COLUMBIA, Mo. — Five observations from Arkansas' loss at Missouri in the regular season finale.
— Arkansas leaves points on field
Missouri scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to rally from a 24-7 deficit and win 28-24 burning Arkansas’ secondary for big plays down the field. But the hole the Tigers climbed out of should have been much bigger and the Razorbacks wasted several opportunities to score late in the game.
In all, Arkansas left 28 points on the field.
Arkansas settled for a 33-yard Adam McFain field goal when a drive stalled out in the red zone with 1:08 left in the first half. The Hogs got the ball back before halftime, but missed out on three points when McFain mishit a 48-yard field goal, leaving it short and left. The Razorbacks could have extended their lead to 31-14 after moving the ball inside the 10-yard line midway through the third quarter, but Austin Allen was hit as he threw while rolling right and intercepted by Cale Garrett in the end zone. Seven potential points the Hogs didn’t get.
Missouri struck for a long touchdown six plays, including a fake punt, later, officially starting the comeback as the Hogs blew their largest halftime lead in 45 years. Had the Hogs capitalized on their scoring chances, they would have led 38-14.
Even after the Tigers took the lead, Arkansas had three more cracks at it, including two drives that ventured inside the Missouri 10. But Allen was intercepted in the end zone on fourth down on the first drive, while penalties relegated the Hogs to flinging 20-plus yard throws into the end zone on their final possession late in the game.
The Hogs scored three touchdowns and kicked a field goal in eight red-zone trips, throwing two picks, missing a field goal and turning it over on downs on the other four. Even with the defensive meltdown in the second half, the offense’s inability to make plays when it mattered cost them the game.
— Tigers’ torch Hogs’ CBs downfield
Arkansas’ boundary and field cornerbacks Jared Collins and Henre’ Toliver have been solid this season, generally providing stout man coverage while regularly playing without the luxury of safety help. As a whole, the group has probably been the best subset of a struggling defense.
But Friday was their worst game of the season, bar none. Missouri quarterback Drew Lock threw at Collins on two of his three incomplete passes on the Tigers’ opening three-and-out, an interesting strategy going against a senior in Collins who opposing offenses are often nye to challenge. All three of those passes were short of the sticks, quick-hitting routes that developed in front of Collins and Co.
The rest of the day, Missouri went over the top, flaunting its speed and burning the Hogs for long gains and touchdowns down the field. The Tigers take more shot plays as any team in the SEC and it’s easy to see why. Lock is in the running for strongest arm in the conference, in a conversation with Chad Kelly and no one else. He showed off his arm strength by lofting a heavy dose of deep balls down the field with ease — several of which connected in the second half.
Lock completed 16 of 26 for 268 yards, with 165 of those yards coming on three throws after halftime. Right off the bat, Lock found J’Mon Moore, his top target (six catches, 135 yards) for a 48-yard gain on Missouri’s first possession of the third quarter, a fling which moved the Tigers into the red zone and set up the touchdown that trimmed the lead to 24-14 and began to shift the game.
He hit Johnathon Johnson for a 67-yard score on the Tigers’ next possession, cutting it to a 24-21 game. On the first drive of the fourth quarter, he found Moore again, in single coverage again, for a 49-yard gain to the Arkansas 13-yard line, setting up the go-ahead score.
It could have been worse. Johnson dropped two long, likely touchdowns and Lock narrowly overthrew an open receiver on a third.
Collins had rarely been taken advantage of the season and had become a reliable presence at corner despite his size. Friday was a shocking turn of events and repeatedly drove home the speed difference between the Missouri receivers and Arkansas defensive backs. The Tigers just ran past Arkansas repeatedly, which left the defense grievously exposed with no help over the top and no pass rush to get to Lock or pressure him into poor throws.
Key penalties take toll
Bret Bielema preaches the importance of playing clean for his system to work. That hasn’t always/often been the case this year, Arkansas was near-perfect in its 58-42 win at Mississippi State last week, committing just one penalty in its best effort in that area this season.
