In what has become characteristic of the raised-and-extended part of the Sam Pittman era, Arkansas came out flat against an inferior opponent. This time, though, the comeback fell short.

After a disastrous start in all phases of the game, the Hogs trailed 21-0 until Cam Little’s 50-yard field goal as time expired in the first half made it 21-3 at the break. The Razorback defense did it’s part in the second half, pitching a shutout, but the offense finished off a disastrous performance by failing to complete the comeback. The Razorbacks managed a pair of late touchdowns, but KJ Jefferson came up short on the 2-point conversion with one minute left.

Jefferson had one of his worst games on a Razorback uniform. He threw for 230 yards but repeatedly missed open receivers, often checking down and taking sacks. Arkansas’ offensive line had its worst performance of the season, often appearing confused about the snap count and completely whiffing on blocks.

The biggest issue was Liberty’s ability to attack Arkansas’ read plays, something the Hogs had no counter for. The Flames ignored the edge and crashed Jefferson on every read play. Arkansas never adjusted and struggled to avoid negative run plays as a result.

Instant Analysis

Arkansas’ terrible non-conference scheduling finally bit them. The Hogs lined up an awful non-schedule that included no big names but four good teams, including two coached by former SEC coaches who clearly had this game circled on their calendar. Arkansas almost went 4-0, but this loss confirms every anxiety about such a dumb scheduling move.

Sam Pittman went from overperforming to underperforming real quick. The Missouri State was the canary in the coalmine: Arkansas has major motivation issues against “lesser” opponents. The Hogs gave him a major raise and extension in the offseason. Losing to Liberty is unacceptable for any Arkansas coach, but an Arkansas coach making more than $4 million losing to Liberty? Time to start asking questions.

If your scheme is that easy to beat… As long as we’re going after the AD and head coach, Kendal Briles deserves some heat too. Arkansas never did adjust to Liberty’s aggressive treatment of reads and became one-dimensional very quickly. Taking that long to figure out how to move the ball against a mid-major is pitiful.

Jefferson… man. KJ’s a great Hog, but he got exposed. He’s long struggled to pull the trigger against man coverage, but he repeatedly missed wide open receivers. Arkansas’ receivers had an incredible game, but it should have been more incredible. All four sacks were coverage sacks and Jefferson checked down far too often despite having open targets. Just all-around bad.

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