Injuries hamstring Hogs in loss to Rebels
The Arkansas Razorbacks came tantalizingly close to getting their first SEC victory of the season last Saturday against Ole Miss.
But the Razorbacks’ top two running backs went down, their starting quarterback was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter, and the Rebels added insult to injuries by scoring 13 fourth-quarter points to erase a nine-point deficit and escape with a 37-33 victory.
Ole Miss scored touchdowns on four of its final five possessions.
“We just didn’t make the plays to get it done,” Arkansas coach Chad Morris said. “…We needed one stop, we needed one touchdown, and we were unable to do it.”
Arkansas (1-6, 0-4 SEC) takes a break from conference play this week to host Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane are 1-5 but nearly upset undefeated
South Florida last week before losing 25-24 on a late field goal.
Arkansas’ offense has scored a combined 64 points the past two weeks, but Morris wants to see more from the Razorbacks’ passing game, especially downfield.
“We have got to be able to get the deep passing game going,” he said. “We want to average three shots downfield per quarter, and we’re not there right now. To put this offense on track, we have to get more into that.”
Junior quarterback Ty Storey, who completed 12 of 16 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown against Ole Miss, is in concussion protocol and his status for the Tulsa game is unclear.
“We’ll know more on Ty today and where we’re at with him, and from there we’ll just re-evaluate it and see how it goes,” Morris said Monday.
Sophomore running back Rakeem Boyd, who has emerged as Arkansas’ most consistent offensive weapon, left the Ole Miss game early in the second quarter with what appeared to be a back or tailbone injury. He is expected to return for the Tulsa game.
Boyd ran seven times for 109 yards in just over a quarter against Ole Miss — including a 69-yard touchdown run. He also had a 38-yard reception.