Hogs suffer another one-score loss

By Jerry Meadows

STILLWATER, Okla. — Saturday morning in Stillwater would have a little chill in the air. It was perfect fall weather for college football, but it was still officially summer.

Boone Pickens Stadium was everything written about it. It was an excellent venue with a unique design. The crowd would be 20 feet from the sidelines which left the players with very little room. The Razorbacks were dressed in white with red letters, while the Cowboys were in their home orange jerseys.

For Arkansas, it had become a team in need of a definitive win to reestablish itself in the SEC and the world of college football. Coming into Boone Pickens Stadium would be the perfect opportunity for the Razorbacks to redefine themselves to their fans.

Arkansas won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Oklahoma State took the opening drive down to the Arkansas 20-yard line and turned the ball over on downs.

Arkansas failed for the first time this season to score a touchdown on their first possession. Oklahoma State’s second possession resulted in a punt. Arkansas’ second drive began on OSU’s 45-yard line and in five plays Ja’Quinden Jackson ran left for five yards for Arkansas’ first TD. Kyle Ramsey’s kick made it 7-0 Arkansas.

Oklahoma State next possession began at their 25-yard line and would stall on their 39. Hudson punted 44 yards to the Arkansas 17-yard line as Isaiah Sategna made a fair catch. Once again Arkansas came out firing and in eight plays Jackson capped off the drive with a 5-yard run up the middle for an Arkansas 14-0 lead. At that time, Arkansas appeared to be on their way. Then, the moment that changed the momentum in the game occurred when Taylen Green was intercepted on the OSU 27 by Kale Smith who returned the interception 73 yards for a pick-6. From the potential of going up 21-0 suddenly, Oklahoma State was down by 14-7.

Arkansas responded by making a 75-yard drive and once again Jackson rushed up the middle for 11-yards for his third TD of the day. Arkansas was back up by 14, pushing the score up to 21-7 and maintain that advantage at halftime.

The second half would see Arkansas eventually lose the lead as Oklahoma State would add two field goals in the third quarter cutting into the Razorback lead, 21-13. Arkansas was driving again in the fourth quarter until the drive was stopped on the OSU 24-yard line. Kyle Ramsey’s 41-yard attempt went wide right with 11:44 on the clock. Again, Oklahoma State took the next drive for a touchdown when Alan Bowman passed 18-yards to Brennen Presley with 9:37 to play. Bowman successfully converted the two-point conversion to tie the score, 21-21.

With 5:13 to play Brennan Pressley ran to the right for 3-yards for another OKST TD giving OKST the lead for the first time in the game.

Things were beginning to look bleak for Arkansas, but then on three plays Green threw a 43-yard TD to Luke Hasz and tied the game again with 4:01 remaining in the game at 28-28.

OSU took the following kickoff and drove to the 15-yard line of Arkansas. A false start moved the ball back to the 20-yard line, but Logan Ward’s 38-yard field was good, putting OKST ahead again 31-28 with 55 seconds left in the game. Coach (Mike) Gundy argued that 55 seconds was incorrect, however the SEC reps saw it differently.

Arkansas then took the ball on their 25-yard line and moved 48 yards in 7 plays. Arkansas’ kicker Kyle Ramsey came out and with :02 remained tied the score at the end of regulation 31-31. The first overtime had both teams missing their field goal attempts. In the 2nd OT Ollie Gordon II ran to the left for 12-yards for the winning touchdown. Alan Bowman would then convert their 2-point conversion to Gordon to make the final score Oklahoma State 39. Arkansas 31.

The tale of the tape would reveal a different story though. Arkansas rushed for a net 232 yards to OSU’s 59. Arkansas passed the ball for 416-yards to OSU’s 326. Total offense Arkansas had 648 yards to OSU’s 385. What hurt Arkansas the most were 3 turnovers to OKST 1. Surprisingly, Arkansas had no sacks, no quarterback hurries, but they did have 6 pass breakups. Arkansas would finish with 7 penalties for 71 yards while OSU had 6 for 60 yards.

All-in-all Arkansas showed that they have a lot more fire power on offense than last year and a defense that at times looked very good. However, another one score loss is added to Coach Sam Pittman’s total and Arkansas will need to flush this loss in order to get ready for UAB in Fayetteville next Saturday at 3:15 pm.