FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks have reached the midway point of their season at a crossroads.
Can the University of Arkansas battle back from the adversity beguiling its secondary and short-yardage run game and finish the second half strong? Or will the injury issues and blunted momentum stunt the final six games?
The Razorbacks will start finding that out Saturday at Brigham Young, a fellow top 25 team early this season that has also suffered recent setbacks, in the first meeting between the programs.
One could argue the Razorbacks really should be 4-2 instead of 3-3 because they caused much of their own trouble in a 23-21 loss to Texas A&M. The same held true against Missouri State in Week 3, but the Razorbacks rallied with big plays by Bryce Stephens and Raheim Sanders to cap off a 38-27 win.
Arkansas got off to a 3-0 start with a powerful running game behind a veteran offensive line, with quarterback KJ Jefferson, Sanders and the rest of the runners doing damage to No. 23 Cincinnati, South Carolina and Missouri State.
Yet there were already signs the secondary was headed for a rough patch with the losses of Jalen Catalon and Myles Slusher in the opener and cornerback LaDarrius Bishop in Week 2.
Since then, a handful of other defensive backs have missed time with an assortment of injuries, causing personnel shuffling and different duties for certain players.
Not having Jefferson available against Mississippi State last week following a head injury against Alabama was a setback, but it did afford Malik Hornsby the chance to display his explosiveness in the run and pass game and potentially set up productive days for him down the road.
Coach Sam Pittman likened the current state of team, riding a three-game losing streak, to last year, when the Razorbacks opened 4-0 and reached No. 8 in the country before a shutout loss at No. 2 Georgia touched off a three-game skid.
The lessons learned on what it took to rally and finish with wins in five of the Razorbacks’ last six games could inform the current roster the rest of the way. Having an open date next week will come as a huge blessing to the banged-up Razorbacks.
Now on to the mid-term grades:
Quarterbacks
KJ Jefferson’s passing efficiency and completion percentage are tracking nearly identically to last season versus a similarly difficult schedule. He’s 19th in the country with a 165.11 passer efficiency rating, 41st with 66.1% completions, and his 9.1 yards per attempt and 9-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio are fine.
Jefferson is averaging 3.9 yards per carry, factoring in sacks, and that stat is also hurt by the number of quarterback sneaks he’s run in five games.
Where Jefferson’s performance is lacking from last year is ball security and his accuracy on intermediate passes. Fumbles versus Missouri State and Texas A&M loomed large.
Malik Hornsby proved last week he can move the offense. His accuracy and decision making under pressure are areas he will need to improve.
GRADE B
Running Backs
Raheim Sanders has 695 rushing yards, four 100-yard games and ranks ninth in the FBS with 115.8 rushing yards per game. Sanders is seeing holes and making decisions better this season and breaking tackles with regularity as one of the best lead backs in the country.
The rest of the ball carriers have performed well in limited duty, with the coaches still sorting AJ Green (34 carries, 131 yards, 2 TDs, 3.9 ypc), Rashod Dubinion (25-92, 1, 3.7) and Dominique Johnson (8-43, 0, 5.4), last year’s ace big back.
This group didn’t have much running room on the failed short-yardage runs last week.
Arkansas fans have been spoiled by very low lost fumble numbers from this group, so turnovers by Sanders and Dubinion look out of the ordinary.
GRADE A-minus
Receivers/Tight Ends
Jadon Haselwood has risen to the top for this group while playing through an AC joint injury. He has 27 catches for 364 yards and 2 touchdowns with a couple of highlight-reel grabs. Matt Landers (17-261) got off to a great start, but his targets have dropped in recent games.
Ketron Jackson (8-172, 2) appears to be coming on as Warren Thompson (8-122, 2) has battled through an injury, and the speed of Bryce Stephens (2-59, 1) flashed last week.
Tight end Trey Knox (12-154, 2) got out to a great start, but an ankle injury appeared to slow him for a couple of weeks.
