 penalties for 65 yards compared to 10 flags for 109 yards for UAB.

354 - Total yards from scrimmage on 67 plays (5.3 yards per snap) for UAB on Saturday. In combination with the aforementioned ho-hum team rushing performance, senior quarterback Jacob Zeno completed 23-of-32 passes for 235 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception (the latter coming on the team’s final offensive drive of the game). Last week, OSU registered 385 total yards from scrimmage on 74 plays (5.2 yards per snap) against an Arkansas defense that was mostly stingy through the first three quarters of the game. Against a far more inferior opponent two weeks ago in the season opener, Arkansas held UAPB to 130 total yards from scrimmage.

427 - Total yards from scrimmage on 64 plays (6.7 yards per snap) for Arkansas’ offense against UAB — 161 yards passing/receiving by one quarterback/3 receivers AND 266 yards rushing by 4 ball carriers — as the Razorbacks for the third time in as many games outgained their opponent. Last week against OSU, Arkansas’ total yards from scrimmage was 648 on 93 plays (7.0 yards per snap) — 416 yards passing/receiving by one quarterback/7 receivers AND 232 yards rushing by 4 ball carriers. Two weeks ago against UAPB, Arkansas tallied 687 of total yards from scrimmage on 70 plays (9.8 yards per snap). Through three games on the season, Arkansas has registered 1,762 scrimmage yards on 227 plays (that equates to 7.8 yards per snap) as Petrino’s offense has been consistently effective.

75,021 - Announced attendance at RRS on Saturday, which according to the UA football program ranks as the 8th largest crowd for a home game in school history.