Well, dangit. After a near-perfect start to Saturdaze football game, the Arkansas Razorbacks resorted to some old nasty habits, particularly fumbles and interceptions, and fell short in their bid to upend the 24th-ranked Aggies of Texas A&M. So here is to what coulda been.
The two teams met at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, for the final chapter of the Southwest Classic, a series that A&M has dominated – winning eight outta nine matchups between the two longtime rivals.
And for the umpteenth time during coach Sam Pittman’s reign, the Arkansas Razorbacks failed to hold onto an early lead and were handed yet another one-possession defeat.
Exploding outta the gate, Arkansas QB Taylen Green and receiver Isaac Teslaa captured lightning in a bottle on the game’s second play, hooking up for a 75-yard TD. The teams traded punts before A&M answered with a nifty, 58-yard catch and run by Noah Thomas to tie things up.
Coach Pittman and staff pulled off some magic on the Hogs’ next possession when multi-talented punter/kicker/holder, Devin Bale, exploited a huge gap in the right side of the line and executed the perfect fake punt, on fourth and 15 no less, scurrying 25 yards for a crucial Arkansas Razorbacks first down! A few plays later Ja’Quinden Jackson scored on an eight-yard scamper around the left side to put the Razorbacks up 14-7 with five minutes remaining in the opening quarter, and it felt like a shootout was brewing.
Unfortunately, those would be the last points Arkansas scored until the fourth quarter when Kyle Ramsey booted a 45-yard FG to give the Hogs a slight and fleeting lead at 17-14.
Scott Fountain, the Arkansas special teams coach who arrived with Pittman, is heralded as one of the nation’s best, but I disagree. Sure, he’s always had decent kickers and punters, but this season’s kick/punt coverages are suspect at best, and the return game is practically nonexistent. On Saturday, Isaiah Sategna III continued fair-catching punts in no-man’s land, at or around the 10-yard line, leaving the offense with miles of ground to cover. Matter of fact, he netted zero return yards on nine punts.
I am also unimpressed with Green’s body of work as the Razorbacks signal caller. His ability to read defenses and take care of the ball are not nearly as sharp as required – no way – and his feet appear too happy to stay in the pocket long enough to deliver the ball to the playmakers. Granted, our offensive line has failed in its mission to protect him game after game, but still. It appears he has trouble making the progressive reads necessary to run Petrino’s offense correctly, and it has been this way from the jump. No doubt he certainly passes the “eye test,” but once he gets under the gun in a game, things start to unravel.
If it were up to me, I’d give another QB a shot next week against Tennessee. Backups Malachi Singleton and K. J. Jackson are both strong-armed and fleet-of-foot enough to manage the job, so it will be interesting to see how long Mr. Football continues to go with Green.
Once again, Arkansas dominated the stat page, gaining nearly 100 more yards of offense, obtaining six more first downs and executing 11 more offensive plays than A&M. Unfortunately, the Razorbacks continued to lose the turnover battle, oftentimes at the most inopportune of moments. As a result, they find themselves looking up from the bottom of the SEC pile with a long, hard road to hoe to become bowl game eligible.
But hang in there, cuz it ain’t over ‘til the fatted hog squeals.
WSP!