Arkansas 38, Rice 17
Mistake-prone Hogs score 31 in row, drop Owls
FAYETTEVILLE — Once the Arkansas Razorbacks got out of their own way, they had their way with Rice on Saturday.
The University of Arkansas had a sloppy first half, fell behind by 10 points after giving up a big pass play in the third quarter, then righted the ship with 31 consecutive points.
Quarterback KJ Jefferson and the offense found some rhythm after a lackluster first half and the defense contributed three takeaways, including two Jalen Catalon interceptions, to run away with a 38-17 victory in a hot, muggy season opener before a crowd of 64,065 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Second-year Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said he really wanted his team to have to overcome some negativity in the opener.
“I told the team we were going to face adversity,” he said. “I didn’t know it would be the entire first half.”
Arkansas beat Rice, a 191/2-point underdog, for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings dating to 1981.
“I’m heartbroken for the way it turned out,” Rice Coach Mike Bloomgren said. “We did everything we wanted to do, at least from … wanting to get the game into the fourth quarter.
“It was tied 17-17 and we had everything we wanted right there before us and we didn’t get it done.”
Jefferson, who passed for 21 yards and threw an interception in the first half, finished with 217 total yards and had 2 rushing touchdowns among his 89 rushing yards.
Tailback Trelon Smith contributed 102 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Dominique Johnson had a late scoring run and Tyson Morris caught a 9-yard touchdown pass as the Razorbacks began pulling away.
Jefferson chalked up the sluggish start to jitters.
“It was a little bit I would say, just coming out and having my first start here at home,” he said. “Being here, the atmosphere, the crowd, all that, it kind of played a part in it.
“The main thing was just me settling down and playing ball, basically. Just cool, calm and collected, maintaining my composure, making sure I pump confidence into the guys up front.”
Jefferson finished 12-of-21 passing for 128 yards with a touchdown and interception.
“I’m so glad he had a better second half, ran the ball,” Pittman said.
Jefferson would’ve finished with 100-plus rushing yards but he had a 68-yard would-be touchdown run on an option over right end reduced to a 38yard gain due to a holding call on Ketron Jackson Jr.
“It’s unfortunate that we got a holding call on the option that he ran, because that was a heck of a run,” Pittman said. “So I think his confidence is back, but I think all of us had a little bit of nerves going into that game.”
The Arkansas defense had its back against the wall much of the first half. The Razorbacks held Rice to a field goal after Kenneth Orji blocked a Reid Bauer punt and the Owls recovered it on the Arkansas 21.
Rice drove 41 yards for a go-ahead touchdown with 4:19 remaining in the half after Jake Bailey took a well-blocked swing pass 20 yards. Penalties on Catalon and LaDarrius Bishop aided the series, on which Jordan Myers scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Rice a 10-7 lead.
The Razorbacks had one productive first-half drive, an 80-yard march capped by Jefferson’s 34-yard touchdown run on their second series to take a 7-0 lead. That marked the longest run by an Arkansas quarterback, excluding Darren McFadden in the WildHog set, since Matt Jones’ 72-yard scoring run against Ole Miss in 2004.
Otherwise, the Arkansas first half was a cavalcade of penalties, dropped passes, mental mistakes and shaky snaps, and Rice held a big upper hand in field position.
The Razorbacks had two first downs the rest of the half and five three-and-outs. The only possession that wasn’t a three-and-out ended on Rice cornerback Sean Fresch’s sideline interception as Jefferson tried to force a throw into Jackson.
“The offense started off slow, but like I said, we’ve got their back,” said Arkansas cornerback Montaric Brown, whose route-cutting interception early in the fourth quarter came just after Arkansas had taken a 24-17 lead. “So we just played hard. We faced adversity but we got over it and adjusted the second half offensively.”
The Razorbacks also tried to get wideout Treylon Burks into the mix in the first half after he missed a couple of weeks of camp. But the junior receiver dropped a couple of passes and the timing was off on a couple of running plays involving Burks, which led to failed third-and-short opportunities.
All told, the offensive and special teams misfires and penalties had Pittman steamed heading into halftime.
Senior offensive tackle Dalton Wagner said player and coach leadership drove the big comeback, which probably wouldn’t have been possible a couple of years ago.
“Coach Pittman came in at halftime and challenged us,” Wagner said. “No one was pleased with that first half on the offensive side of the ball. He came in and kind of put a fire on us to get going.
“We knew we were playing very badly and needed to make sure we cleaned up our mistakes. Coming out in the second half, I think you look at it two years ago, guys would have rolled over.”
Arkansas still had more adversity to deal with early in the second half.
The Razorbacks had a chance to seize momentum when Rice’s 17-yard punt went out of bounds at the Arkansas 47. But after Smith’s 1-yard run to the Rice 45 set up fourth and 2, the Razorbacks rushed to the line and Jefferson’s hurried quarterback sneak came up half a yard short.
Two plays later, Rice quarterback Wiley Green found August Pitre III, whose post route caught Bishop staring into the backfield, for a 41yard touchdown and a 17-7 Rice lead.
The Arkansas comeback started with Morris’ one-hand catch for a 31-yard gain to the Rice 26 after Bishop’s 42-yard kickoff return. Five plays after the Morris catch, Jefferson ran in a quarterback draw from the 5 to make it 17-14.
The Arkansas defense had to rise up again after the Owls drove 57 yards on their next possession. On fourth and 1 from the 18, Bumper Pool and Catalon combined to stop Myers on a wide left run for no gain.
The Razorbacks tied it on Cam Little’s 34-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in the third quarter after driving 65 yards on their next possession and showing more offensive spark.
A key defensive play by grad transfer defensive tackle Markell Utsey set up the go- ahead score.
Utsey tipped a pass by Green just after it left the quarterback’s hand, and the deflection settled into Catalon’s hands at the Rice 48.
Catalon returned the interception 39 yards, and an illegal block on Green after the pick moved the ball to the Rice 4. A pass interference call on the Owls against Warren Thompson in the end zone on third down gave Arkansas a first down at the 2, and Smith barreled in on the next play to give the Hogs a 24-17 lead.