Arkansas rolled as expected against FIU, winning 44-20 to get to 4-7 on the year. AD Hunter Yurachek told the team after the game that coach Sam Pittman will be back in 2024. That would have been much harder to do had the Hogs lost as four-touchdown favorites.
Advanced Stats
Things look sort of dicey for a bit, but the Al Walcott pick-six permanently changed the direction of this game. FIU had a brief push on offense in the third quarter, but the Hogs snuffed it out and that was it.
Arkansas had its best rushing performance of the season, at 53 non-sack attempts for 364 yards. That allowed the Hogs completely control the game (83 plays to 59), which is exactly what Sam Pittman wants to see.
Allowing FIU to gain 407 yards and 6.9 per play was quite bad, though it was really just two or three big plays that provided most of the juice. FIU’s offense has been pretty bad all year, so that’s two straight unfortunate performances by the Razorback defense, though it forced two turnovers and got stops when needed.
These offensive numbers look good. The Hogs were run-heavy, which allowed KJ Jefferson to throw in advantageous spots, which he took advantage of (+0.26 EPA/play). That’s the kind of balance that Enos never really figured out, and Jefferson was asked to do way too much.
On the ground, it was similar to the Florida game. The Hogs didn’t break many huge runs, but they kept slashing FIU with solid 6-10 yard runs. 31 of Arkansas’ 58 rushing attempts gained at least four years, and the Hogs piled up 144 highlight yards (yards gained beyond 4).
Highlights
Up Next
Arkansas gets a short Thanksgiving week before hosting Mizzou on Friday. The Razorbacks opened as 7-point underdogs. They really need a strong performance in this game, as a double-digit loss would set up a potentially toxic 2024 season. As good as Mizzou has been – they’re 9-2 and ranked 10th in the AP poll – their 33-31 escape against Florida last week is further proof that they are vulnerable. In the games against the only common opponents (LSU and Florida), the Hogs performed just as good if not better than the Tigers.
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