The Hogs reverted Friday, getting flagged eight times for 55 yards, more than their season average of 5.5 penalties for 50 yards a game, which rank 10th in the SEC, respectively, an unacceptable number for Bielema. But more than the number, the timing of the penalties were the killer, especially for three in key moments in the second half.
First, Arkansas let the Tigers off the hook after coming up with a stop late in the third quarter. Missouri lined up with its offense on a fourth-and-1 from its own 28, but it was apparent Lock’s marching orders were to try to prompt the Hogs to jump offsides or burn a timeout. Razorbacks junior defensive tackle Bijhon Jackson bit, reaching out and touching the ball, gifting the Tigers a first down. Lock hit Moore for a big gainer three players later to set up the go-ahead touchdown.
The Hogs had two holding penalties on their last-gasp final drive. After needing just three plays to move from their own 38 to the Missouri 34, the Razorbacks went in reverse thanks to a first-down hold by right tackle Brian Wallace. It was a clear penalty and an easy call, but Arkansas overcame it, moving the ball to the Missouri 9. Senior left tackle Dan Skipper was hit with a costly whistle in his final regular-season game, a hold that moved the ball back to the 19. A loss of a yard on an ensuing completion to Dominique Reed set the stage for two incompletions and a fourth-down sack of Allen, the Tigers’ fourth of the game and Marcell Frazier’s third.
In that sense, the holds were untimely but emblematic reminders of the offensive line’s struggle in pass protection, both today and most of the season. The penalties also continued the trend of this being Bielema's least-disciplined team at Arkansas: the Razorbacks ranked second, sixth and first in least penalty yards in the SEC his first three seasons before this year's noticeable dip.
— Hogs abandon run game late
Rawleigh Williams had 68 yards on 12 carries at halftime, a healthy 5.7 average per run. He had just 49 yards on 13 carries in the second half, but did break out for a 16-yard burst on the first play of the final drive to jump-start the possession.
Williams finished with 117 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, marking the first time this season he’s run for 96 or more yards and the Razorbacks have lost. But the Hogs largely took the ball out of his hands with the game on the line.
The run game failed when Arkansas was forced to punt after failing to pick up a first down when it kept the ball on the ground for three straight plays early in the fourth quarter. After that, the Hogs called designed runs on just five of their final 17 offensive snaps, which constituted the last two drives.
The Hogs had plenty of time to run the ball, but didn’t, potentially as a result of the struggles earlier in the quarter and likely at times because of down-and-distance. But Missouri entered the game with the worst run defense in the SEC as far as yards per game allowed (239.9), while Williams continued to flash his improving vision and cutting ability.
Arkansas’ play calling swung from one extreme to the other in the second half. Allen threw three straight passes in a three-and-out on the final drive of the third quarter. Williams opened the fourth with the three straight runs in another three-and-out, so Enos largely shelved the ground game for the remainder of the game. But Arkansas’ red zone issues weren’t going anywhere.
Big-picture implications
The Arkansas sideline was an emotional one in the moments after the failed final fourth down, understandably so. Players like Allen, Dan Skipper and Drew Morgan were distraught, no doubt well aware of the game they let slip away and how it will paint the way the season is viewed.
The post game was somber. For the first time in Bielema’s tenure, the Razorbacks won’t improve on their win total from a season before.
The Hogs slipped in SEC, sliding from a 5-3, third-place finish last season to a 3-5, fifth-place showing this season. And the season can’t be viewed simply by wins and losses — there’s no getting around the fact that Arkansas was dominated by Alabama, Auburn and LSU, the three top teams in the conference. A gap that had been closing or even maybe vanishing was suddenly widened by a considerable amount. And to top it off, Arkansas closed the regular season by losing to the worst team in the SEC East.
A bowl win can help salvage some momentum heading into 2017, but Friday assured took away any avenue to view this season as a step in the right direction for the program.