For Longhorns, no turning away from future in SEC

FAYETTEVILLE — Sorry, Texas. It’s too late to turn back now.

The Longhorns can’t go back to the Big 12. They’ve been replaced.

And, as they left Fayetteville on a fast plane to Austin, the music blaring should have been courtesy of Carole King.

“It's too late, baby, now it's too late.”

Arkansas showed the Longhorns what life in the SEC is all about. The Razorbacks delivered a complete team performance with a deep, solid defensive line, hard-charging linebackers, flawless offensive line play and smooth cutting backs en route to a 40-21 victory.

It was a physical pounding that wild Razorback linebacker Hayden Henry said Texas will see plenty more as a future SEC member.

“If they are going to enter this conference, this is a good taste of it,” Henry said. “We are not the biggest baddest (in the SEC), but we play hard. This could be a yearly occurrence (for the Longhorns).”

The Hogs averaged 7.1 yards per run while leading in rushing yards, 333 to 138. They put the nail in the coffin with an 8-play, 75-yard scoring drive — all on the ground — that made it 40-14 with 8:27 left.

Texas responded with a 14-play march when the Hogs backed up their defensive backs. It used up 6:01, including 2:31 when the Longhorns needed four plays for the final 1 yard. The first three plays were inside runs that the Razorbacks hammered for lost yardage as the clock ticked away.

The Hogs recovered the onside kick, ran the ball to the Texas 10 and then kneeled on the final two plays to let the final 1:18 run off the clock.

It was the first victory (against three losses) over the Longhorns in Fayetteville since 1981 when the Hogs rolled, 42-11. Texas was No. 1 then and was No. 15 this time in Game 2 of the Steve Sarkisian era.

It gave second-year Arkansas coach Sam Pittman his first home victory over a ranked team and allowed fans to rush the field. It could be that his Hogs jump into the polls, although that’s probably not what he was referencing in some of his most interesting post-game thoughts when asked what’s next.

“What we have to do now is take some pats on the back and get back in here Monday and go get ready for Georgia Southern,” Pittman said. “We did beat the No. 15 team and they just beat somebody last week that was No. 23.”

Later he added, “We have a long way to go, but tonight was a lot of fun.”

It wasn’t fun for the Texas offensive line. Poor Texas freshman center Jake Majors saw three solid nose tackles in what had to be a miserable night. Isaiah Nichols started, John Ridgeway relieved and Taurean Carter came on just before halftime.

All three made plays.

Texas wanted to run the ball, but couldn’t. The Longhorns had almost no running game until the fourth quarter, when backup quarterback Casey Thompson scrambled against a soft defense with the Hogs mindful of a big lead.

Henry made 15 tackles and combined with fellow linebacker Grant Morgan on a fourth-and-1 stop that keyed the second-half surge. Morgan added 13 tackles, but injured his left knee early in the fourth quarter.

Bumper Pool, who sat out the first half because of a targeting call against Rice, added 10 tackles.

“I didn’t think they could block Bumper, Grant or me,” Henry said. “We were making plays like crazy.”

Conversely, center Ricky Stromberg led an Arkansas offensive line that did not give up a sack and kept the Texas linebackers off balance as the ball carriers executed the proper reads in the Kendal Briles offense.

Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson made only one mistake, a bad read on a seam pass that was intercepted in the third quarter with the Hogs up 16-0. The Longhorns cashed that mistake with a 26-yard TD march.

But Jefferson was superb the rest of the way, including the next possession, an antiseptic 6-play, 81-yard TD march. There were three big plays in the middle, with sophomore running back Dominique Johnson contributing on each with wonderful plays.

On second-and-11 at the outset, Johnson stepped to the outside to pickup a blitzing safety as Jefferson delivered a strike straight over his head to Tyson Morris for a 45-yard bomb.

Johnson rambled 19 yards on the next play, then on the next, scooped a bad center snap in front of Jefferson and cutback for a 12-yard gain to the Texas 6. Senior Trelon Smith needed two more runs to get the touchdown, the last over the top from the 1-yard line.

That was where the Hogs turned it over to their youngsters, including Johnson, a tight end for a few days in August camp. True freshman Raheim "Rocket" Sanders and AJ Green had fourth-quarter TD sprints of 26 and 30, respectively.

Johnson had a 5-yard run from a rare set with a fullback in the first quarter.

True freshman placekicker Cam Little was perfect on field goals of 24, 24, 44 and 22 yards. One barely cleared the right upright and another bounced off the upright good.

It was one of those nights for the Hogs. Fans didn’t want to leave afterward, despite a plea from the public address announcer. There was also a big banner on the video board suggesting it was time to move the celebration somewhere else.

Jefferson said fans joining them on the field “was awesome.”

Stromberg liked it, too, but probably liked the way the Hogs hammered the Longhorns on the ground better. He was asked if a message was sent.

“We are a physical football team and we are not scared of nothing,” Stromberg said.

The backs, Pittman said, “Were getting their first read, if that was closed, they went to two, then three. They were helping the linemen. That is not easy to do. I was proud of (offensive coordinator) Kendal Briles. He did a heck of a job.”

Pittman credited offensive line coach Cody Kennedy for fine work, noting he was the team’s tight ends coach until June 4.

“We got some hard working kids (in the offensive line), who had caught some heat in the past,” Pittman said. “We had five starters back, plus Beaux Limmer.”

Limmer split time with Ty Clary at right guard. Tight ends Blake Kern and Hudson Henry also helped with the blocking.

Jefferson was solid at quarterback. He completed 14 of 19 for 138 yards. He carried 10 times for 73 yards. That followed an inconsistent performance against Rice in the opener.

There was praise from Pittman for the way Jefferson responded after the interception in the third quarter.

“That was a big answer,” Pittman said. “That was a big deal. He could have went in the tank, but we didn’t. We went right down the field.”

It was just part of an awesome night for the crowd of 74,531. There was never a point the home crowd seemed alarmed at anything the Longhorns could muster.

“We were good on offense, defense and special teams,” Pittman said. “I hope the people of Arkansas when they wake up are excited.

“I feel really blessed. I’ve got such a great staff, players do everything we ask and I love it here. We will lose at some point. I know that.”

There was praise for the defense, especially Hayden Henry. Pittman likes to compare him to the lead character in the movie "The Waterboy."

“He’s Bobby Boucher,” Pittman said. “That’s how he plays, very aggressive. He had a really good camp. He’s playing like we thought. He got his (repaired) shoulders strong. He had a good game.”

Who didn’t? Henry said it was fun glancing at the video board replays on the big runs by the offense.

“I was looking at our offensive line wearing them out,” Henry said. “Ricky (Stromberg) was blocking guys 20 yards down the field.”

As far as what lies ahead, Henry said the Hogs will keep doing what they’ve been doing since Pittman arrived.

“We just go back to work,” Henry said. “We are a blue-collar team. We feel like we have a chip on our shoulder and we go to work.”

Texas will get used to playing that type of teams when they do finally get their full admission to the SEC.

No softies allowed.