Brilliantly Boring Performance Bodes Well for Hogs Against OSU

Lack of drama good thing for Arkansas in season opener before hitting road to play ranked Cowboys

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive lineman Anton Juncaj chases UAPB quarterback Mekhi Hagens in their game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark. / Ted McClenning-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Other than one spectacular play, which turned out to be quarterback Taylen Green's last play in his Arkansas debut, the Razorbacks did a whole lot of very good.

Perhaps that PNC Bank commercial has come across my feed too many times, but the Razorbacks were "brilliantly boring", exactly how they should have been.

The lack of drama on the field bodes well for Arkansas. In years past, even with a season opener against an opponent of lesser quality, the team planted the seeds for a potential red flag.

The Hogs managed just 105 yards on the ground against Western Carolina in 2023. This year, there were no such blues, with the Razorbacks managing 687 total yards of offense behind all three quarterbacks: Green, Malachi Singleton and KJ Jackson.

"To score all 10 times that you get the ball." coach Sam Pittman said. "I guess it's never been done before. That was really good for those guys. I was pleased with all our quarterbacks."

Arkansas was not only able to score on all 10 drives, but each drive had a distinct variety. A few required converting short fields, Arkansas had seven plays of 25 yards spread between both the pass game and the run game.

Defensively, the shutout was preserved by a mixture of first, second and third-string players. Overall Arkansas played 83 of the 92 players that they brought to War Memorial Stadium.

"It’s a real confidence booster for the young guys," defensive tackle Eric Gregory said. "Just to get that experience of playing and being a part of this. Not just seeing the 1s do it or even the 2s do it. Just for the young guys to get that experience also, I feel like it was big."

Kicker Kyle Ramsey went 10-for-10 on extra points, extending Arkansas' streak of over three full calendar years without a missed extra point, the second-longest active streak in the SEC (Texas A&M). The offense produced so well that Ramsey never even got a chance to attempt a field goal.

Despite it being an FCS team that won just two games in UAPB, the ESPN match-up predictor gives Arkansas a 47.1% chance of winning against No. 17 Oklahoma State, up from 36.8% on Wednesday before Arkansas' demolition derby of the Golden Lions. Oklahoma State is yet to play its season opener against South Dakota State.

The game against Oklahoma State will kickoff 11 a.m. Sept. 7 and will be broadcast on ABC.

HOGS FEED:

• Did Oklahoma State see enough to lose sleep over Hogs' win?

• Razorbacks do exactly what they should in UAPB opener

• Hogs' Green runs circles around UAPB after slow first play

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