Arkansas may have just scared the Longhorns back to the Big 12. The Longhorns showed they ain’t ready for that SEC smoke. After an excellent showing against Louisiana, Texas came to Fayetteville woefully unprepared. The first half featured the Longhorns failure to gain a first down 4 out of 5 possessions. The second half wasn’t much better. Instead of the Longhorns showing why they belong in the SEC, this was a coming out party for the Razorbacks. And what a party it was!
It’s not surprising that Arkansas dominated the line of scrimmage tonight. Coach Sam Pittman is a long-time offensive line coach. On offense they ran for over 330 yards and held the Longhorns to 138 yards rushing. The Razorback’s running game is dynamic. Arkansas featured 4 players that scored a rushing TD with 3 backs over with 50 or more yards rushing. Quarterback KJ Jefferson also ran for 73 yards. The Razorback front 7 lived in the Longhorns backfield for much of the game. Multiple Sacks and a forced fumble were the reward. Texas did not look like a ranked team, while Arkansas looked as if they should be in the top 10. This was a thorough thrashing leaving the Longhorns wondering how to approach next week’s game.
This game is a signature win for Sam Pittman. As for Sark, he has a lot of explaining to do. I think it’s simple. An appropriate statement would be “Arkansas beat the snot out of us.” That’s it. They were not ready for the physicality that the Razorbacks brought to the table.
I think Texas had a shot in the second half. The quarterback change came too late. Honestly, I thought the quarterback change to Thompson was coming at the beginning of the second half because Card couldn’t sustain a drive. There are ways to counter an aggressive defense. Texas could have thrown some slants, screens, arrows, multi-level drag routes and then set the defense up for sluggos. Running the ball was difficult for the Longhorns. So, they should have looked to pass to set up the run. B. Robinson is too good of a player to be left on ice. They lacked innovative ways to get him the ball. As for the defense, the defensive line and linebackers were abused and overmatched by the superior Razorback offensive line. There are a lot of negative takeaways from this game. However, in life, you learn more from your losses, than your wins. This was a great learning experience for the Texas Longhorns, top to bottom.
Texas is talented but young and inexperienced. They will compete. They will get better. But this was the Razorbacks night.
