Hogs beat BYU behind Jefferson's 5 TDs

Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson throws during a game against BYU on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in Provo, Utah.

Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson passed for a career-high five touchdowns and the Razorbacks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 52-35 victory at BYU on Saturday. 

Jefferson became the second Arkansas quarterback to throw five touchdowns on the road, and the first since Brandon Allen threw six touchdowns at Ole Miss in 2015. 

Playing his first game since Oct. 1 against Alabama, Jefferson completed 29 of 40 passes for 367 yards, and rushed 10 times for 32 yards. He was held out of last week’s game at Mississippi State after he injured his head late in the Alabama game.

Jefferson also left the BYU game with less than three minutes remaining, but he and Arkansas coach Sam Pittman later said it was a stinger to his neck and he would be OK.

"Our quarterback played a hell of a game," Pittman said on the Razorback Sports Network post-game show.

"Their safety played awful deep. He didn't want to get beat deep. KJ was just on. The receivers did a great job of catching contested balls."

Arkansas (4-3) racked up 644 yards on offense, including 373 yards in the first half. The Razorbacks led 31-21 at halftime. 

The 644 yards were the ninth most in a game by Arkansas. BYU (4-3) entered the game allowing an average of 364.5 yards defensively. 

"The sun was shining on us today," Jefferson told RSN. "The offensive staff put together a great plan for us...that we (were) able to execute at a very high level."

Arkansas running back Raheim Sanders rushed 15 times for a career-high 175 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 64-yard score with 14:25 remaining to give the Razorbacks a 52-35 lead. 

It was Sanders’ fifth 100-yard rushing performance this season, but first away from home. He leads the SEC with 870 rushing yards through seven games. 

Arkansas pulled away in what was a back-and-forth game for most of three quarters. The teams traded leads three times in the second quarter, and BYU pulled to within three points twice after halftime. 

Puka Nacua’s 3-yard touchdown catch cut Arkansas’ lead to 31-28 early in the third quarter, but the Razorbacks responded with a 2-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson to Matt Landers to go ahead 38-28. 

It was the second of three touchdown receptions for Landers, a transfer from Toledo who had 99 yards on eight receptions. Landers tied the program record for touchdown receptions in a single game, which had been set six times previously. 

"He hadn't had a touchdown all year," Pittman said, "and for him to score three, that was incredible.

"I just really felt so happy for him and validated him getting in the portal and coming to us."

The Cougars cut into the lead again on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Jaren Hall to Nacua with 5:11 left in the third quarter. The 10-play, 75-yard drive left Arkansas ahead 38-35. 

BYU could get no closer. Landers’ 5-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter put the Razorbacks ahead 45-35, and Arkansas forced a punt and cornerback Hudson Clark recovered a fumble on consecutive BYU drives early in the fourth quarter. The fumble was forced by linebacker Drew Sanders. 

Clark, who led the team with 11 tackles, also intercepted a pass in the second quarter. The Razorbacks forced three turnovers. 

Hall was 26-of-41 passing for 356 yards for the Cougars, who had 471 yards on offense. Hall had touchdown passes of 4 yards to Isaac Rex and 21 yards to Kody Epps in the first quarter as BYU built a 13-7 lead. 

The Razorbacks scored 24 points in the second quarter. Jefferson’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Trey Knox early in the quarter was his first of the game and gave Arkansas a 14-13 lead. 

BYU answered with a 7-play, 75-yard drive that was capped on Nacua’s 5-yard touchdown run. Nacua had 161 yards from scrimmage, including 141 receiving yards.  

Cam Little kicked a 34-yard field goal to pull the Razorbacks to within 21-17 with 6:46 left in the second quarter, and Arkansas went ahead 24-21 when Jefferson found Landers for a 4-yard touchdown with 3:39 remaining in the half.

Following Clark’s interception, Jefferson threw a 15-yard touchdown to running back Rashod Dubinon on a third-and-3 wheel route with 40 seconds to play before halftime, giving the Razorbacks a 31-21 lead. Arkansas converted 12 of 15 third-down attempts. 

"Third down specifically, that's got to be better," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said on the BYU Radio Network.

The Razorbacks were also 6 of 7 and scored five touchdowns in the red zone. Arkansas entered the game successful in 73.1% of its red-zone possessions this season, which ranked 117th nationally.

Jefferson became the fourth Arkansas quarterback to throw at least five touchdowns in a game. Ryan Mallett did it 4 times from 2009-10; Allen did it twice in 2015, including a school-record 7 touchdowns against Mississippi State; and Tyler Wilson had a 5-touchdown game against Kentucky in 2012.

For the second consecutive season, Arkansas snapped a three-game losing streak in the final game before its bye week. The Razorbacks are not scheduled to play again until Oct. 29 at Auburn.

"We're identical to where we were a year ago, and we've just got to go on a run," Pittman said. "I think the kids believe that we can."

The BYU game ended a grueling seven-week stretch for Arkansas that included five games against teams that have been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this season. The unranked Cougars were ranked 16th before a 28-20 loss to Notre Dame last week in Las Vegas. 

Saturday’s game was the first between Arkansas and BYU, and the Razorbacks’ first game played in the state of Utah. The Cougars are scheduled to play in Fayetteville next season in the final contracted game between the teams.