Report Card for Arkansas Football Versus Mississippi State

At this point, we can almost have the opening sentences of our recap articles at Last Word on copy and paste. Another week of Arkansas football, and another loss. In week ten, the Razorbacks fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 38-35, for the seventh consecutive loss for Arkansas. In pregame, we tasked the Hogs with three keys to success. Now we will grade each on this week’s report card for Arkansas football.

Before we pass out the report card, we want to remind you of the keys to success. First, we wanted to see a simple win, via a coin toss and opening possession. Secondly, for the past two seasons, we tasked Arkansas with maintaining possession of the ball. Finally, we wanted to see the Hogs apply defensive pressure up front.

Arkansas started the game red hot with the keys. The Hogs not only won the coin toss, but they also took the ball off the opening kickoff. While some may laugh at the simplicity of this, this program desperately needs to celebrate the small wins. With the ball, Arkansas drove the field before a penalty, one of many in the game, halted the offense into a punt.

The opening drive of the game looked balanced as Mike Washington Jr started what is now his fourth 100-yard rushing game, with 116 yards, of the season. Along with this, we saw accuracy and elusiveness from Taylen Green as he moved the ball down the field with his arm and legs. Arkansas won the opening key of the game, as simple as it was. Because of this, the first grade on the report card for Arkansas against Mississippi State will be an A.

With the second key, we tasked Arkansas to change a trend of the Bobby Petrino era, possession issues. In a game that came down to the final quarter and the last moments, this was vital for success. Arkansas forced the Bulldogs to toss an interception in the 3rd quarter. Up 28-21, on the first play of the fourth drive for State, Hogs defensive back Jordan Young intercepted a Blake Shapen deep ball.

This is typically the portion where we write about Arkansas turnovers. Yet, this week, there were none from the Hogs in a clean game in this statistical category. In fact, this breaks a five-game winning streak for Arkansas, where they win the turnover battle, yet lose the game. Even in the loss, our second grade on the report card for Arkansas football against State is an A.

With the final key of the game, we tasked the Hogs’ defense with getting pressure. In the end, Arkansas would again be successful, to a degree. This unit was led by Quincy Rhodes Jr, who played like a rabid Razorback. The 6’6 junior tallied six total tackles, including a career-high day in tackles for loss, with 4.5 in the loss.

In addition, Rhodes, along with Phillip Lee, netted two sacks on the day. Arkansas created a morsel of pressure with three quarterback hurries on the day. In comparison, Mississippi State had nine hurries along with three sacks in their first SEC win since October 1st, 2023, in Fayetteville. With the defensive performance in the final key, we grade the Arkansas football report card with a B.

In closing, none of the three keys cost Arkansas the game. Discipline was the ultimate factor in the loss in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks are currently on the second-longest losing streak since the 1973 season. In addition to this season, the 1990 season also held a seven-game losing streak. A bright spot for the Hogs is that they have a bye week to prepare for a road trip to LSU on November 14th.

Main Photo: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images