Hogs’ offense has two turnovers in loss to Missouri

By Jason Pattyson

Ja’Quinden Jackson had three scores in the loss, and quarterback Taylen Green was sharp, but the weather negated some options the offense would have liked to do on Saturday. 

Snow games brought a change in game plans

There was a change in scenery for Head Coach Sam Pittman taking his place in the press box due to how slick it was and the fact that he is having hip surgery next week. All it would take was for a player to slide or for him to be unable to get out of the way fast enough to avoid a player causing more pain than he had been in all season. Coordinators Bobby Petrino and Travis Williams ran their sides of the ball from the sidelines as they had all season. The change didn’t disrupt the flow on the sidelines, and that says that Pittman has let his coaches run their prospective sides of the ball and be the CEO. 

“I thought about it, starting as early as Monday or Tuesday because I knew I was coming off some of my medication that I couldn’t take for the surgery, but the decision was just what’s best… what I felt like was best for the team,” Head Coach Sam Pittman said post-game.  “So, the bottom line is Bobby had the timeouts when offense was up, and T-Will had them when he was on defense, and Scott had them when we were on special teams, and I just told them. It seemed to work out fine.”

Ja’Quinden Jackson scores a hattrick in the snow

Ja’Quinden Jackson had scored from 2 yards, 12 yards, and 9 yards in the loss on Saturday. He eclipsed the Razorback touchdown total in the season’s first four games alone. He was the back Pittman, and the company hoped he would be; he did face injuries as he did at Utah but returned to finish strong on Saturday. He had 87 yards on 18 carries to accompany his three scores, a heck of a clip scoring on every sixth carry he toted. Arkansas will look to Braylen Russell to be that guy for Arkansas next year to fill that power-back spot. 

Jackson scored a team-high 15 touchdowns in his lone campaign in Fayetteville. He ended up second in the SEC, behind Dylan Sampson of Tennessee, who had 22 scores. He proved he could match up with any SEC defense, hoping that will equate to him seeing time in the NFL. 

“I’m definitely happy for him,” Offensive lineman Josh Braun said after the game. “He’s been a great addition, and he’s just…   I wish we could have given him a better result. He played his tail off, but it’s nice knowing he’s in the backfield.” 

Penalties and Turnovers 

Coming into Saturday, Arkansas committed 76 penalties for 660 yards. Fifteen of those came over the last five games. The fact that when Arkansa wins the turnover battle, they win the game it’s just that simple. In the first half, when Arkansas scored their first touchdown, there were a slew of penalties that, in most games, would have negated the score and put the defense in a terrible situation. That wasn’t the case and Jackson scored the first of his three scores on the day. 

The turnovers have been the difference in what has made this team good and not great. This team has to turn a corner over the next month and get some momentum heading into next season, and it starts with the turnovers. Taylen Green did change his approach after his fumble in the first half. He began to carry it closer to his body, which comes with being mindful of the situation and not reverting to the old ways he is used to holding the ball. Head coach Sam Pittman did have this to say after the game. 

“It’s very frustrating. We work ball security every week and put an emphasis on it. It’s part of our ways, the keys… Our ways we can win,” Pittman said after the game.” Especially, we knew today with the weather how it was, whoever turns the ball over less is going to win, and that’s kind of exactly what happened.”

Ball security was going to be an issue 

The first two offensive possessions resulted in two fumbles, one regained after Rashod Dubinion fumbled the rock, and Isiac TeSlaa recovered it. Taylen Green lost a fumble to set up Mizzou in plus territory, and Mizzou was gifted two timely penalties to score the game’s first touchdown. Ja’Quinden Jackson twisted to the ground and coughed the ball deep in Tiger territory. That was the cap on Saturday’s turnovers on a snow-covered Faurot field. 

“If I knew the answer, we’d try to fix it. But the bottom line is we have to be carrying the ball loose. That’s the bottom line,” Pittman said after the game. “Because if you’re not — you’re going to turn it over some, there’s just hits and all that — but you’re not going to turn it over and have that kind of stat if you’re not loose with the football. Obviously, that all falls on me,e and we have to do a much better job of that.”

The Offensive line was the key

The Arkansas Offensive line neutralized the Tiger front seven’s ability to get pressure inside the tackles. That has been a problem this season that led to quarterback Taylen Green being sacked 15 times in just the last three games heading into Saturday. The big uglies up front in the fourth quarter helped push piles and gained valuable yardage. They had chances in the first 3 quarters, and it worked some, but the fourth quarter was more effective. They opened holes on the stretch plays for Jackson and Green. The Tigers kept a steady rotation up front, but the Hogs up front applied pressure every time the defense tried to set the edge. Offensive Lineman Josh Braun spoke about the conditions Saturday.

“Being from Florida, I don’t really have that much experience with snow. “So I think I was telling Kutas before the game,” Braun said after the game. “I didn’t realize that it snows, but then it turns into ice in the ground, and it’s a lot more slippery than you’d think. And so, I struggled with that pregame, but then kind of got my footing as the game went on. And credit to Missouri, obviously, by the outcome, they were able to handle the conditions better. So, it’s just something we’re going to have to prepare for better.” 

The pass protection was the best it had been all season. Green was hit only three times, which is credited to the adjustment Head coach Eil Drinkwitz made rushing three in second and third down, tempting the Hog offense to take advantage of that light pass rush. Green was sacked only twice, a change after Razorback signal callers had been running for their lives in years past. 

Pass vs. the rush

With the weather being an issue for both teams, everyone involved was curious how the Razorback offense would approach the conditions. At one point, Taylen Green threw 11 straight completions, keeping the Tigers’ defense off balance. Unfortunately, that played right into the weakness of this Razorback offense, which has fumbled the ball 26 times, losing 11 this season. Brady Cook labored that injured shoulder, attempting just passes Saturday. 

“I think we felt like we could protect, and we could throw it a little bit more than maybe a 50/50, maybe a 60/40,” Pittman said post-game.  “We thought there were some open windows, crossing routes, shorter balls across the middle that we could complete. But the running game went pretty well, you know, In hindsight, we wish we would’ve run it a little bit more”.

Next up

The Razorbacks await to see what bowl they will participate in next month. The team’s destination will be announced on ESPN during the College Bowl Selection show next Sunday.