OXFORD, Miss. — Much of the post-game interview centered around whether or not Nick Starkel overtook Ben Hicks with a strong second half in the battle to become the starting quarterback.
No matter the outcome, what became obvious in a 31-17 loss to Ole Miss is that the quarterbacks are going to go only as fast as a young wide receiver group allows.
It gave the Hogs their 12th straight SEC loss since winning at Ole Miss in 2017.
Starkel provided an obvious second half spark with his on-time release and quick decisions on where to take the ball. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 201 yards in his two quarters of work in relief of Hicks.
But, on one of his moments of brilliance, a 38-yard touchdown pass to true freshman wide receiver Trey Knox, it was the mistake by another true freshman that kept those points off the scoreboard.
True freshman Treylon Burks - brilliant on two punt returns - lined up on the line of scrimmage on the right side of the line, covering tight end Grayson Gunter. That made Gunter an ineligible receiver down field, wiping out the touchdown pass.
That play loomed large two plays later when the Hogs came up empty on a fourth-and-2 play. Rakeem Boyd was stopped about 1 foot short.
"We learn as we go," said Chad Morris, the second-year Arkansas coach who is now 0-9 in the SEC.
What he pounded on as he talked to his team and in the media room is that they learn from last year's mistake after losing in the second game at Colorado State.
"It's about response," Morris said. "Last year, we let our first loss beat us twice."
The Hogs were thumped by North Texas the week after losing to the Rams, the opponent next week in Fayetteville.
It was one step forward, one step back for UA freshmen against Ole Miss. Four started and 12 more played. Burks wasn't on the field for the opening play because two tight ends started, but he played starter snaps.
Ricky Stromberg started at left guard with Austin Capps injured. On defense, true freshmen Mataio Soli started at end and Greg Brooks at nickel. True freshman Zach Williams also logged a lot of minutes at defensive ends.
Brooks missed tackles in the open field, but also had some pass breakups. Williams had a face mask penalty and was credited with four tackles.
Morris wasn't picking on the heralded freshman class when he recalled the team's "many mistakes." But he was right in his assessment that it's almost impossible to "win in the SEC" with so many.
There were plenty by both quarterbacks, including Starkel. The Texas A&M transfer threw the wrong way on one of the handful of trick plays, what was supposed to be a double pass.
"He threw it left when it was supposed to go right," Morris said on the play that Mike Woods had to eat for a 14-yard loss.
The Hogs had chances even after the Knox touchdown was wiped out. Kamren Curl's 69-yard fumble return after he made the strip cut the Ole Miss lead to 17-10 with 13:31 left in the fourth quarter.
That's when the Rebels scored on back-to-back possessions, taking advantage of a Jarques McClellion pass interference penalty to keep alive the first drive.
Sophomore Bumper Pool, the Hogs' leading tackler with nine, started that first possession with a tackle for a 2-yard loss. That was the last real defensive stop by the Hogs before the Rebels were coasting, ahead 31-10.
"We had the momentum and even if you have a penalty, you have to maintain the momentum," Pool said. "We did get some big plays (on Curl's strip). We just didn't execute after that."
Morris wouldn't name Starkel as the starter for next week's Colorado State game, but did praise his play.
"He provided a spark," Morris said. "He threw it well. The ball comes out of his hand."
Knox was more descriptive when he said Starkel's passes "rip through the air."
Starkel said his quick throws were all part of his plan when he was inserted at halftime.
"I told the receivers, 'I'm going to get you the ball,'" Starkel said. "I told them I'm not going to sit back there with it.
"I'm going to get the ball out quick and give them a chance to get things going."
And, that's what he did. As far as playing just two possessions in the opener and sitting out the first half, Starkel said, "I just need a crumb. That's all I've been saying."
Starkel emphasized that the culture of this team is different. Although he wasn't on the team last year, he said, "We aren't going to let this go over into next week. What happened last year isn't happening this week."
The Razorbacks made only six first downs in the first half. They lacked consistency in both the run and pass games. There was a sprinkle of new with five snaps out of the Wildcat formation, but that provided no spark.
In fact, the five Wildcat plays netted a minus-8 yards in the first half. There was a handoff from Boyd to De’Vion Warren and back to Hicks – a wideout on the play – that went for an 8-yard sack.
