Razorback Defense shines, gets the first shutout since 2018

By Jason Pattyson

LITTLE ROCK — An outmanned UAPB Golden Lion offense was no match for the Razorback defense that went out and proved they are improved with a 70-0 shutout Thursday night in War Memorial Stadium. 

It was three and out for the UA Pine Bluff offense, the first three possessions of the game against the Razorback run defense Thursday night. The Golden Lion’s rushing attack was non-existent in a lackluster performance and ran for only seven yards all game. 

In the last Little Rock opener, Arkansas faced Western Carolina, and the defense gave up 64 rushing yards and 291 yards in total. Fast forward to the 24′ opener against UA Pine Bluff, and the defense dominated in a way most hoped for but no one expected this type of dominance. 

The Defensive line shined all four quarters.

Arkansas forced the Lions into three three and outs in their first three positions. This was by-in-large due to the pressure of the defensive line on Lions quarterback Mekhi Hagens. He was under duress for most of the first half courtesy of Landon Jackson, Cam Ball, Eric Gregory, and Nico Davillier. The line accounted for 3.5 TFLs of the team’s ten. Eric Gregory had the position’s only sack. 

“Yeah, well you know Quincy Rhodes, we kept him in a little bit more than most of the twos because he was substituting with Landon and we played Landon more than the other guys,”  Head coach Sam Pittman said after the game. “So we kept him in there. I saw some spark out of him. Keivie (Rose). You hit it. I think JJ Hollingsworth went in there and played well. So we have to continue to develop that depth. I think we had a good head start on that tonight.”

Davillier had his best game as a Razorback. He led the team with five total tackles and 0.5 for loss. 

Linebackers answered a lot of questions. 

The questions that needed to be answered before next week’s battle against Oklahoma State were answered. The depth was on showcase. The first, second, and third-string held their own with 4.5 tackles for loss, led by red-shirt senior Stephen Dix Jr. with 1.5. The stat that won’t show up anywhere is that the gang tackling is back. 

The edges of the field were nowhere to be found, and multiple runs were strung out, leading to the group cleaning up plays that would have gone for long yards. That was a key factor in the Hogs’ giving up a mere seven yards rushing Thursday night. 

Sophomore Brad Spence scored a pick-six here at War as a freshman and continued that success Thursday. He led the linebackers with four total tackles, and 0.5 of them went for a loss. 

The Secondary is fast. 

There was bulletin board material when red-shirt freshman JaVonnie Gibson said, “The Razorback secondary was slow.” Well, it turned out the Lions receivers were the slow group; they amassed a whopping 123 yards on 11 passes and 23 attempts. The Hog secondary was physical Thursday, and they moved UAPB off their lines all night, disrupting the flow and leading to the poor performance. 

Senior Doneiko Slaughter, a transfer from Tennessee, was the real deal and was all over the field. He made two tackles, one for a loss, but that didn’t emphasize how significant his presence was Thursday night. 

It’s easy to take a victory like this and roll it into confidence into week two against Oklahoma State, but it’s important that they stay sharp on the extra days off between week one and week two on the road. 

The Razorbacks face the Cowboys on September 9th at 11 a.m., and the game will air on ABC.