There will be uncomfortable conversations in Fayetteville over the coming hours and days. Seats inside Razorback Stadium started to empty at halftime of Saturday’s game against Notre Dame. And when the Irish faked a punt early in the third quarter, it felt like a seminal moment in the tenure of coach Sam Pittman.
Arkansas (2-3) lost to No. 22 Notre Dame (2-2) on Saturday in a game that was never really close. The Irish had a 2-score lead after 15 minutes, an insurmountable lead after 30 minutes, and a 56-13 victory when the clock hit zero.
Notre Dame topped 400 yards of offense in the first half. The floodgates opened in the second quarter as Arkansas looked helpless trying to tackle Irish playmakers in space. Notre Dame scored 28 second-quarter points to take a 42-13 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Razorbacks gave up a pair of touchdowns in otherwise uneventful third and fourth quarters. They gained 158 yards — most of them through the air — but all 3 second-half possessions ended in turnovers. The Hogs turned the ball over on downs on their first 2 drives and Taylen Green was picked off on the third.
Green entered the day leading all FBS quarterbacks in rushing (360 yards) and leading the FBS in total offense (387.8 yards per game). His productivity dried up against the Irish and Arkansas short-circuited as a result.
The Razorbacks’ standout quarterback lost the duel between passers. He completed just 53% of his throws (17-for-32) for 207 yards with no touchdowns and a pick. Green added 81 rushing yards, but his ineffectiveness as a passer kept the Arkansas offense off-kilter all day.
On the other side, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr completed 22 of his 30 passes for a career-high 354 yards and a career-best 4 touchdowns. All 4 passing scores came in the first half. Two of them went to tailback Jeremiyah Love, who ended the game with 57 rushing yards, 70 receiving yards, and 4 total touchdowns. Jadarian Price also had 121 all-purpose yards and 2 scores.
With 3 straight losses now — the first 2 in dramatic fashion and the latest by way of a drubbing — Pittman finds himself in hot water. If Arkansas were to make a move, the timing might call for one sooner rather than later. Arkansas has a bye week next Saturday before making a road trip to Knoxville to face No. 15 Tennessee on Oct. 11
Notre Dame 56, Arkansas 13
Here’s the X-X box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
CJ Carr vs. Taylen Green
A statistical breakdown of how Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr fared against Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
