FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- With 5:49 left in Saturday's contest against Cincinnati, the Hogs had the ball and a one-possession lead. The defense had given up 24 points in the second half, and the Cincinnati offense was looking to get the ball back to tie it up.
The Bearcats would not, however, because of the play of Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson. He converted two critical third down plays, one of those on 3rd-and-9, to salt away the remainder of the game.
Head coach Sam Pittman said following the game he expects Jefferson to make big plays when it counts.
"I think that’s just what he does," Pittman said. "It seems like he’s done that. It seems like he just does it. They had him dead to rights and he...first down. It seems to me, like when the game gets a little tighter, a little closer, a little where he’s got to take over the game, he has that knack to do it."
Jefferson finished Saturday's game 18-26 for 223 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also had a rushing touchdown and 62 yards on the ground. 14 of those rushing yards came on that 3rd-and-9 play, when Jefferson saw an opening on the right side of the field and took off running to convert.
Pittman said even while facing adversity, when Jefferson may not be playing well, he comes through as his name is called.
"He went through a stretch there where he didn’t throw the ball well," Pittman said. "He threw some high, threw some low. Had a back out there and probably could have completed it for 15 yards and he caught it, fell down because the pass wasn’t good. But it seemed to me like most every time we need him to win the game, he makes some kind of play. LSU last year, cover zero, he makes some kind of play and we win the game. I’m glad he’s on our team."
Jefferson has shown since last season that he has the clutch gene, making numerous plays when it matters. In fact, throughout the first quarter of Saturday's contest, Jefferson accounted for 75 of the offenses 80 total yards.
Arkansas tight end Trey Knox, who has been with Jefferson since they both arrived in the class of 2019, said Jefferson knows how to make a play because he's made them before.
"Just that experience, man," Knox said postgame. "He’s been in situations before and he knows how to handle himself and handle the whole offense."
Jefferson said they practice situations like the one at the end of the game, so when it came time to execute, he knew what to do.
"We practice those scenarios, coach Pittman puts us in different scenarios like that," Jefferson said. "So just being able to…everybody transition their mindset to four minute mode, two minute mode. Just being able to just try to seal the win, kill a lot of clock and just make sure to get first downs. That’s the main thing to get first downs. Their coach called a timeout, so just try to hurry up and burn their timeouts so we just win the game."
No. 19 Arkansas (1-0) is scheduled to play South Carolina (1-0) in the SEC opener this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. inside of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium and the game will air on ESPN.