Blocking has been OK to good, and there have been a few notable dropped passes.
Downfield passing could loom large the second half of the season.
GRADE C-plus
Offensive Line
The Razorbacks have a durable starting five that has played through various nicks and bruises with the starting quintet of Luke Jones, Brady Latham, Ricky Stromberg, Beaux Limmer and Dalton Wagner accounting for 99% of the game snaps.
The group had a great start, like the team, but back-side leakage and a missed assignment or two have been bugaboos in recent games. The unit did not have its best blocking day at Mississippi State, even while racking up 242 rushing yards, 483 total yards.
GRADE B-minus
Defensive Line
The sack-fest of the opening three weeks has slowed. Run defense had been strong until Alabama ripped off those three gains of 70-plus yards in the fourth quarter. Then Mississippi State barged forward for 173 rushing yards last week, a high for a Mike Leach team with the Bulldogs.
Zach Williams (3 sacks, 4 hurries) is enjoying a solid senior year, while the addition of Jordan Domineck (20 tackles, 4.5 sacks) and Landon Jackson (17 tackles, 2.5 sacks) has been big. Jashaud Stewart, a starter early in the season, is coming back from injury. The tackles, primarily Eric Gregory, Isaiah Nichols, Terry Hampton and Cam Ball, are largely doing their jobs.
GRADE C-plus
Linebackers
Another season, another year of heavy reps by the top duo of Bumper Pool (60 tackles) and Drew Sanders (59, 6.5 sacks), with periodic help from hard-hitting Chris Paul (20). Sanders’ pass-rushing skills helped the defense feast in the early going, then the Razorbacks struggled to get to Will Rogers last week.
Pool’s sore hip will appreciate the open date next week. Cleaner tackling and some takeaways from this group are musts moving forward.
GRADE B-minus
Secondary
No one could have foreseen the debilitating number of injuries this unit would have to withstand through six games. In addition, pursuit angles, tackling and pass coverage from the safeties and nickel backs have been sub-par virtually throughout the first half of the season.
Defensive captain Simeon Blair is strong with leadership and making calls, but he’s missed tackles and has been challenged in coverage.
Cornerback Dwight McGlothern’s three interceptions have been a highlight. His coverage rating by Pro Football Focus was sterling through five games, but Mississippi State attacked him better than others. Hudson Clark and Malik Chavis have been OK in coverage, shaky in tackling, and both had shots at interceptions last week and did not come down with them. Clark is slightly out of position as a light safety, but defensive coordinator Barry Odom had to have him there last week.
GRADE D
Special Teams
There is a lot to evaluate here, as always, with some pluses, like Bryce Stephens’ game-changing 82-yard punt return touchdown vs. Missouri State, and kickoff man Jake Bates’ strong touchback rate (26 of 33, 78.8%) and his perfectly done onside kick and recovery against Alabama.
Cam Little has made 5 of 7 field-goal attempts and all 22 of his extra -point tries, but his 42-yard miss versus Texas A&M could have been a game-winner.
Punter Max Fletcher has a huge leg and will likely have some great years, but his length and accuracy was running inconsistent and the coaching staff wisely chose to return Reid Bauer to that spot last week.
The coverage units have allowed a few punt and kickoff returns that have impacted field position.
GRADE C-minus
Coaching
Sam Pittman and his staff have done a good job of keeping a positive mentality through the striking amount of adversity. Things would feel a little different if the Hogs were 4-2 with just a two-game losing streak instead of 3-3.
However, that is not the case. Finding ways to patch up and make do with the badly-damaged secondary is the top concern. Then staying on the field with short-yardage conversions and improving red zone success are the glaring issues on the other side of the ball.
Finding a way to win against Brigham Young in Provo, Utah, would be a good way to start regaining confidence and rebuilding the Razorbacks’ psyche after a tough stretch.
GRADE B-minus