A mistake by two Arkansas newcomers cost the Razorbacks a touchdown and a tied game Saturday night at Ole Miss.
With about six minutes remaining in the third quarter the Razorbacks lined up for a third-and-10 at the Rebels’ 38-yard line. Quarterback Nick Starkel completed a pass to Trey Knox on a crossing pattern. Knox broke a tackle at the 31 and outran two Ole Miss defenders to the end zone.
The score would have pulled the Razorbacks within an extra point of tying the game at 10-10 with 5:50 to play in the third.
But a flag was thrown on the play for Arkansas tight end Grayson Gunter being an ineligible downfield receiver. Gunter ran a crossing route to his left about eight yards downfield before Starkel threw complete to Knox.
Gunter was lined up on the line of scrimmage to the right of right tackle Dalton Wagner, but was covered up by freshman receiver Treylon Burks, who was on the line of scrimmage to Gunter’s right.
The penalty nullified the touchdown and Arkansas failed to score on the drive when running back Rakeem Boyd was stopped for a 1-yard gain on fourth-and-2.
“Things like that put you in a hole,” Starkel said. “We talk about staying in front of the chains because if you’re playing behind the chains the chances of scoring and getting first downs go down. We know that and we know how bad penalties can hurt us on offense and we’ve got to correct that.”
Ole Miss scored on its next possession to go ahead 17-3 and the Razorbacks never really threatened the rest of the game.
“There are times that happens and it’s all about the response,” Arkansas coach Chad Morris said of the overturned touchdown following the game. “I thought we had a great call right there and you play a lot of young guys, mistakes are going to happen.
“It’s growing pains, but it’s all about a response.”
Had Burks stepped back off the line of scrimmage, Gunter would have been eligible and the touchdown would have stood. SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers, a former quarterback at Vanderbilt, laid some of the fault for the penalty at the feet of Starkel.
“A veteran quarterback in there has got to see that,” Rodgers said. “You’ve got to look right and left and make sure your formation is correct.”
Rodgers added that one of the reasons Morris was comfortable with starting Ben Hicks was that Hicks was able to identify pre-snap inaccuracies with the offensive formation. In fact, when Arkansas had no pre-snap penalties in the season opener against Portland State, Morris said Hicks was a primary reason why.
The penalty came during a bizarre series of plays for the Razorbacks.
Facing a first-and-10 from the Ole Miss 38, Starkel threw a short pass left to Mike Woods that was supposed to be the first in a double pass, but Starkel threw the pass beyond the line of scrimmage which would have made a second forward pass illegal.
Woods dropped back to pass but couldn’t find a receiver downfield. He compounded the problem by running backward and was tackled on the Arkansas side of the field for a 14-yard loss.
After the game Morris said Starkel threw to the wrong side of the field on the play - that his pass was supposed to go to the receiver lined up on the right side instead of the left side.
The Razorbacks got the lost yardage back on the next play on a 14-yard swing pass to running back Devwah Whaley.
Following the penalty that overturned the touchdown, Starkel threw over the middle to tight end C.J. O’Grady, who appeared to have a first down. Ole Miss defensive back Jalen Julius was flagged for targeting on the play, but it was overturned on replay review. The replay also showed that O’Grady’s knee was down short of the first down line.
Boyd ran into the teeth of the Ole Miss defense on the next play and the Razorbacks turned the ball over on downs. The Rebels scored in eight plays to increase their lead.
“In that third quarter, we had some missed opportunities there,” Morris said. “I thought (O’Grady) was close. They review everything and they thought that was the right call, and it was. It was fourth down and I felt like we had to keep moving and see if we couldn’t grab the momentum and keep it with us.”
Knox summed up the series of plays succinctly.
“We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” Knox said. “Once we get those right I think we’ll be rolling.”