3 takeaways from ugly offensive showcase in Mississippi State's win over Arkansas
It was billed as a reunion before the Razorback faithful as Arkansas looked for a friendly environment to stop a 5-game losing streak.
What the Razorbacks heard were boos.
KJ Jefferson was sacked 4 times and had an interception, and Arkansas had 6 punts in the loss. There were also 5 penalties for 60 yards. A late miss on a 29-yard field goal attempt by Mississippi State’s Kyle Ferrie gave Arkansas one more chance.
Mississippi State prevailed 7-3 over Arkansas.
Neither team put on an offensive clinic, as Mississippi State had back-to-back false starts, and then another one, from the shadow of the goal line late in the 3rd quarter. Later in the 4th quarter, Mississippi State had 4th and 1 from a shotgun formation and Mike Wright fumbled the snap, but the Bulldogs were saved because of a false start penalty.
The Razorbacks were coming off a 4-game stretch away from home in which they lost all 4 SEC opponents, all ranked in the Top 25. Arkansas does not have any margin for error remaining at becoming bowl-eligible.
Offensive malaise for Razorbacks
The boos began in the first half as Arkansas couldn’t get a rhythm going despite an early turnover. The Razorbacks settled for a 24-yard field goal after they couldn’t convert an interception in Mississippi State territory. The offense in general struggled, and the Razorbacks mustered just 3 rushing yards in the 2nd quarter.
Arkansas’ offensive drives in the first half:
– FG (off INT from defense)
– Punt
– Punt
– Punt
– Punt
– Run clock out to half
78 total yards.
In the 2nd half, it appeared that Jefferson and the Arkansas offense found some traction, but hen he was sacked for a 3rd time, and on 3rd down, was intercepted by Shawn Preston.
The offensive struggles for Arkansas were especially frustrating for Hog faithful because the Bulldogs came in 59th in the country at stopping the run, and 50th in sacks.
KJ Jefferson tries, but gets little help
The Arkansas quarterback was somewhat efficient passing the ball, 15-for-20 by late in the game, with an interception, but he had just 62 passing yards, and few consistent shots down the field. Jefferson had 16 carries for 38 yards, including a key run for a 1st down conversion with 10:56 left in the game, but the Preston interception came 3 plays later.
Rashod Dubinion mustered 14 carries for 47 yards with less than 5 minutes remaining, and he had 5 catches. None of the Razorbacks receivers had more than 20 yards receiving with less than 4 minutes remaining. Andrew Armstrong had 3 catches for 16 yards, and Ty Washington had 1 catch for 19 yards.
Mike Wright steps in
With Will Rogers out with a left shoulder injury lingering from the Western Michigan game 2 weeks ago, backup Mike Wright stepped in. He had a rough start with an interception on his first pass attempt, but settled in and completed 6 of his next 10 passes, including a touchdown to Woody Marks, who missed some time with an apparent injury. Marks was also uncertain to play coming into the game.
Marks has caught a pass in 43 consecutive games that he has played in, which is the 5th-longest active streak in the country.
However, as bad as the Arkansas offense was, the Bulldogs were 1-for-7 on 3rd down midway through the 4th quarter.