A Lot to Dislike Following a Bad Hogs' Loss to BYU

More negatives than positives after a distasteful 38-31 loss for Razorbacks to swallow

Author:
Jacob Davis
Publish date:
Sep 17, 2023 3:37 AM EDT

In this story:

Liked: Luke Hasz

The true freshman from Bixby, (Okla.) was a huge factor during the first half with 3 receptions and a touchdown. Then, he wasn’t targeted again until the Hogs final drive with a crucial first down with the clock ticking away.

The fact that he’s averaging a first down per reception should give offensive coordinator Dan Enos even more reason to design plays for him.

Defensive energy, pass defense

Besides of the BYU wide receiver touchdown pass in the first quarter and a 31-yard gainer down the sideline in the fourth quarter, the secondary is improved.

The Hogs’ defensive energy disrupted the Cougars offense repeatedly with 9 TFL and 3 sacks.

Linebacker Jaheim Thomas was solid once again leading the Hogs in tackles with nine. The Cincinnati transfer provided some pop with critical stops on third downs.

The Hogs gave up just 281 total yards and just 77 rushing to BYU. Without watching the game and basing an opinion off statistics alone, one would think Arkansas wins this 9 times out of 10. However, BYU capitalized on several of the Hogs turnovers and mistakes with four drives on Arkansas’ side of the field, scoring on three of them.

Disliked: 4th and short

Something should be said about how bad situational play calling was tonight, especially in down and distance. Not only once but twice the Hogs went for fourth in short in the shotgun. Why? That’s something there should be an answer for.

There’s simply no excuse to put your 6-foot-3, 250 pound QB in the shotgun in any situation where all he needs to do is fall over or push the pile under center. Perhaps, Enos went shotgun due to not trusting the OL to move them? This is two consecutive weeks of questionable fourth down play calling.

Disliked: Big offensive line issues

How in the world can an offensive line be this bad when the head coach is considered the guru? Sam Pittman is four years into his tenure at Arkansas and the line has regressed to a point never before seen in his seven seasons spent in Fayetteville.

There were points where the OL was able to move the BYU defensive front. But, the unit was not consistent enough through the game to make a difference.

Pre-snap and holding penalties killed numerous drives including one that could have potentially tied the game up to force overtime. As a whole, the Hogs committed 14 penalties for 125 yards which is way too high considering that week three is now complete.

These issues are something unprecedented and surprising under the current offensive staff. There’s currently no good ending in sight with this situation. One big question looming in Fayetteville is what state the team will be in following their four-game road trip?