FAYETTEVILLE — When assessing his first game as Arkansas' starting quarterback, Ben Hicks said he didn't think he did anything spectacular. He settled on "OK" to describe his day.
That breakdown is also fair for the rest of the Razorbacks' offense outside of junior running back Rakeem Boyd, perhaps. Arkansas finished with 395 yards of total offense Saturday in its less-than-thrilling 20-13 victory over Portland State to kick of 2019.
Razorbacks coach Chad Morris expressed displeasure of his own with the offense's performance against the Vikings.
"I was very disappointed offensively," Morris said. "We’ll continue to improve. We’ve got a lot of work to do offensively. Not the performance I wanted to see from an offensive unit in Week 1.
"We’ve got a lot of stuff we have to get better at. I didn’t think anybody played great, to be honest with you - from the quarterbacks all the way down."
Hicks was hit and miss in the passing game, finishing the day 14-of-29 for 143 yards. Four of his final six passes fell incomplete, and his string of 10 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass came to an end.
The offense moved the ball well, Hicks said, but failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities when they arose.
"(We) ran the ball well, had some big plays, but just not getting in the end zone is something we're going to have to really emphasize this week," said Hicks, who Morris named the Razorbacks' Week 2 starter for their SEC opener at Ole Miss. "It's great to get yards, but if you can't get in the end zone then you're typically not going to win."
Nick Starkel, who Hicks beat out for the starting job in preseason practices, struggled on his first series late in the second quarter. He completed his first pass to tight end Grayson Gunter for a one-yard loss, then threw a head-scratching interception inside the Portland State 10 with 1:23 left in the first half.
Following a stop by the Razorbacks' defense, Starkel's second series began with much more promise as he hit true freshman Trey Knox on a seam route for 38 yards down to the Vikings' 27. Poor clock management and miscommunication, though, doomed another trip to the red zone and time ran out as Arkansas pushed for a score before halftime.
"I thought Nick did well. I thought Ben did well," Morris said. "I don’t think either of them did anything that would just shock you. I thought Ben managed the game. He got us in some right calls in certain situations. We weren’t in all the right calls. I thought he was just OK.
"I don’t think we played very well offensively at all. ... But overall, just the flow of things offensively, there were entirely too many third downs. It just wasn’t what we want."
Sophomore receiver Mike Woods led the Razorbacks with five receptions, but totaled only 30 yards. Freshman Treylon Burks led the group with 52 yards on three grabs, and Gunter finished with three receptions on five targets. Tight end Chase Harrell tallied a pair of drops and Knox had one, too.
The lone offensive bright spot in the win was Boyd, who ran for a career-high 114 yards and surpassed the 100-yard mark on the ground for the fourth time in his Arkansas career. De'Vion Warren was also effective on speed sweeps, finishing with 37 yards on his three touches.
Hicks labeled Boyd "a special talent" and added that the team has come to expect similar performances from him each week. After exiting last season's meeting against Ole Miss in Little Rock with a tailbone injury, Boyd said next week is about redemption.
"We were up on them and I got hurt, we got down, and stuff like that," he said. "This year, we just have to finish. I got to stay healthy. ... I think we're ready. You know what I mean? Last year, we held them. I think this year we will come in with a bang.
"We just have to go in this week and fix up some corrections and things like that. It will be on."