The only points of the half came on Connor Limpert’s 36-yard field goal that banged off the right upright and then down just over the bar. That came with 8:19 left in the second quarter to cut the Ole Miss lead to 7-3.
Those Arkansas points came on a flip of field position when Burks returned a punt 15 yards, then the Rebels gave them 15 more when the punter tried to take out his blockers with a dive below the waist.
Hicks stepped up in the pocket under pressure to find Woods alone in the middle of the field for a 30-yard play for the big play in the seven-play, 36-yard drive to setup Limpert’s field goal.
Ole Miss marched to the Arkansas 9-yard line but lost yardage on first-and-goal from there. There was a holding penalty and a pair of no-gain plays before Luke Logan converted a 33-yard field goal with 2:24 left in the half for a 10-3 lead.
The Hogs did threaten before the half, but Limpert was wide right on a 43-yard field goal try with 50 seconds left in the second quarter. Hicks stepped up from the rush and fired just before he crossed the line of scrimmage for a 49-yard pass to Knox for the big play on the drive. Ole Miss defensive back Jaylon Jones was with Knox and came up empty when he flashed in front for a possible interception.
Ole Miss led in total yards in the first half, 240-137. The Hogs made just 38 yards on 15 running plays before halftime.
Offensive line play was lackluster for both sides, but the Rebels did better in pass protection.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Corral led the Rebels with 16 of 24 passing for 246 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 10 times for 46 yards, absorbing 14 yards in losses.
Hicks was just 7 of 16 for 98 yards. There were two drops, one each by Woods and Knox.
Tight end Cheyenne O’Grady returned to the lineup after missing the opener and had one catch in the first half. O’Grady was targeted on a wheel route on the play ahead of Limpert’s successful field goal, but the Ole Miss safety grabbed him in desperation as the Hicks pass sailed over head. It was one of the few questionable calls missed by the SEC crew led by referee Matt Loeffler.
With Starkel starting the second half, the Hogs seem to find some answers in the passing game. Starkel threw on rhythm much better than Hicks.
The first drive of the third quarter fizzled because of an illegal formation penalty. It was the same type penalty that would later wipe out Starkel's touchdown pass to Knox.
The Hogs got the ball back when Corral was stripped lunging toward the stake on a fourth-and-1 play. Pool caused the fumble with Joe Foucha recovering. The following possession ended on the fourth-and-2 run by Boyd. There were all sorts of strange plays in between.
There was the double pass play that blew up when Woods decided that Starkel's first throw was not backward. Woods scrambled backward before losing 14 yards. Starkel erased that with a 14-yard pass to Devwah Whaley. Then, he hit Knox for what looked like a touchdown.
On the following third-and-16 play, he found O'Grady for 14 yards. That play at first looked like it was good for the first down and a targeting penalty. Ultimately, the review wiped out the targeting and found O'Grady's knee down two yards short.
Boyd looked like he had room for the first down on a dive play, but he crashed straight into the only Ole Miss player in the hole.
The Rebels took control of the game briefly with an eight-play, 71-yard touchdown march for a 17-3 lead at the 2:34 mark of the third quarter. Most of it was on the ground, including a 21-yard dash by Scottie Phillips to the 1-yard line. Phillips went over on the next play.
The Rebels were rolling again when Curl changed the momentum with the fumble return touchdown. Curl stumbled through two tackles in the final 30 yards on his amazing run after Octavious Cooley lost the ball on a pass and lateral play.
Ole Miss answered with a five-play, 74-yard drive. The Rebels took advantage of a pass interference penalty that erased a third-and-2 incomplete pass.
Corral converted third-and-5 on a pass to slotback Elijah Moore for the final 46 yards. Moore beat Brooks, the nickel back, off the inside move than made Foucha miss in the open field. It was 24-10 with 11:09 to play.
The Hogs did not have an answer. Starkel found O'Grady for 25 yards, but right tackle Dalton Wagner was called for a false start and then gave up a sack on third down.
The Rebels went to the ground to take time off the clock against a tiring Arkansas defense. They ran it five straight times between the tackles on a 66-yard touchdown drive. It was 31-14 at 6:03 of the fourth. Snoop Connor powered through two defenders on a 25-yard rumble. Phillips followed with an almost identical 26-yard TD run.
The Hogs finished the scoring with 1:21 left when Starkel led a six-play, 81-yard march. He found Koilan Jackson for a 6-yard fade for the touchdown.