FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Disastrous has been a good descriptor of the Arkansas defense for much of 2022, but that could not be further from accurate in what might be the Razorbacks’ most embarrassing loss of the Sam Pittman era.
The Hogs suffered a 21-19 defeat at the hands of Liberty on Saturday, but one would be hard-pressed to guess that was the final score based on the other statistics.
Arkansas out-gained the Flames by 113 yards, ran 16 more plays and time of possession was nearly even. The 21 points and 315 yards allowed by defensive coordinator Barry Odom’s unit were the lowest single-game totals of the season.
“I was proud of our fight, especially our defense in the second half,” head coach Sam Pittman said after the loss.
In the second half alone, the Hogs held the Flames off the scoreboard entirely, limiting them to 79 yards in just over 13 minutes of possession.
Running more blitzes was the key to the Hogs’ second half success, Pittman said. Sixteen Liberty rushing attempts in the frame yielded just 7 yards.
“The blitzes were also a combination of run blitzes where if they had handed the ball off, we’d be in pretty good shape to stop them from running the football,” Pittman said. “I think the kids just responded, to be perfectly honest with you. They played pretty well.”
The defense also stiffened up on third down, nearly halving Liberty’s conversion rate in the first half. The opening 30 minutes saw the chains move five times on nine third downs, compared to 2-6 in the second half.
Arkansas also came up with a fourth down stop in the red zone, shutting down the Flames’ best drive of the half. When KJ Jefferson put the unit in a pinch with his second interception of the day, WR-turned-DB Quincey McAdoo returned the favor on the following play, notching his first career pick in his first outing on the defensive side of the ball.
McAdoo also registered a blocked punt, which bounced out of the end zone for a safety. Between that and his interception, which gave way to a touchdown drive, one could argue the freshman had a hand in 10 of the Razorbacks’ 19 points.
“I come from Clarendon, and we don’t really get people to make it into college, not even just football — just make it into college,” McAdoo said. “It was a dream come true for me, for sure.”
Although McAdoo shined alongside the rest of the defense, the effort was for naught. A Trey Knox touchdown with 71 seconds left in regulation gave the Hogs the chance they needed to level the score, but the officials ruled Jefferson short of the goal line on the two-point play.
The Flames escaped Fayetteville with a narrow victory in a game the Razorbacks were favored to win by two touchdowns. Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze had played three games at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium — one as an Ole Miss assistant and two as a head coach — without a win, but it was with a non-Power Five team that he finally notched his first.
Although the Arkansas defense played easily the best game of its season, it was still outmatched by the independent Liberty.
Now 5-4, the Razorbacks are gearing up for a Top-10 LSU team that sank Alabama in overtime Saturday. If they cannot secure bowl eligibility against the Tigers, they will have to do so against Ole Miss or Missouri.
