Tag: Arkansas Kent State

Everything Sam Pittman said after Arkansas’ victory over Kent State

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman was a bit more intense than usual following the Hogs’ win over Kent State.

Sometimes fans, especially when their favorite team is struggling, dog the media that cover their favorite team for not asking pointed enough questions.

Arkansas’ faithful can’t do that this week, at least.

Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman had to pause more than a few time to measure his words in the post-game press conference after Arkansas’ 28-6 win over Kent State on Saturday. The margin was about half as much as most predicted.

Pittman never became angry, per se, but he was exasperated at points. A combination of the direct questions and his team’s mediocre performance frustrated. To Pittman’s credit, he does not have an antagonistic relationships with Arkansas’ media and he apologized one time Saturday after one of his remarks.

Check out everything Pittman had to say below.

Note: Remarks are edited for clarity and some may be paraphrased.

Good enough: These are Arkansas’ Players of the Game vs Kent State

Offensive numbers? Not so hot. Defensively, though, Arkansas had some stars.

Statistically, Arkansas’ day against Kent State wasn’t what one would call great.

Actually, outside of a couple players, it would be hard to call what the Razorbacks did on the stat sheet in a 28-6 win even good.

A victory is a victory, though, and defensively, the numbers did have some quality. Linebackers Jaheim Thomas and Antonio Grier, both transfers, established themselves as regulars both now and for the future. The Arkansas secondary gave up just 174 yards and no scores. And the defense as a whole, led by the defensive line, logged seven sacks.

They were so good, anyway, that Arkansas’ below-par day offensively could be easily forgiven.

Here are the players the staff at Razorbacks Wire picked as Arkansas’ Players of the Game against the Golden Flashes.

They don’t all have to be pretty: Arkansas beats Kent State in Week 2

What do coaches like to say? On to the next one, right? Arkansas has room for improvement.

Chalk up Arkansas’ win Saturday in Week 2 over Kent State as a victory and move on.

That’s likely for Arkansas fans and possibly even coaches after the Razorbacks’ 28-6 win over the Golden Flashes. Arkansas was favored by more than five touchdowns.

The Hogs’ offense never looked good, but was always just passable enough. Quarterback KJ Jefferson was 13 of 19 passing for 136 yards and two touchdowns, both to wide receiver Andrew Armstrong. AJ Green led Arkansas with 82 yards on 15 carries.

No explosions ever came, though. On offense, anyway.

The Arkansas defense recorded seven sacks on Kent State and limited the Golden Flashes to 26 yards rushing. An impressive stop of KSU four times when the MAC team was inside the Arkansas 2, ended the day midway in the fourth quarter as Arkansas practically milked the final minutes.

Things will have to better in Week 3 for Arkansas if the Hogs want to stay perfect. Brigham Young visits Fayetteville for a night game.

Watch: KJ Jefferson finds Andrew Armstrong for a second touchdown against Kent State

Arkansas opened a big lead in the fourth quarter when Jefferson and Armstrong scored for a second time.

Arkansas’ season is just two games old, but Andrew Armstrong looks like he’s wide receiver No. 1 for the Razorbacks.

A week after leading Arkansas with five catches and 78 yards with a touchdown, Armstrong was the Hogs’ leader again through more than three quarters in Week 2 against Kent State.

Quarterback KJ Jefferson found him for the second time in the end zone early in the fourth quarter to lift Arkansas’ lead to 22 points, 28-6.

On 2nd-and-7 from the Kent State 9, Jefferson rolled to his left and connected with a cutting Armstrong going the same direction . The FCS transfer hauled in his fourth catch and second touchdown of the game.

The quarterback and wideout opened Arkansas’ offensive scoring just before halftime to provide the Razorbacks with a 14-6 lead going into the locker room.

Getting it rolling: Rashod Dubinion’s first touchdown year gives Arkansas two-score lead

The odds of Kent State pulling an upset dropped significantly after Arkansas’ third score.

The air became a bit lighter – finally – inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium after Rashod Dubinion crossed the goal line.

Arkansas’ sophomore running back capped a 12-play, 91-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown to provide the Razorbacks a 21-6 against Kent State midway through the third quarter.

