Burned by the Flames: Hogs lose to 2-touchdown underdog at home


Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson (1) reacts after being tackled during a game against Liberty on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Fayetteville.
( Hank Layton, NWA Democrat-Gazette )

FAYETTEVILLE — Hugh Freeze never won at Reynolds Razorback Stadium with two ranked teams as head coach at Ole Miss, but his Liberty crew dialed up a shocker on Saturday.

The Arkansas Razorbacks made a late charge to try to fend off Liberty’s upset bid, but they came up just short.

Like an inch or two short.

KJ Jefferson was stopped just short of the goal line on a two-point try with 1:11 remaining and Liberty recovered a late onside kick to stun the University of Arkansas 21-19 before a crowd of 70,072 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

“You know, we’ve lost games since I’ve been here, but not like this,” said third-year Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman, whose team was favored by two touchdowns over the Flames, who are in their fifth season as an FBS program. “These games, we’ve won since I’ve been the head coach here.

“But it just seemed like we were certainly out of sync for whatever reason.”

Liberty (8-1) notched the biggest win as an FBS program by beating an SEC team for the first time in three tries. The Flames were No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25 and unranked in the first College Football Playoff poll.

“I’ve brought a lot of good teams up here to this stadium back when I was in the league as an assistant and then as a head coach and I never left here real happy,” Freeze said. “Who would have thought that my first win at Fayetteville would have been with Liberty, a little FBS school just turned in the FBS the last four years?”

“We are going to celebrate this one. Sam Pittman is a heck of a coach. I know the hurt and sting that comes with losses like this one. I hate that for him, Barry [Odom] and his staff, but I won’t take away from our celebration. I’m more happy for Liberty than I am sad for them.”

Arkansas (5-4) failed in its first attempt to get bowl eligible and now faces back-to-back games against ranked SEC West foes LSU and Ole Miss.

“They’re a great team, you know, they came in and got the job done, and we didn’t,” Arkansas receiver Jadon Haselwood said.

“We just didn’t come out of the gates hot,” Arkansas linebacker Bumper Pool said. “It’s frustrating to start slow like we have been.”

Despite their struggles, Arkansas outgained the Flames 428-315 in total yards.

The Razorbacks needed 16 points in the fourth quarter to tie and nearly got there.

After Trey Knox’s second touchdown catch, an 8-yard grab with 1:11 remaining, Arkansas was within 21-19 with the likelihood of overtime hinging on a two-point conversion.

Jefferson took the shotgun snap and immediately bolted over the left side. Linebacker Ahmad Walker made the initial hit and end Stephen Sings V grabbed Jefferson low, preventing further momentum. As Jefferson reached to extend the ball over the goal plane his right knee came down inside the 1.

The line judge immediately signaled Jefferson short of the line and the replay review confirmed the call, which was shown numerous times on the Jumbotron.

“ I just asked him why it took so long,” Pittman said. “He said they were waiting on the pylon camera angle. But he said that from his viewpoint that he was short. He said his knee hit before the ball got over. Because the ball got a half yard over the goal line, but he said his knee hit before.”

Freeze thought the call and replay were spot on.

“I think Ahmad [made the tackle],” Freeze said. “It was probably several. I thought the replay, absolutely there was no way you could overturn it, the call on the field. I thought it was the right call.”

The Razorbacks struggled to get their running game on track from the opening series against Liberty’s twisting stunts on defense, and the quarterback Jefferson was clearly off his game after practicing sparingly during the week with a sore shoulder.

Jefferson completed 23 of 37 passes for 284 yards and 2 touchdowns, but his accuracy was lacking, particularly in the first half, and he had the first two-interception game of his career.

Haselwood said he felt the receivers had trouble finding their rhythm with Jefferson.

“Obviously this week, Malik [Hornsby] was getting most of the snaps and throwing to us and stuff like that,” Haselwood said. “But I mean … we were just out of sync. I mean, I didn’t know who was starting coming into the game just like you all.”

The Razorbacks, the nation’s No. 6 rushing offense, managed a season-low 144 yards, 43 yards fewer than their previous low against Alabama. Additionally, Raheim Sanders, the nation’s No. 8 rusher with an average of 130 yards per game, was held to 60.

The Flames capitalized on an open date to refine their run defense and racked up 14 tackles behind the line for 59 yards lost, broke up seven passes and held Arkansas to 4 of 16 third down conversions.

As the Razorbacks looked for offensive answers in the first half, quarterback Johnathan Bennett, who also practiced sparingly while dealing with the flu, passed the Flames into the lead.

Bennett threw three touchdown passes in the half: A 5-yarder to Noah Frith late in the first quarter, a 20-yard strike to Demario Douglas early in the second, and a 18-yard shot to Treon Sibley just before halftime to make it 21-0.

Bennett completed 15 of 25 passes for 224 yards.

Trailing 21-5 early in the fourth quarter, the Razorbacks got a spark from freshman cornerback Quincey McAdoo, whose blocked punt in the third quarter resulted in a safety.

One play after Liberty safety Robert Rahimi returned an interception 17 yards to the Arkansas 33, McAdoo got in position on a sideline route for Frith and wrestled the ball away for his first career interception.

The Arkansas offense finally got in gear, grinding out a 17-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that included a trio of fourth-down conversions: Haselwood’s 13-yard reception on fourth and 3; Matt Landers’ 11-yard tackle-breaking catch on 4th and 7; and Haselwood’s 13-yard strong-hands catch on fourth and 10.

The last of those reached the Liberty 16. Jefferson ran 10 yards for a first down and two plays later he found Knox, who had motioned across the formation and slipped into the right flat, for a 5-yard touchdown.

Sanders lined up behind center, took a direct snap and ran in the two-point conversion to pull the Hogs within 21-13 with 7:42 remaining.

Liberty ran clock and notched one first down but punted away to the Arkansas 15 with 3:47 remaining.

For the first time all game, the Razorbacks clicked quick with a pair of AJ Green runs netting 23 yards. Arkansas even overcame a holding penalty, as Landers caught a 7-yard pass and Jefferson had a 14-yard scramble to move the sticks.

Landers provided the big play, a 34-yard breakaway down the right sideline on a short pass to reach the Liberty 8.

On the next snap, Jefferson had plenty of time and spotted Knox, who made a leaping grab in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard score.

Liberty’s lone loss this season came on its failed two-point conversion attempt with 1:11 left in a 37-36 setback at Wake Forest. This time, with 1:11 remaining, the Flames defense answered the call.

SOURCE: Murphy, Tom. "Burned by the Flames: Hogs lose to 2-touchdown underdog at home." Whole Hog Sports - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 6 November 2022, https://www.wholehogsports.com/news/2022/nov/06/burned-by-the-flames-hogs-lose-to-2-touchdown-underdog-at-home/
Published: Sunday, November 6, 2022