FAYETTEVILLE — The quarterback gets too much credit and too much blame in big-time football.
Sam Pittman wanted to make sure that his quarterback got at least some of the credit after a 38-17 victory over Rice.
Yes, KJ Jefferson struggled for a little more than two quarters, but he was at the center of plenty of quality plays as Arkansas scored the game’s last 31 points.
It was enough for the Razorbacks to cover the 19.5-point betting line, but also give the gloomers reason to think the Hogs might be in trouble next week against a much better opponent. And, many will want to see a lot more of the good Jefferson to feel confident at the start of Pittman's second season as coach.
Pittman thought Jefferson’s early struggles might have been partly nerves. He’d never started a home game. The coach said even he was nervous while running through the band’s pre-game "A" formation for the first time.
“It affected me,” said Pittman, who reminded that with last season’s covid-19 rules there had been no "A" to run through because the band never came onto the field.
That all sounded right, especially while watching the band early in its halftime routine. The baton twirlers had eight drops in the first two songs, but none for last 10 minutes.
That was about the way the Arkansas receivers performed. Jefferson was wild and high some, but when he was on target there were drops. Treylon Burks dropped two in the first half and De’Vion Warren also had one drop. Tyson Morris had one slapped from his hands.
Jefferson provided some wonderful glimpses of his talents. He completed 8 of 10 passes in the second half and totaled 89 yards on 9 rushes. He had most of a 68-yard TD scamper called back, but also scored on runs of 34 and 5 yards.
Once in rhythm in the passing game, Jefferson’s numbers didn’t look too bad — 12 of 21 for 128 yards. He was sacked twice and there was also a failed fourth-and-2 quarterback sneak that ended a chance to start the second half after a Rice punt of 17 yards.
The Hogs also whiffed on a block in punt formation to allow the third block of the Pittman era. They committed 13 penalties. The defense was respectable for the most part, but cornerback LaDarrius Bishop was beaten 10 yards on a post route for a 41-yard TD pass that gave the Owls a 17-7 lead at 10:28 left in the third quarter.
Something clicked at that point. Bishop returned the kickoff 42 yards, Morris made a one-handed grab on a 31-yard sideline pass from Jefferson and the Hogs were off to the races.
Safety Jalen Catalon intercepted two passes and Bumper Pool and Greg Brooks stuffed a fourth-and-1 play for a loss at the UA 18-yard line to fuel a solid fourth quarter.
Those are the plays most will circle in the good finish, but don’t overlook one of the few third-down conversions on the sweltering 90-degree day. When the Hogs faced third-and-3 at the Rice 9-yard line, down two scores, running back Trelon Smith blasted through an arm tackle to make 4 yards. Jefferson scored on the next play.
It was one of only three times the Hogs converted on third downs. The other two both led to scores, too. The last was a 6-yard run by Dominique Johnson on third-and-3 from the Rice 6-yard line.
Johnson’s 3-yard TD run with 58 seconds left set the final score. It gave the partisan crowd announced at 64,065 a good reason to stop waving their fans and let out a real cheer.
Some had booed late in the first half when the Hogs botched a jet sweep with Burks running into the shotgun snap. There were other similar sloppy plays, especially from Burks, out of practice for most of the last three weeks with a heel injury.
Pittman hinted that the preseason All-SEC receiver not only was rusty, but feeling “the pressure” of a summer of hype.
“People were saying he was going to be a first rounder and he hadn’t practiced,” Pittman said.
Trainers cleared him ahead of Wednesday’s practice. Pittman said Burks went through four periods that day, then all of a light, 75-minute practice Thursday.
Catalon hadn’t done much in August practices, either. He sustained a shoulder injury in the first scrimmage and was in a green non-contact jersey thereafter.
There were no nerves for the redshirt sophomore strong safety. Catalon was the best player on the field. He made 11 tackles and his two interceptions were the big plays of the game, both probably because of a good pass rush. Defensive lineman Markell Utsey tipped one of them.
“You talk about (Burks and Catalon), you need your good players to play well,” Pittman said.
The Hogs survived on defense because of superior depth. Linebacker Hayden Henry missed the first half because of a targeting call in the season finale against Alabama, something no one recalled.
Linebacker Grant Morgan, a Walter Camp All-American last year and a team captain, was ejected for targeting midway through the first quarter. Andrew Parker subbed for Morgan, then returned when senior linebacker Bumper Pool was ejected for the final nine minutes on another targeting call.
“We've got to keep our heads out of there,” Pittman said of the targets. “They have replay to get it right.”
Pool will sit out the first half against Texas next week, but Pittman likes the depth at that position and praised Parker. So did cornerback Montaric Brown and Catalon afterward.
“I’ve always told Andrew his number is coming,” Catalon said of Parker.
Pittman added, “Kids are supposed to get better (over time) and Parker did.”
Asked if the targeting call is tough to figure, Catalon said, “I would know. It’s definitely a tough break.”
The Hogs overcame lots of tough situations; something Pittman warned was on the way when he addressed the team Friday.
“I get them on Friday and the coordinators get them on Saturday,” he said. “I told them they were going to face adversity, but I didn’t think it would be the entire first half.”
Later Pittman admitted he knew the Hogs trailed at halftime, but had to be reminded of the exact score during the media session.
“Y’all going to get after me for that, what was it?” he said. “We did a lot of bad things. We looked like we hadn’t been coached and that’s (on) me.”
Among the things Pittman noted in his opening remarks were the dropped passes, penalties and the blocked punt.
“At halftime I told (the team) that Rice kicked our butts in special teams,” he said. “We were not urgent. We just missed the block (on the punt) from the outside.”
Asked specifically about his halftime message, Pittman said, “Hmm, we made a lot of mistakes. But one of the things I learned a long time ago, you've got to figure out the problem. How big is the climb?
“You can bury them (with anger), but the bottom line is that you score one touchdown and you are ahead.
“We talked about running the ball up the gut more. Rice had more speed. We were going outside too much.”
On the positive side, Pittman said afterward there was still mention that he was proud and to “play the damn jukebox.” After fixing mistakes, there will finally be a chance to turn the page and focus on Texas, what fans have been doing for months.
“This may help us,” he said. “We've got to get better before Texas. But this may wake us up.”
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