Being Arkansas Football Fans Must Be Life of Misery

Hard not to feel bad for fan base that had so much reason for hope at Oklahoma State Saturday

Oklahoma State Cowboys tight end Josh Ford (40) leaps over Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Jaheim Singletary (15) during the fourth quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. / William Purnell-Imagn Images

STILLWATER, Okla. — Being an Arkansas fan must be a miserable existence. No matter how well things go, there's always the sinking feeling that whatever can go wrong will go wrong and then it plays out almost without fail.

The Razorbacks clearly had the better team Saturday in Stillwater, but in true Arkansas fashion, the Hogs went about their business of going out of their way to figure out a way to lose and were successful in double-overtime, falling 39-31 to Oklahoma State. Miscue, after miscue, after miscue kept the Arkansas tradition of losing one-score games alive for yet another season.

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

The Hogs stared down a chance to head into halftime up 28-0 when quarterback Taylen Green found himself under pressure on third down at the OSU 29. Rather than eat the ball and pin Oklahoma State in the shadow of its end zone against a defense that had so far dominated the Cowboys, he tried to throw the ball.

It fluttered through the air and into the hands of Kale Smith who returned it for a 73-yard touchdown. The Hogs responded by going 75 yards in seven plays to head into the half up 21-7, but there wasn't a Razorback fan in the country who didn't know it would come back to haunt them.

What they didn't realize is there would be so many mistakes that the loss really can't be attributed to the interception. There is literally a long list of ways Arkansas handed an inferior team the win.

• With four minutes in the third quarter and Arkansas methodically driving in OSU territory, running back Ja'Quinden Jackson failed to watch a perfectly pitched ball all the way into his hands before trying to run on 3rd & 1. The Cowboys then drove down the field and kicked a field goal to make it 21-13 heading into the fourth quarter.

• On 1st & 10 at midfield, coming off a big completion, the momentum was killed when Green took his eyes off the snap and dropped it to waste a play the Hogs really needed. Green would make up for it with an athletic pass over the middle while sprinting to his right, but a couple of plays later, the same lack of focus on the snap cost the Hogs again.
This time it was on second down from the Cowboys' 19-yard line. The five yards lost turned out to be the difference in kicker Kyle Ramsey missing a 41-yard attempt.
Not only did the Hogs lose the three points, OSU completed an 11-point swing to tie things at 21-21 by driving down the field, scoring its first offensive touchdown of the game with nine minutes left to play.

Oklahoma State's Jeff Roberson (22) and Collin Oliver (30) sack Arkansas' Taylen Green (10) in the first half of the college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Arkansas Razorbacks at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

• WIth eight minutes left, following a big run by Jackson to the 29-yard line to set up first down just outside field goal range, in a moment of miscommunication, Green turned to hand the ball off and his running back wasn't there, resulting in a sack for a loss just shy of five yards. On third down, Green scrambled to the 24-yard line, which would have been enough yardage for the first down had he not had to take the loss on the miscue on first down.

• With the ball inside the 24-yard line, rather than give his kicker a shot at what would be roughly a 40-yard field goal to retake the lead, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman chose to go for it. Oklahoma State got just enough pressure to force Green to run, stopping him a half-yard short.
The Cowboys took over three yards further away than they would have gotten it if Ramsey had missed the kick. The momentum swung the other way after the stop, inspiring Gundy to call for a trick pass play that went all the way down to the Hogs' eight, leading to the touchdown that would ultimately force overtime shortly after Arkansas dropped an interception.

• Repeated pass interference penalties in long down and distance situations took away opportunities and allowed OSU to kick a field goal. Plus, running into Isaiah Sategna on a fair catch, causing him to fumble and set up an Oklahoma State touchdown helped ensure a loss too.

Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon II (0) celebrates a 2-point conversion in double overtime of the college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Arkansas Razorbacks at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

• In overtime, Green took an ill-advised sack holding the ball too long that took his kicker out of range, preventing what would have been a 37-yard game-winning field goal attempt had he hit the same kick he ended up missing from 46 yards instead.
Then the defense took what would have been 3rd & 10 from the 25 and turned it into 1st and 10 at the 12-yard line by slamming Brennan Presley to the turf well after the whistle, setting up the game-winning touchdown on the following play.

It took all of that to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. What should have been a blowout and an announcement of a new era of Razorbacks football was just a painful reminder for its fans about how cursed the program is.

Even when the Hogs' talent is dramatically better than the opponent, Arkansas is gonna Arkansas. That's just the way it is, and Razorbacks fans will just have to continue to accept that.

Stat of the game: With just over four minutes left in the second half, the Razorbacks had given up three turnovers for 18 points while scoring 0 in response coming out of halftime.

HOGS FEED:

• Count on death, taxes, Razorbacks losing one-score games

• Oklahoma State nothing for Hogs to fear, perfectly mediocre team on Arkansas schedule

• Nutt shares how he'd motivate Hogs to face Oklahoma State on the road

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