Each week throughout the 2019 season I plan to re-watch the previous week's game and chart each pass thrown by an Arkansas quarterback:
Nick Starkel vs. Colorado State
At/Behind LOS: 2/3, 12 yards
1-5 yard throws: 8/12, 58 yards, TD
6-10 yard throws: 4/8, 46 yards
11-15 yard throws: 2/4, 79 yards, TD
16+ yard throws: 4/8, 109 yards, TD
Yards after catch: 123 (O'Grady 55, Burks 25, Knox 13, Woods 13, Harrell 9, Hayden 4, Morris 4)
Interceptable passes: 0
Inaccurate passes: 6 (incomplete to Mike Woods 32 yards downfield, throw was well short and inside; incomplete to Chase Harrell 8 yards downfield, ball was behind his target, but could have been caught; incomplete to Trey Knox 27 yards downfield, overthrown; incomplete to Cheyenne O’Grady 10 yards downfield in end zone, overthrown; incomplete to Treylon Burks 39 yards downfield, overthrown; incomplete to O’Grady on first throw of fourth quarter at line of scrimmage, led him too much)
Throwaways: 1 (through the back of the end zone from the Colorado State 5)
Drops: 2 (Grayson Gunter in end zone; De’Vion Warren 3 yards downfield on third down)
Passes broken up: 3 (De’Vion Warren 32 yards downfield in end zone; Trey Knox 14 yards downfield; Knox 4 yards downfield in end zone in third quarter)
Passes tipped at line of scrimmage: 3
Analysis: Arkansas made it a point to attack Colorado State's cornerbacks considering the Rams played with one safety high quite a bit. That left plenty of 1-on-1 matchups for Razorbacks receivers on the perimeter, and Nick Starkel has enough confidence in his arm and his young playmakers to win those battles. Early on, they did, and Starkel found Treylon Burks and Trey Knox for explosive plays. Starkel finished the day 50 percent on throws 16-plus yards downfield, and we know he wants a couple of those misses back, especially the 25-plus yard balls to Knox and Burks. The pass to Burks would have gone for a touchdown had he not been bumped by a Rams defensive back 5-10 yards into his route. The television broadcast showed Starkel saying to himself, "How did I miss that?" after the pass fell incomplete. Aside from the inaccurate throws, there was little to be disappointed about. Starkel did, though, have three passes tipped at the line of scrimmage, which is a bit odd. One was actually caught by De'Vion Warren for a four-yard gain. He also had a throw batted down in Tuesday's practice. I thought Starkel did a solid job, too, bouncing back from Grayson Gunter's drop in the end zone on a beautifully thrown ball. It hit Gunter in the gut. The placement couldn't have been better. On the next play out of a timeout, he found Chase Harrell for his first touchdown with the Razorbacks on a well-designed play. Starkel's numbers on throws 1-5 yards downfield tell me he and the offensive staff did aim to keep things pretty simple. But they wanted to take shots, too, and that paid off in certain instances. I would probably give Starkel a B or B- grade in this game. Again, he missed a few throws and there was a fumbled handoff for the second consecutive week, so that will need to be cleaned up. His jump throw to Knox in the end zone late in the third quarter was interesting, too. Overall, he led the offense well and Arkansas totaled 520 yards of offense, the top mark in Chad Morris' tenure with the Razorbacks and sixth-best in his head coaching career.
Up-to-date stats - Nick Starkel
At/Behind LOS: 5/6, -7 yards
1-5 yard throws: 12/16, 83 yards, TD
6-10 yard throws: 11/16, 116 yards, TD, INT
11-15 yard throws: 5/10, 121 yards, TD
16+ yard throws: 8/16, 243 yards, TD