FAYETTEVILLE — Portland State got the $550,000 check, but not the game ball Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Oh, but the Vikings did get a whiff of the sweet smell of leather before Arkansas quarterback Ben Hicks took a knee with 11 seconds left to secure a 20-13 victory over the visitors from the Football Championship Subdivision.
The Citadel got the check and the game ball 27 years ago after beating Arkansas. Georgia State, although not an FCS team now, got both after beating Tennessee on Saturday. Ole Miss and South Carolina also fell in the SEC on the opening weekend.
It reminded of some other too-close-for-comfort calls against FCS teams: Arkansas' 28-24 victory over Western Illinois in 2008, the Razorbacks' 31-21 victory over Samford in 2013.
This should have been much easier than those. Favored by four touchdowns, the Razorbacks did not score any points on two red zone scoring chances in the final three minutes of the first half. They led 10-6 at the half.
There were several chances to put the Vikings away in the fourth quarter with the Hogs cruising at 20-6, but backup Portland State quarterback Jelani Eason came up with a touchdown pass on a fourth-and-13 scramble in front of the Arkansas bench.
An improved Arkansas secondary intercepted three passes and looked in position against standout tight end Charlie Taumoepeau on the same boundary on what seemed like a desperation heavy by Eason.
Cornerback Montaric Brown and safety Kamren Curl both jumped for the ball, but it eluded both inside the 10-yard line. Taumoepeau snagged it and dashed in for a 32-yard play for the lone PSU touchdown.
Eason played the fourth quarter after starter Davis Alexander, another nifty scrambler, was knocked out of the game with 11 seconds left in the third quarter. McTelvin “Sosa” Agim caught Alexander from behind on a 15-yard run to stop a third-and-17 play.
The Hogs sacked Alexander six times for 29 yards in losses, but he made positive yards on eight other dashes. He was flushed from the pocket on most of those, but proved elusive most of the day.
The secondary looked better in coverage. There was more press looks on the outside. And, unlike the receivers, they caught anything that was near them. There was one pass interference when a cornerback failed to turn and find the ball. But that was the lone uncomfortable look of the day for that unit.
The defensive line "pushed the quarterback off his spot" throughout the day, but just didn't finish. Portland State didn't appear to think it could do anything in the run game. Few rushes were called plays and when there were some, the Arkansas linebackers punished the ball carrier.
The Vikings got a field goal at the start of the game partly because Hayden Henry was called for a personal foul on a retaliation on the opening kickoff. The lone touchdown was a pass that should have been batted down.
When you dominate on the stat sheet in total yards, 395 to 230, it should be a 30-3 game and most would feel a bit different after week one. But reality is that the Hogs have much to correct.
The play of the secondary and the pass rush was the good part of a frustrating afternoon that saw the Hogs fail to execute in the passing game. There were times Hicks (or Nick Starkel on the two missed chances late in the second quarter) misfired. Sometimes the receivers dropped balls running in the open.
It left second-year coach Chad Morris doing everything but apologizing. No, you don’t apologize for a victory, especially on a day when others in the SEC were losing, like next week’s opponent, the Rebels.
“You never apologize for winning,” Morris said. “There is not a bad win.”
To say the Hogs played badly would be wrong, too. But they didn’t play well.
The defense did lots right, except contain the quarterback scrambles. But the offense didn’t capitalize on the three turnovers and 395 yards of total offense.
Starkel threw an interception after Curl’s 29-yard interception return to the PSU 18-yard line. Then, Morris said mistakes in sideline communication botched another chance. The clock ran out during a 3-yard completion.
“That was completely on me,” Morris said, noting he was calling for a clock-killing spiked pass but another staffer signaled to “run another play.”
The offense lacked a deep passing game for much of the game. Morris said the Vikings disguised their coverage scheme, although it was nothing that wasn’t practiced against.
What coaches called a “funky” defensive plan earlier in the week did enough to confuse the Hogs. The middle linebacker often set up deep in the middle of the field, then charged to the side where the runs were directed. And, the secondary rotation was always different than the pre-snap read.
The Hogs still ran for 204 yards, to barely beat their pre-game goal of 200, but there were few long runs. Rakeem Boyd made 114 yards on 16 rushes with a long of 25. De’Vion Warren got 17 on a wide receiver sweep. Devwah Whaley had a best of 11 and Chase Hayden a long of 6 yards.
“I’m very disappointed in the offense,” Morris said. “We never got in a rhythm.
“We did not perform the way we wanted as an offensive unit.”
Morris said Hicks and Starkel played “just OK.” He said the offensive line showed improvement over last year, but it was clear that it did not knock around the PSU defensive front.
“Ben managed the game and got us in the right calls sometimes, but he also missed some,” Morris said. “We didn’t have an offensive flow. We had entirely too many third down (misses).”
As far as the PSU defensive look with a deep middle linebacker, Morris said, “We’d prepared for it. It’s a flex front. It messes with your rules. The secondary rolled into cover two (zone) a lot.”
That’s different than the Vikings showed against similar offenses last year.
“They were a lot more man last year than (Saturday),” Morris said.
As far as protection, Hicks was probably too quick to scramble. He usually threw the ball away on those plays, the reason he was only 14 of 29 for 143 yards.
“Our quarterback had time,” Morris said. “On some of them he was flushed, he probably could have sat in there.”
The backs ran hard, but were nothing special.
“I just didn’t think anybody played great,” Morris said. “We missed some runs. We had a chance to make more plays on the edge.”
The passing game should have made more plays. True freshman wide receivers Treylon Burks (three catches, 52 yards) and Trey Knox (1-38) flashed promise, but there is more in the tank.
Morris said Knox, who was out for more than one week with an illness, wasn’t at his best after practicing just three days.
Curl promised Burks and Knox are “freaks” and just getting started. He also mentioned TQ Jackson, another talented true freshman wide receiver.
“Burks was close (to breaking a big play) on a punt return,” Morris said. “They got him by a shoestring. We know he’s going to be a fantastic player, but with freshmen come mistakes. Knox missed some things. He was rusty.”
Hicks said he could have “done better on some deep balls. I was trying to give them too much of a chance and put too much air under it.”
Asked about Burks and Knox, Hicks said, “They both played OK, but now they get a chance to go watch film and see what college football is all about. We are counting on them. We keep emphasizing to them, they have to go make plays.”
Hicks said the offensive line, much maligned in the offseason and in last year's 2-10 season, was "the strength of the offense" against the Vikings. Maybe, but it needs to play stronger and meaner if it is to win any SEC games. More improvement is needed and one of the starters, left guard Austin Capps, re-injured his knee.
True freshman Ricky Stromberg finished the game at left guard, apparently without problems. He is listed at just 266, but is almost 290 after a solid summer in the weight room.
"I didn't notice him," Morris said. "That's a good sign for an offensive line if no one is calling his name (for penalties). He's going to be a great player. We don't know about (the severity of the injury with) Capps just yet."
Then, there was a little talk about this week’s trip to Oxford.
“I’m ready to go next week,” Hicks said. “We are going to play well.”