Takeaways from Arkansas' 55-34 victory over Colorado State

Arkansas running back Rakeem Boyd carries the ball during a game against Colorado State on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, in Fayetteville.

Arkansas defeated Colorado State 55-34 Saturday at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

The Razorbacks (2-1) matched their win total from last season by beating one of the teams they lost to last season. The Rams (1-2) won 34-27 at home last September.

Here are some takeaways from Arkansas' win:

• The Razorbacks out-played a team in the fourth quarter of a close game. 

It has been awhile since Arkansas could make that claim. It had not happened since the Razorbacks came back to defeat Ole Miss on the road two years ago. 

The game was still in question entering the fourth quarter, tied at 34 apiece. Colorado State had a 50-yard field goal attempt with 11:35 remaining, but Cayden Camper pushed the kick wide left. 

From that point it was all Arkansas. Nick Starkel led a pair of scoring drives and the defense forced a scoop-and-score touchdown. The Razorbacks outscored the Rams 21-0 in the final quarter, exacting a little revenge against the team that scored 25 unanswered to win last season in Fort Collins - one of many times Arkansas had faded late in close games prior to Saturday. 

• Arkansas' defense gave up too many big plays. 

The defense was thought to be the strength of this team in the preseason, but has not shown it is up to that expectation the past two weeks. Colorado State finished with 425 yards of total offense one week after Ole Miss totaled 483 in a win over the Razorbacks. 

Most concerning for Arkansas had to be the amount of chunk plays by the Rams, notably the 75-yard touchdown run by Marvin Kinsey on the second play of the game and the 75-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Patrick O'Brien to Dante Wright in the third quarter to tie the game. 

The Razorbacks did appear to make some adjustments that worked at halftime. Take away Wright's long score and the Rams had 91 yards on 34 plays in the second half. Of course Colorado State was playing without its starting quarterback, Collin Hill, for much of that time.

• What a difference a quarterback can make. 

In his first start for Arkansas, Nick Starkel completed 20 of 35 passes for 305 yards and 3 touchdowns. It was far from a great performance by Starkel, but probably qualifies as the best performance by a quarterback during the Chad Morris era. 

Starkel came out slinging with a 38-yard pass to Treylon Burks on the Razorbacks' first play. He also made a good back-shoulder throw to Trey Knox later in the drive for a 24-yard touchdown. 

It was part of a 7-for-11 start for Starkel that also included a 14-yard touchdown pass to Chase Harrell to cap the Razorbacks' second drive. Arkansas scored on its first five possessions, which had not happened since the Razorbacks' 2015 season opener against UTEP.

Saturday was only the second time Arkansas had scored a touchdown on its opening drive in the past two seasons.

Starkel struggled some in the second quarter with overthrows, balls batted down at the line of scrimmage and passes that held up enough for Colorado State defenders to make plays on the ball. He was efficient after halftime, though, completing 9 of his final 14 passes. 

He threw three consecutive completions for 12, 17 and 20 yards to begin the drive that gave Arkansas the lead. He put perfect touch on the ball caught by C.J. O'Grady on his highlight reel run to put the Razorbacks up by two scores. 

Starkel gives receivers a chance to make plays and several did Saturday. O'Grady, Knox and Burks have great talent if the Razorbacks can find the way to get the ball in their hands. Together they combined for 13 receptions and 256 yards.

The pass game also opens up the run game. Rakeem Boyd (20 carries for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns) and Devwah Whaley (9 carries for 81 yards and 1 touchdown) were beneficiaries of Starkel's ability to spread the field. 

Arkansas took advantage against a bad defense and displayed balance and explosiveness that have been lacking. The Razorbacks looked the part of a dynamic offense for the first time in 15 games under Morris. 

• Connor Limpert continues to be a weapon for the Razorbacks. He kicked two field goals Saturday, including a 54-yarder during Arkansas' 24-point first quarter.

He has now made 32 of 39 attempts in his career and would be the Razorbacks' all-time leader in make percentage if his career ended today. That kind of leg can take pressure off of an offense.