TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Last week, Arkansas’ quarterback said he felt like he had been hit by a car following the Razorbacks’ loss to Auburn.
On Saturday, a different Arkansas quarterback never got the car started in the Razorbacks’ 48-7 loss at Alabama.
This is not to say the No. 1 Tide did not administer some similar physical punishment, but the real pain was self-inflicted. The Hogs left Bryant-Denny Stadium smarting from four first-half turnovers that made it easy in Alabama’s first game without star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Nick Starkel, subbing for Ben Hicks, threw three interceptions and also mishandled a snap that led to a fumble return of 37 yards to the Arkansas 14-yard line. It was that turnover that led to a 10-0 Alabama start.
It would grow to 17-0 in the first quarter, then 41-0 at halftime. The last Alabama score of the half came on an 84-yard interception return by Trevon Diggs that was memorable from the Arkansas perspective only for the effort provided by Treylon Burks in a mad dash for a dive at a saving tackle.
Burks didn’t get Diggs down, but it was at least something that hinted that there were still some Razorbacks playing hard. Burks also sprinted from the other side of the field to stop Harris on his fumble return.
There were other signs of life from the Razorbacks, but it was mostly in a night when Alabama was so good that it could wrap a soft blanket around Tagovailoa’s replacement, junior Mac Jones.
The Alabama play calling was vanilla. They handed the ball to Najee Harris off tackle, or asked Jones to pitch the ball forward to swift receivers motioned into the backfield on what amounted to sweeps. There were few balls deep, but Jones did hit a 40-yard bomb for the final Alabama score with 12:38 left in the third quarter to put the Crimson Tide ahead 48-0.
After that, Alabama flooded the field with reserves. It was against backups that redshirt freshman John Stephen Jones – the quarterback for the entire second half – engineered a 13-play, 85-yard scoring march.
Jones hit Cheyenne O’Grady in the flats for an 8-yard TD to open the fourth quarter. It was O’Grady’s 12th career touchdown catch, passing Jeremy Sprinkle for the Arkansas record by a tight end.
It was the fight of Jones on the run-pass option game that drew praise from everyone who came into the Arkansas interview room afterward. Jones completed 6 of 7 for 49 yards and ran 6 times for 14 yards.
Jones was sacked once, but it was more of an RPO scramble than a true pass. Otherwise, the 5-11, 199-pounder got positive yardage against the Tide.
“It was an honor to play with him,” O’Grady said, preferring to talk about the fight of his quarterback than passing Sprinkle for his record.
“I’m proud of him. He brings a lot to the table. He drove us right down the field. He gave us our only seven points. I can’t fault his effort.”
Morris said he “challenged” his team at halftime to stay in the fight. That comment was made when he was asked about the competitive nature of Burks on two of the turnovers.
“We did have guys like that continued to compete,” Morris said. “I challenged our guys at halftime to play with pride. We had a lot who did. I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
John Stephen Jones did play for one play in the first half, as Morris said after the game was the pregame plan. Jones had worked some this week with the first-team offense. His one play before halftime was a 10-yard swing pass to Rakeem Boyd on the second Arkansas possession.
Morris said the play was a called-quarterback run, but the linebacker did not go with Boyd as he motioned. So Jones checked to the pass.
“That was part of our plan in the first half,” Morris said. “We were going to mix him in with the quarterback run game.”
Morris also addressed the Alabama game plan with easy stuff for Mac Jones, noting it was exactly what was expected.
"We knew they would get the ball into space with their good receivers underneath," Morris said. "We knew we were going to have to be really good to rally to them to get them down."
Could John Stephen Jones be part of the plan next week when the Hogs play host to Mississippi State?
“We will go back and evaluate everything,” Morris said, who then quickly added, “yes.”
On Starkel’s four turnovers, Morris said, “He did some good things, but we have to go back and study why we are making bad decisions with the football. I’m sure several of those throws he’d like to have back.”
Starkel completed just 5-of-19 for 58 yards. His best plays were short dumps to Boyd out of the backfield.
Boyd ran 12 times for 50 yards. He caught four passes for 55 yards. The Hogs totaled just 213 yards for the night, their low for the season.
“Credit Alabama,” Morris said. “They are No. 1 for a reason. But we made entirely too many mistakes against a good team. We knew we had to play really well and we gave them 28 points off turnovers. We gave them 17 in four or five minutes. You can’t spot a team 24 points and expect to come back.”
Morris said John Stephen Jones “gave us a spark and allowed us to get into our zone read things. The moment was not too big for him. I’m proud of him.”
Later when the play of Arkansas’ Jones was mentioned by a reporter, Morris said, “He’s very smart and I love the grit and toughness.”
O’Grady said that’s what he expected from the redshirt freshman quarterback.
“He played in big situations in high school,” O’Grady said. “We knew that. He does play with grit.”
O’Grady emphasized that the team needs more than grit. It needs antiseptic play.
“We are frustrated because it’s little mistakes that are hurting us,” O’Grady said. “It’s about executing.
“I didn’t think this Alabama team had a great defense, but they caused four turnovers. That’s the frustrating part.
“What we have to remember is that we have football left and go attack it. We have to find consistency.
“We are going into games that we can win. We have to attack it.”
Morris was asked if he would play more youngsters with bowl eligibility expiring. Unfortunately, the reporter asking the question was off on his math.
“We’ve got two wins,” Morris reminded, taking care not to do the math that there are four games remaining.
“We are going to play to win and we will play young guys if they help us win.”
Specifically, Morris was asked about playing true freshman K.J. Jefferson at quarterback could be in the plan. Jefferson made the trip, but did not play. Morris confirmed that Jefferson “figures into part of the plan as we go.”
With more experienced quarterbacks making mistakes, it may be time to find out more about the youth movement. Jones and Jefferson would be prime candidates to do just that.