Good, Bad Takeways from Razorbacks' Loss to Oklahoma State

Hogs looks like quality SEC team or really good team in Little 12 after taking one of top teams to wire

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) hands off to running back Ja'Quinden Jackson (22) during the second quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium. / William Purnell-Imagn Images

Worst feeling in sports is to outplay the other team and lose. Especially when you're the underdog. That's why the Arkansas Razorbacks' bus trip back from Stillwater will likely be the worst three hours of their season.

This rebuilt Arkansas team traveled 180 miles to Stillwater, anxious to prove this year's version is light years better than last season's disappointing bunch. For a half, it was true, and the whole country noticed.

Then, like a recurring nightmare, the mistakes began. Turnovers, missed opportunities, miscue after miscue, resulting in 21 straight points for the home team.

To their credit, this bunch of fightin' Razorbacks clawed their way back twice to tie the game and force overtime. Still, a bad pass in the second overtime blew an easy touchdown and most of what folks will remember is a 39-31 loss.

Takeaway for most fans? That the Hogs can't win the close ones under coach Sam Pittman, citing six losses in the last seven one-score games.

Takeaway for me? That this Hog team has grit, talent and resolve. They'll recover from this disappointment, bad as it is.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) is hit by Oklahoma State Cowboys linebacker Jeff Roberson (22) during the third quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. / William Purnell-Imagn Images

Does that mean they'll go 8-4 and shock the world? No, but I'm convinced they'll reach a bowl game.

I'm convinced the coaches and players will clean up this long litany of errors we witnessed Saturday that ruined what should've been a wild victorious ride home.

Naysayers will come out of the woodwork this week like cockroaches, screaming for Pittman to be fired, insisting this team is no better than last year. I say they're wrong on both counts. If the Hogs go 4-8 again, we all know what will happen. Time will tell if Sam is still the best man for the job but take a breath, folks, this is game two of a long season.

Some may say that Oklahoma State outplayed the Hogs and deserved to win. Fair enough, and they did for most of the second half, but those folks are still wrong. Arkansas gave this one away, pure and simple.

Number to Prove Point

• Total offense, Hogs lead 648 to 385.
• Rushing is 232 to 59.
• Passing is 416 to 326.
• First downs are 33 to 22.
• Time of possession is 36:14 to 23:46.
• Who should've won? Pretty obvious, huh? But mistakes decide most games, so guess what the two most common words will be in UA meetings and at practice this week. Ball security. Ball security. Ball security.

Here's part of how the Hogs gave this one away

• Three turnovers resulted in 18 points for OSU.
• Lost turnover battle 3-1.
• Two missed field goals, the first causing Pittman to eschew another try.
• Bad clock management on two late-game possessions.
• Possible game-changing penalty for late hit in second OT.
• That last one gave OSU a first down inside the 10 instead of a third-and-nine with Arkansas having the edge to claim victory.

The other "worst" mistakes were an interception returned 73 yards for a TD and a muffed punt that led to a score.

All teams make mistakes. Great teams overcome them. Good teams don't make stupid mistakes that lose games. Bad teams do. Like the defensive penalty in the second OT.

UA coaches and players should be able to clean up most of the mess they put on display in the second half by next week. If they don't, they won't survive the tough four-game stretch beginning Sept. 21 with a game at Auburn, followed by Texas A&M in Dallas, then home games against Tennessee and LSU.

Want good news? Good news was plentiful in the first half as Arkansas dominated both sides of the ball and showed what this team could accomplish.

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Ja'Quinden Jackson running against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. / Craven Whitlow-Hogs on SI Images

The Good News

• Quarterback Taylen Green looked ready for prime time.
• Receivers had hands like Spiderman.
• Both lines were solid, running the ball and stopping it.
• Tailback Ja'Quinden Jackson was sensational -- tough, quick, patient.
• Converting third downs on offense.
• Green showed he can be the man and do it when it matters most, but he's far from perfect. He dropped snaps and missed receivers, but accomplished lots and lots more good than bad. He threw for 416 yards, ran for 89 (but is "credited" with 28 less due to 3 sacks). He's the real deal, folks.

So is Jackson (149 yards rushing and 3 TDs) and that defensive front (holding Heisman hopeful Ollie Gordon to 49 yards on 17 rushes), but the Hogs' D-line has to rush the passer better. They dominated the run game against OSU's highly touted offensive line -- their 215 combined starts are the most in NCAA history -- but couldn't reach the quarterback. That put too much pressure on the Hogs' improved secondary.

Arkansas looked like a quality SEC team, or at least like a really good Little 12 team, where Okie State is picked to finish third behind Utah and Kansas State.

This will be viewed as a quality win for OSU when all is said and done and playoff time approaches. When we're at that point in early December, the question is whether the Hogs look back on this loss as the beginning of a long slide or the impetus that led to a successful season.

I don't bet, but I say the latter.

HOGS FEED:

• Being Arkansas football fans must be life of misery

• Death, taxes and Hogs blowing another one-possession game

• New Feel to Razorbacks After Tough Break With Pick-Six

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