Razorbacks Can't Stop Longhorns When It Mattered Most Late

No. 2 Texas not overly impressive but grinds out win over Arkansas with basic stuff in fourth quarter

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers sets up to throw a pass against the Arkansas Razorbacks in a 20-10 win at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Ted McClenning-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In the end Arkansas couldn't take advantage of No. 2 Texas' lack of interest. Put whatever spin to feel better, but that's exactly what happened in the Longhorns' 20-10 win Saturday afternoon.

The Razorbacks did enough to keep the fans in their seats. When Texas needed to look like the team ranked second in the College Football Playoff, it was easy to see their potential.

It's a good bet Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian will have enough coaching points, but they are a playoff team.

"You can't play the third-ranked team in the country and lose in turnovers 2-0 and win," Hogs coach Sam Pittman said, referring to their ranking in the polls. "Texas is just as good as we thought they would be."

The Razorbacks simply kept making mistakes at all the wrong times, plus there were bad breaks like causing a fumble that goes out of bounds before anybody can grab it to keep a Longhorns' drive alive. It's how teams end up sitting at 5-5 on the year instead of 9-1.

A nail was put in the Arkansas coffin with 2:17 to go when Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers faked a hand-off inside on a 4th-and-2 play at the Hogs' 30, then kept around the left side for a key first down. Since the Razorbacks were out of timeouts at that point, all they could do is finish out the final two minutes.

The net result is the Longhorns won't get any style points and Arkansas fans can talk about "what-if" on too many plays to count. The bottom line is they couldn't make the plays on offense or defense when they needed to for a win.

Maybe the biggest takeaway is Texas having nine tackles for loss. Most of that came by forcing Hogs quarterback Taylen Green into gigantic mistakes. He was credited with 16 rushing attempts and a net of -4 yards rushing.

Green averaged -0.3 yards per run mainly because the Longhorns had defenders fast enough to keep him contained. Arkansas made a few plays, but couldn't manage THE play they needed WHEN they needed it.

The final blow was when the defense had to get that stop on a 4th-and-2 and couldn't get off the field. It was a snapshot of the whole game.

Every championship team has tough games. The Longhorns were clearly the better team and dominated at times. Some of their fans will complain it wasn't a start-to-finish performance that will go down as a classic.

Pittman will be disappointed the Hogs couldn't take advantage of the improvement the defense made from a 63-31 fiasco against Ole Miss a couple of weeks ago. For some reason, Texas' offense looked dysfunctional at times, but made enough plays to come away with a win.

That's what championship teams have. In the end this will be nothing but a 10-point win over the Razorbacks. The Hogs will have enough "what-if" moments to use that as a crutch in explaining away the final result.

The Longhorns came away with a win and an ugly one of those is better than a beautifully-played loss. Now Arkansas has to play a game that should qualify them for a bowl while Pittman hangs on the turnovers to explain the game.

"I don't know if we would have won the game," Pittman said. "We sure as hell would have had a better chance."

That may be the defining comment of the entire season. This one will come down to missed opportunities and it wasn't the first time for that to happen this year.

HOGS FEED:

• Arkansas highway sign shows how little Hogs fans think things out sometimes

• Believe it! Arkansas-Texas is truly a rivalry for the ages

• Pittman Hushes Critics of Longhorns 'Fine Team'

• Razorbacks ready to face Longhorns’ “simple” defense

• Arkansas' defense has four tasks it must accomplish to win

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