FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- For the third straight week, the Arkansas Razorbacks found themselves in the loss column, this time with a 40-17 blowout loss at Mississippi State.
A lack of ability to get into the end zone, despite accumulating over 450 yards of offense on the day, was coupled with another lackluster showing defensively.
Here are the answers to the five biggest questions HawgBeat asked earlier this week ahead of the game:
1. Who gets the nod at quarterback for Arkansas?
Walk-on transfer Cade Fortin led the team during the first drive of the game, but after an inability to move the ball, the Hogs turned to Malik Hornsby, who took hold of the opportunity he was given.
Hornsby went 8-for-17, throwing for 234 yards and a touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed for 114 yards, including a 52-yard run on the first play he was in on, the longest by a quarterback at Arkansas since Matt Jones in 2004.
Pittman said after the game Fortin had won the starting job during practice last week, but they turned to Hornsby, who gave them a spark.
2. Can the Arkansas pass defense slow down the air attack of Mississippi State?
The Arkansas secondary once again struggled to stop the pass, as Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers threw for 395 yards and three touchdowns on 31 completions.
Safety Myles Slusher did not play in the game, which left an already-depleted secondary even more razor thin. Nickel Jayden Johnson also went down during the game, leading to backup Trent Gordon playing significant snaps.
3. How will the Hogs offensive line handle the Bulldogs blitz packages?
Mississippi State did bring pressure for most of the game, but by and large the offensive line handled it well. The group only allowed two sacks and four tackles for loss.
Some of Hornsby's best plays in the game came when he had a clean pocket. In the third quarter, he dropped a 54-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Stephens mostly because of the time the line gave him to survey the field.
4. Will Bumper Pool break the Arkansas tackles record this weekend?
In the third quarter of the game, Bumper Pool collected his 409th tackle of his career at Arkansas, passing Tony Bua for the most all-time in school history. He finished the game with 14 total tackles.
"His whole reasoning to come back to the team this year was to help the football team and set the tackle record," head coach Sam Pittman said after the game. "And he did it. I think that’s pretty cool. I just wish we would’ve won the game for him, to be honest with you."
Pool said after the game that he has been dealing with a hip injury this season, too, and it has made things difficult for him.
"I've been battling with an injury in my hip, and just having to fight every single day to make sure that you put your best foot forward for your teammates, it's never easy, especially when you lose," Pool said. "But I've just tried my best to make sure that I can give them everything I have no matter how I'm feeling."
5. Is Ketron Jackson the guy who steps up at receiver for Arkansas?
Coming into the game Jackson had the hot hand, catching two touchdowns in as many games, but his impact was not felt in Saturday's contest. The second-year receiver had one catch, a 21-yard reception in the second quarter that set up a field goal.
The loss of Arkansas starting quarterback KJ Jefferson may have something to do with that, though. Jackson only had one reception, but there were only 10 completions altogether Saturday.
Pittman said Jefferson will likely be back by next week, so it's still possible Jackson is able to get more looks when the starting signal caller returns.
- 100%
- DUAL
- ATH
- WR
- S
- SDE
- ILB
- WR
- ATH
- SDE
- OT
