Razorback Rewind

4th-down fortitude suits Hogs

Arkansas Razorbacks tight end Cheyenne O'Grady (85) completes a pass as New Mexico State Aggies linebacker Dalton Herrington (31) tries to tackle him during the second half of the game between Arkansas Razorbacks and New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks went 2 of 3 on fourth-down plays in Saturday's 42-24 victory over New Mexico State.

Coach Bret Bielema, citing advanced analytics, elected to pass on field-goal tries of 45, 31 and 41 yards against the Aggies.

Arkansas converted fourth downs on back-to-back touchdown drives in the third quarter. On the first, Austin Allen found Cheyenne O'Grady for 10 yards on a crossing route on fourth and 4 from the Aggies' 26.

Jonathan Nance caught a 3-yard slant pass for a touchdown and a 35-17 Arkansas lead eight plays later.

"I liked it. I liked the calls on fourth down we had," Allen said. "We executed, and I think getting those fourth downs was one of the reasons why we won the game. It would have been a 28-17 game, and they would have got the ball if we hadn't converted those fourth downs."

Deon Stewart caught a 7-yard pass from Allen on fourth and 1 from the New Mexico State 13 on the Razorbacks' next series.

The Aggies finally got a fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter when linebacker Malik Demby forced a hurried, incomplete pass from Allen on fourth and 4 from the New Mexico State 23.

"Yeah, we're good enough to get it on fourth down," Nance said. "Our coaches were being aggressive and more aggressive, and we're going to continue to make plays."

Aggies comps

The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and South Carolina will conclude a three-way round-robin with Texas A&M on Saturday in Columbia, S.C. The Razorbacks and Gamecocks both lost by seven points against the Aggies in the past two weeks -- Arkansas by a 50-43 count in overtime and South Carolina by a 24-17 margin in College Station, Texas, on Saturday.

The Razorbacks last played at South Carolina -- which was an annual opponent for Arkansas from 1992-2013 -- in 2012, dropping a 38-20 decision under interim coach John L. Smith.

Turnover talk

Arkansas is tied for No. 15 with four turnovers, having lost one fumble -- on Deon Stewart's kickoff return against TCU -- and thrown three interceptions.

Alabama leads the country with no turnovers. Virginia has lost one, and the trio of Miami, North Carolina State and Tulane have lost two. The Razorbacks are tied with Kentucky and Texas A&M for third in the SEC, as Vanderbilt has only three turnovers.

The Razorbacks are tied for No. 35 in turnover margin with plus-0.5 per game, having recovered three fumbles and notched three interceptions.

Clock control

Arkansas had a season-high 41:35 in time of possession, more than doubling New Mexico State's 18:25 possession time.

"We thought offensively, to keep the ball in our hands and move the chains and make first downs and score in the red zone was really gonna be big," Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said. "That's why I was really aggressive on fourth-down calls."

Props to Aggies

Arkansas defenders noted the quality of New Mexico State quarterback Tyler Rogers and 6-6 receiver Jaleel Scott.

Rogers completed 23 of 38 passes for 344 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

"A great quarterback with experience, and he's talented," nickel back Kevin Richardson said. "He can go out there and look safeties off, move the defense with his eyes and make great throws."

Scott caught 9 passes for a career-high 174 yards with 2 touchdowns.

Scott beat safety Santos Ramirez on a post in the fourth quarter, though free safety Josh Liddell appeared to be in position to make a play on the ball at the goal line in the middle of the field. Instead, Scott jumped, high-pointed the catch and brought in a 36-yard touchdown for the final score of the game.

"I think he's going to be an NFL-caliber receiver," Ramirez said. "He plays hard. He knows his game. He's a big body, and he goes and gets the ball."

Quadruple double

New Mexico State had four players with 10 or more tackles, led by safety Ron LaForce, who had 16, and linebacker Lui Fa'amasino, who had 12. Cornerback Shamad Lomax had 11 tackles and linebacker Dalton Harrington had 10.

Sack-less

The Razorbacks did not give up a sack for the first time this season, although quarterback Austin Allen took a variety of hits.

New Mexico State linebacker Terrill Hanks was ejected for targeting after leading with the crown of his helmet on a shot on Allen in the first quarter.

On the Razorbacks' failed fourth and 4 from the Aggies' 23 midway through the fourth quarter, Allen was blasted by Malik Demby, who pressured him into an incomplete pass.

Stat chat

Arkansas moved up to No. 71 in total offense, with an average of 408.3 yards per game, after compiling 494 yards against New Mexico State. The Razorbacks are No. 39 in rushing (205.3), No. 88 in passing (203.0) and No. 38 in scoring (35.3).

Arkansas is No. 46 in total defense (348.0), No. 44 in pass defense (205.3), No. 63 in rushing defense (142.8) and No. 76 in scoring defense (27.3).

Kick concerns

Arkansas at South Carolina will present two of the worst place-kicking teams among all FBS schools. Arkansas is the only one of 130 FBS schools to not make a field goal. The Razorbacks were 0 for 2 on chip shots in their 28-7 loss to TCU.

South Carolina is 3 of 10 on field goals to rank No. 126 in the country at 30 percent.

Players of the week

Offense

QB Austin Allen

The senior from Fayetteville completed 19 of 26 passes for 264 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT. Allen had an efficiency rating of 188.8, his highest of the season.

Defense

DE McTelvin Agim and DB Kevin Richardson

Agim, a sophomore from Hope, had 2 tackles, a sack and a pass breakup. Richardson, a senior from Jacksonville, posted 2 tackles, an interception and a pass breakup.

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Sports on 10/02/2017