Sam Pittman’s pesky Arkansas team made No. 3 Texas sweat out Saturday afternoon’s game in Fayetteville into the 4th quarter, when the Razorbacks kicked a field goal to get within 13-10 and officially put the Longhorns on upset alert.

Texas pulled itself together and answered on a Quinn Ewers touchdown pass with a little over 9 minutes left, and that was basically it as the Longhorns escaped with an unimpressive if not hard-earned 20-10 victory. The Razorbacks made Texas get the win the hard way, and in particular it was Arkansas’ defense that kept Saturday’s game tight for as long as it was.

The Hogs defense allowed the high-octane Longhorns just 315 total yards on Saturday, and Ewers threw for just 176 yards, as Arkansas kept Texas in check for most of the afternoon to keep things very interesting. Ewers’ passing yards total was a season low, and Pittman gave credit where credit was due — to his defense.

“We lost the turnover battle 2-0 and we lost by 10, but I was proud of the improvement our defense made. We have work to do offensively,” said Pittman.

The only team to hold Texas to fewer points this season was Georgia, when the Bulldogs went into Austin last month and beat the Longhorns, 30-15. From that perspective, Pittman’s defense did its job and then some on Saturday. The Razorbacks just couldn’t manage enough offense, which Pittman pointed out.

Arkansas fell to 5-5 on the season as it still seeks to become bowl-eligible.