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FAYETTEVILLE — On senior day, only one former Arkansas signee enjoyed his final game inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Ty Storey accounted for 290 yards and three touchdowns in Western Kentucky’s 45-19 win over the Razorbacks. The Hilltoppers dominated from the start, scoring on all five of their drives and leading 35-7 at halftime.
The loss drops Arkansas to 2-8 overall and makes a second straight 2-10 season much more likely with games against No. 1 LSU and Missouri looming after an open date. It was also the Razorbacks’ fourth loss to a Group of Five team during head coach Chad Morris’ two-year tenure and their eighth since 2012.
After going 0-9 as a starting quarterback for his home state school, Storey took advantage of the graduate transfer rule and decided to finish up his career at Western Kentucky. Returning to Fayetteville with his new team, the Charleston native completed 22 of 32 passes for 213 yards and one touchdowns and added 77 yards and two more scores on 17 carries.
He was the leader of an offense that piled up 478 yards. That included 265 yards on the ground, despite the Hilltoppers coming into the weekend with a rushing attack ranked 122nd in the FBS at 107.6 yards per game.
On the flip side, the Razorbacks went back and forth between John Stephen Jones and KJ Jefferson at quarterback and managed only 340 yards - with 162 coming on two plays.
Jones, a redshirt freshman, made his first career start and threw an interception on the game’s opening drive. Western Kentucky needed only nine plays, including a pair of fourth-down conversions by Storey (one through the air and one on the ground), to cover 42 yards. A 19-yard run by Jacquez Sloan on a reverse got the Hilltoppers on the board.
The Razorbacks actually answered quickly thanks to a 76-yard run by Rakeem Boyd. It was Arkansas’ longest play of the year, topping his 74-yard score at Kentucky last month.
However, it wouldn’t lead to any momentum. Western Kentucky proceeded to convert three third downs on a 12-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown run by Storey and never look back.
After a pair of three-and-out by Arkansas’ offense, Storey plunged into the end zone from 1 yard out to complete a 16-play, 59 yard drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock and then connected with Jahcour Pearson on a 69-yard bomb.
With the Razorbacks trailing 28-7, head coach Chad Morris finally inserted Jefferson on the fifth possession of the game. He managed to pick up a first down with his legs before Arkansas was forced to punt again.
Just before halftime, the Hilltoppers tacked on another score with a 1-yard run by Gaej Walker. It was set up by a nice 26-yard throw and catch from Storey to Lucky Jackson.
On its five first-half possessions, Western Kentucky was 7 of 12 on third down. The five times it failed to convert, it moved the chains on the ensuring fourth down play, going 5 of 5 on fourth down.
It wasn’t until the second half that Arkansas finally got the Hilltoppers off the field, forcing a three-and-out. Jones took the field on the Razorbacks’ first possession of the half, but threw three straight incompletions.
Western Kentucky got down to the 1-yard line again on a 22-yard run by Storey, but the defense put together a goal line stand and limited it to a 19-yard field goal by Cory Munson.
Despite it being announced at the beginning of the half that he had a shoulder injury and his return was questionable, Jefferson took the field the next time out and finished the game at quarterback. He seemingly threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Treylon Burks, but it was wiped out by a Myron Cunningham holding penalty and the Razorbacks eventually turned it over on downs.
The Razorbacks did score early in the fourth quarter when Boyd broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run, surpassing his earlier run for Arkansas’ longest of the season. He finished the game with 185 yards on eight carries and eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark.
Western Kentucky, meanwhile, added a pick-six when Jefferson’s short pass went through Burks’ hands and into the arms of Devon Key, who returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.
The young quarterback responded by leading a nine-play, 70-yard drive on Arkansas’ next possession. He had a 20-yard pass to Burks and also capped it with a 2-yard run, giving him his second career rushing touchdown.
Jefferson completed 6 of 15 passes for 60 yards and added 32 yards on 16 carries, while Jones was just 3 of 10 passing for 27 yards and had only five yards on two carries.
After an open week, Arkansas hits the road to play No. 1 LSU - which is 8-0 heading into Saturday’s matchup with No. 2 Alabama. The kickoff time and television information for that game has not yet been announced.