FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas is in the same position it was last year. Sam Pittman opted not to bring in anyone of note to supplement the existing receivers on the roster. Monte Harrison and Jordan Anthony, the two biggest offseason acquisitions have a combined 140 yards on the season.
Despite Arkansas ranking fifth in the SEC in passing yards (2,780), it is part of a larger mirage for the offense running up the score against subpar FBS defenses.
Wide Receiver Jordan Anthony (11) lines up for a route against the Texas Longhorns. Texas won 20-10 / Nilsen Roman – Hogs on SI
Perhaps even more concerning, Arkansas has left one of the best receivers in the country on an island to fend for himself. Andrew Armstrong ranks second in the SEC in both yards (931) and catches (61). Both also rank top-25 nationally.
Armstrong accounts for 33.5% of Arkansas’ receiving yards, the most of any SEC schools for a single receiver other than Dane Key of the Kentucky Wildcats. The Wildcats have just 1,834 passing yards as a team.
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Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Andrew Armstrong celebrating a touchdown against the LSU Tigers on Saturday night in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images
Isaiah Sategna, currently second on the Hogs in receiving, falls short of half of Armstrong’s production at 431 yards. Isaac TeSlaa just reached exactly half of his catch total from last year (17) with his lone catch for 7 yards against the Texas Longhorns.
Even tight end Luke Hasz has been held to just 278 yards through 10 games after putting up 253 yards as a true freshman in four games plus a drive before suffering a season-ending injury. Only one other tight end on the team has 25 yards receiving and he’s not even on the team anymore (Ty Washington).
Tyrone Broden, a breakout star in camp, lags even further behind at just 15 catches for 197 yards.
Pittman believes the poor wide receiver play is starting to have spillover effects for Taylen Green and his decision making with the football.
“We had a couple of missed routes that Taylen had to hold the football because we weren’t running the right route,” Pittman said. “Then we got whipped on the edge a couple times.”
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Arkansas will look for just its second 100-yard performance from a receiver not named Armstrong of the season against Louisiana Tech. TeSlaa had 120 yards against Texas A&M, 75 of which came on one catch early in the game.
Kickoff between the Razorbacks and Louisiana Tech is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday. The game will be streamed on SEC+.
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JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – While the national average trickled down, Arkansas gas prices tumbled dramatically last week.
GasBuddy.com reported Monday that average prices in the Natural State fell 6.8 cents a gallon to $2.61.
That’s 21.4 cents a gallon less than a month ago and 24.4 cents lower than last year.
Meanwhile, the national average price of gasoline fell just 0.7 cents a gallon last week to $3.02.
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“Several states saw gas prices jump or ‘cycle’ last week, a behavior in which gas prices climb significantly after falling below a station’s replacement price,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “This led the national average to see little meaningful change from last week, with many states experiencing a slow decline, offsetting the few states that did see big jumps.”
However, he said those states that saw large jumps at the pumps should see huge declines this week.
De Haan expects the national average to fall below $3 per gallon just in time for Thanksgiving.
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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Razorbacks -24.5; over/under is 148
BOTTOM LINE: Pacific faces No. 18 Arkansas after Elias Ralph scored 23 points in Pacific’s 60-57 loss to the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
Arkansas finished 16-17 overall with an 11-6 record at home during the 2023-24 season. The Razorbacks averaged 77.8 points per game while shooting 45.3% from the field and 31.8% from behind the arc last season.
The Tigers are 0-1 on the road. Pacific ranks fourth in the WCC with 16.8 assists per game led by Lamar Washington averaging 8.2.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Growing pains are part of life, especially in football where everything is nitpicked to death. The Razorbacks were desperately trying to stay in the game and moved the ball well in the second half on a stout Texas defense.
For true freshman wide receiver C.J. Brown, he was inserted into one of the biggest moments of his young career to keep the Razorbacks in a close one with rival Texas. When he caught the short pass and quickly gained yards toward the first down marker, big defensive lineman Alfred Collins swatted Brown’s arm to cause a fumble likely saving the Longhorns from embarrassment at Razorback Stadium.
“We believe in CJ. [Brown],” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said after the game. “If they’re out there, we believe in him. We knew the ball was specifically going to go to him. We’ve ran it in practice and we believe in him. Just unfortunately it happened. And unfortunately the ball went to the hash and stayed inbounds, where their ball went out of bounds. But no, we believe in him. If he’s out there, we certainly believe in him. Just unfortunate he fumbled.”
One fumble or bad play should define a young man’s career for something that could’ve been avoided. Brown hadn’t seen game action since playing against Auburn two months ago and why he was inserted in that moment likely will never be told but luckily a moment like that can be forgotten.
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Green told reporters after the game that Brown will be encouraged by him and teammates after his unfortunate fourth quarter fumble.
“Just encourage him,” Green said. “He has a bright future ahead. He’s a true freshman. Being thrown out there and we all make mistakes. It’s just how you respond to it. Try not to keep your head down. There’s brighter days ahead.”
The 2015 season saw couple of games where quarterback Brandon Allen missed a few throws against Toledo and Texas Tech which resulted in unfortunate losses. He rebounded to have one of the best senior seasons by any Razorbacks passer.
The Alex Collins fumble against Missouri in 2014, Ryan Mallett’s interception against Ohio State and Steve Atwater’s missed interception against Miami in 1988 are just some of many moments where one play didn’t define a career.
In 2004, Arkansas icon Matt Jones had a chance to defeat Texas for a second straight year as he led the Razorbacks’ offense down the field methodically. On fourth down with just over two minutes to go, the Longhorns punched the ball out and recovered to preserve an early season road victory.
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That play didn’t define Jones’ legacy at Arkansas since most remember him for his heroics against Texas at Austin in 2003, seven overtime efforts against Ole Miss (2001) and Kentucky (2003) and Auburn (2001). Luckily, the Bentonville product has plenty of time to recover from his turnover as ball security has been the offensive unit’s biggest issue this season.
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