Arkansas football has had its share of head-scratching losses this season.
The Razorbacks’ 29-27 loss at Missouri on Friday might top the list. With the loss, Arkansas fell to 6-6 overall and damaged its hopes to play in a more preferred bowl game.
The same offense that put up 35 points on then-No. 14 Ole Miss in one half last week could not gain any traction in the second half against the Tigers. In the final two quarters, the Razorbacks ran 27 plays and totaled 88 yards.
It was a disappointing and clunky finish to a frustrating regular season.
The Razorbacks went into halftime on a roll, scoring touchdowns on a pair of lengthy drives of 12 and 11 plays, both for 75 yards. They did not have a series that netted more than 51 yards in the second half.
Their only points after the break came from kicker Cam Little, who hit field goals of 46 and 20 yards.
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman had a simple explanation for the lackluster performance on the offensive side of the ball: The unit got pushed around.
The Razorbacks went three-and-out on 4 of 12 possessions.
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"They whipped our butt. That's what happened,” Pittman said. “They whipped us. They physically dominated us. They did it in the run game, and they did it in the protection game. I don't know how else to say it.
“We got dominated physically is what happened.”
Missouri finished the game with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss. The sacks cost the Razorbacks 36 yards, and all of the lost-yardage plays were worth 70 lost yards.
The Tigers’ seven sacks were their most in a game this season. Missouri’s previous single-game high was five on Nov. 5 against Kentucky.
It was the Tigers' most sacks in a game since the 2021 season opener against Central Michigan (9).
Arkansas finished with 318 yards of offense, including a season-low 113 yards on the ground. It was the third time in four weeks the Razorbacks set a low for rushing yards in a game, and the third time this season they did not reach 150 yards.
No Razorback tallied more than 47 yards rushing. Quarterback KJ Jefferson had 38 yards and 1 touchdown on 19 carries, and star running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders was held to a season-low 47 yards on a stunning 10 rush attempts.
Sanders entered the game needing less than 100 yards to secure the SEC’s regular-season rushing title. He got nine fewer carries than what he averaged through 11 games.
His previous low in carries was 12 two weeks ago against LSU. Asked about Sanders’ carries, Pittman said Arkansas was “getting smashed in the run game” and trying to find its way.
“And sometimes those are run-pass options,” he added. “It might be called a run or pass, but we were physically getting handled in the run game. We felt like we needed to throw it a little bit.
“There were spurts in there where we hit Matt (Landers) and some things and the run-pass combination was working.”
The Razorbacks, as an offense, closed the month of November with 725 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on 169 carries. They ran for 975 yards in September and 981 in October.
Arkansas had nine rushing scores in each of the first two months of the season, as well.
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Sanders’ carries total was unexpected, as was the Razorbacks’ team rushing total. But most surprising was the carry that tight end Trey Knox got with Arkansas in a goal-to-go situation with a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter.
Knox began the second-and-goal from the 2-yard line on the right side of the formation, motioned to the middle of the line then took a snap from under center Ricky Stromberg for what was essentially a quarterback sneak. The play went for no gain.
“That one there, we should have went to something else,” Pittman said. “It just wasn't there. It was as surprise thing we felt like we could sneak it in.
“But it just wasn't there.”
On the next snap, Jefferson threw incomplete for receiver Ketron Jackson in the end zone. Little then came on for a 20-yard field goal to trim Arkansas’ deficit to 29-27.
But the Razorbacks never threatened again offensively.
For a group that prides itself on toughness and wants to be able to pick up a few yards whenever needed by imposing its will, it was among the lowlights of the season not punching the football in for six points late. Moments such as that happened far too often this season.
It is how 6-6 seasons are made.