ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS FOOTBALL
Arkansas Game Report
Arkansas runs away from Tulsa despite passing woes
Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium | Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas - Arkansas shook off a sluggish start Saturday afternoon and leaned on a dominant defensive effort to pull away from Tulsa, rolling to a 43-12 victory at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
The Razorbacks found themselves trailing 6-0 after the opening quarter as Tulsa managed nothing more than a pair of Marlon Hauck field goals, but Arkansas' defense quickly settled in and completely controlled the remainder of the game. Tulsa finished with just 158 yards of total offense, converted only 1-of-10 third-down attempts, and never found any rhythm against a relentless Razorback front.
Porter Davis' defense spent much of the afternoon in the Tulsa backfield. Quinton Rhodes Jr. paced the pass rush with five tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while David Oke added two tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Charlie Collins chipped in with a forced fumble, a recovery and a half sack as Arkansas consistently collapsed the pocket around quarterback Baylor Hayes.
The exclamation point came midway through the fourth quarter when senior safety Miguel Mitchell stepped in front of a pass and raced 70 yards for a touchdown, turning a comfortable lead into a rout and sending the Fayetteville crowd into celebration.
While the defense dominated, Arkansas continued searching for consistency through the air.
Starter KJ Jackson struggled throughout the afternoon, completing just 4-of-12 passes for 24 yards before AJ Hill entered the game, reportedly due to a nagging knee injury Jackson has been dealing with. Hill immediately provided a spark, completing 3-of-4 passes for 63 yards, including a perfectly placed 35-yard touchdown strike to Sutton Smith that effectively ended Tulsa's hopes midway through the third quarter.
With the passing struggles, Arkansas leaned heavily on its rushing attack. Braylen Russell powered his way to 92 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, Sutton Smith added a rushing touchdown to go along with his receiving score, and the Razorbacks piled up 220 rushing yards while scoring four touchdowns on the ground.
The offensive formula wasn't flashy, but it was efficient. Arkansas converted 7-of-12 third downs, finished a perfect 4-for-4 on red-zone trips, committed no turnovers, and outgained Tulsa 370-275 despite producing only 87 passing yards.
After the game, however, much of the attention centered on the quarterback position.
Silverfield declined multiple opportunities to discuss whether Hill's performance could impact the depth chart going forward.
"I'm not talking about personnel decisions," the Arkansas head coach said. "I'm going to talk about our football team. We won the game, our defense played outstanding football, and our players executed when we needed them to. That's all I've got on that."
Pressed again about Hill's touchdown pass and whether a quarterback competition could be developing, Silverfield simply repeated, "Next question."
For now, Arkansas leaves Week 3 with another comfortable victory, but the questions surrounding its passing game—and who will be under center moving forward—are likely only beginning. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks can take comfort in knowing that if their defense continues performing at this level, it will give them a chance to win regardless of who takes the snaps.
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER
TLSA — Marlon Hauck 51-yard FG, 5:50
TLSA — Marlon Hauck 42-yard FG, 1:02
SECOND QUARTER
ARK — Braylen Russell 1-yard run (Max Gilbert kick), 5:49
ARK — Braylen Russell 8-yard run (Max Gilbert kick), 1:42
ARK — Sutton Smith 4-yard run (Max Gilbert kick), 0:08
THIRD QUARTER
TLSA — Trequan Jones 5-yard run (kick failed), 6:28
ARK — Sutton Smith 35-yard pass from AJ Hill (Sutton Smith 2-point conversion), 1:31
FOURTH QUARTER
ARK — Ty Lockwood 2-yard run (Max Gilbert kick), 5:21
ARK — Miguel Mitchell 70-yard interception return (Max Gilbert kick), 3:17
Arkansas Stat Leaders
Passing
A. Hill – 3/4 63 Yds 1 TD
K. Jackson – 4/12 24 Yds
Rushing
B. Russell – 19 Car 92 Yds 2 TD
K. Jackson – 7 Car 51 Yds
A. Tallons – 3 Car 39 Yds
S. Smith – 11 Car 28 Yds 1 TD
A. Hill – 2 Car 8 Yds
T. Lockwood – 1 Car 2 Yds 1 TD
Receiving
S. Smith – 3 Rec 57 Yds 1 TD
B. Russell – 2 Rec 11 Yds
C. Marshall – 1 Rec 11 Yds
J. Hawkins – 1 Rec 8 Yds
Defense
C. Stoutmire – 6 Tkl
Q. Rhodes Jr. – 5 Tkl 3 TFL 1.5 Sck
B. Lee – 4 Tkl
J. Howse IV – 4 Tkl
C. Harrison – 3 Tkl
L. Roland – 3 Tkl
J. Smith – 3 Tkl
J. Johnson – 3 Tkl
D. Oke – 2 Tkl 2 TFL 2.0 Sck
C. Collins – 2 Tkl 1 TFL 0.5 Sck 1 FF 1 FR
M. Mitchell – 2 Tkl 1 INT 70 INT Yds 1 TD
Tulsa Stat Leaders
Passing
B. Hayes – 9/17 91 Yds 0 TD 1 INT
Rushing
T. Jones – 15 Car 60 Yds 1 TD
O. Singleton Jr. – 1 Car 4 Yds
B. Hayes – 12 Car 2 Yds
Receiving
D. Wells Jr. – 2 Rec 37 Yds
T. Jones – 2 Rec 24 Yds
O. Singleton Jr. – 2 Rec 19 Yds
S. Claxton – 1 Rec 5 Yds
Defense
J. Drew – 11 Tkl
C. Thompson – 10 Tkl 1 TFL
Z. Williams – 9 Tkl 1 TFL
T. Newhouse – 5 Tkl 2 TFL
T. Davis – 4 Tkl 1 TFL
D. Hightower – 4 Tkl
W. Alexander – 4 Tkl 1 TFL
| Team Stats | Tulsa | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 12 | 43 |
| First Downs | 10 | 22 |
| Total Offense | 158 | 307 |
| Total Plays | 46 | 60 |
| Yards Per Play | 3.4 | 5.1 |
| Rushes | Yards | TDs | 29 | 67 | 1 | 44 | 220 | 4 |
| Yards Per Rush | 2.3 | 5.0 |
| Comp | Att | TDs | 9 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 1 |
| Passing Yards | 91 | 87 |
| Yards Per Pass | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| 3rd Down Conv. | 1 | 10 (10%) | 7 | 12 (58%) |
| 4th Down Conv. | 1 | 1 (100%) | 1 | 2 (50%) |
| 2-Point Conv. | 0 | 0 (0%) | 1 | 1 (100%) |
| Red Zone TD | FG | % | 1 | 0 | 100% | 4 | 0 | 100% |
| Turnovers | 2 (-2) | 0 (+2) |
| PR Yards | 25 | 37 |
| KR Yards | 92 | 26 |
| Total Yards | 275 | 370 |
| Punt Average | 42.6 | 45.3 |
| Penalties | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