The drive was longer than almost every other Arkansas drive combined, as the first six drives accounted for 112 yards of total offense. Seventy-five of those came on Arkansas’ only other offensive scoring drive to that point.

Quarterback KJ Jefferson set up the score two plays before when, on 3rd-and-6, he found wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa literally on the ground, for a 12-yard gain to put Arkansas on the Kent State 5.

Jefferson also threw the other Arkansas touchdown, a five-yard completion to Andrew Armstrong in the back of the end zone.

Arkansas – Kent State: LIVE Second Half updates, scores and highlights

Arkansas leads 14-6 at halftime over Kent State, follow along for live updates from the second half in Fayetteville.

After the first 30 minutes of action from Fayetteville, Arkansas leads Kent State 14-6.

The Hogs have looked putrid at times on offense and have struggled to move the ball on the ground, once again. AJ Green has 8 carries for 53 yards, but he’s the only Hog in double figures rushing. KJ Jefferson is also only 4-9 for 48 yards and one touchdown through the air.

Credit to Arkansas’ defense, as they’ve stepped up. Antonio Grier had a pick six to get the Hogs on the board and they’ve held the Flashes to only two field goals so far.

Arkansas needs to put it together and get the offense going in the second half, as they’ll get the ball to start.

Follow along below as we give you drive-by-drive and score-by-score updates from all of the second half action between Arkansas and Kent State.

Watch: KJ Jefferson recovers bad snap, fires Arkansas’ first offensive touchdown

How Jefferson pulls off a magic trick nearly every single Arkansas game defies explanation.

Something out of nothing. Lemons out of lemonade. Rabbit out of the hat.

However you want to term it, KJ Jefferson pulled off a bit of much-needed magic for Arkansas late in the second quarter in the Razorbacks’ Week 2 game against Kent State.

With Arkansas’ offense largely struggling in the first half – the Hogs had not scored an offensive touchdown in the first 25 minutes in a game in which they were favored by more than five touchdowns – fans needed some kind of spark. Coach Sam Pittman did, too.

Jefferson led Arkansas’ first substantive drive of the half near the end, marching 75 yards on eight plays and capping it with an unlikely touchdown on third down.

Center Beaux Limmer’s snap to Jefferson out of the shotgun was low and the Hogs quarterback couldn’t immediately corral it. As Kent State closed in around him, Jefferson picked up and slid to his right, ultimately finding wide receiver Andrew Armstrong with no one around him in the back of the end zone for a five-yard touchdown.

The score lifted the Razorbacks’ lead to 14-6, though Arkansas still had just 93 yards of total offense to that point with 2:20 left in the second quarter.

Watch: Arkansas linebacker Antonio Grier scores on a pick-six

Antonio Grier’s first snap as Razorback resulted in an interception return for a touchdown. It also provided Arkansas a lead.

Arkansas linebacker Antonio Grier had not recorded a single stat for the Razorbacks nearly five quarters into the 2023 season.

When a number could finally be tallied for him, it was more than just another number.

Grier, a transfer from South Florida, intercepted Kent State quarterback Mike Alaimo on the first play of the Golden Flashes’ third drive and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.

The score was Arkansas’ first of the game and provided the Hogs a 7-3 lead. Kent State had kicked a field goal on its second drive after Arkansas went three-and-out.

The pick-six was also Arkansas’ second in as many weeks. Freshman linebacker Brad Spence did the same in the team’s opener against Western Carolina.

Grier missed that game because of a quadriceps injury and Week 2 served as his debut in Arkansas uniform. And, in fact, the interception was Grier’s first snap as a Razorback.

Arkansas – Kent State: LIVE First Half updates, scores and highlights

Follow along with us here for drive-by-drive and score-by-score updates from the first half of Arkansas and Kent State.

The Arkansas Razorbacks (1-0) have their first true home game in Fayetteville as they welcome the Kent State (0-1) Golden Flashes to Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

After thrashing Western Carolina 56-13 in their opener last week, the Hogs should be looking at a step up in competition. However, that may not be the case for Kent State as they were blown 56-6 by UCF to open the season.

The Hogs will be without Rocket Sanders (knee), but should have the majority of their starting rotation available in today’s game.

Follow along below as we give you drive-by-drive and score-by-score updates from all of today’s action between Arkansas and Kent State.

Score predictions for Arkansas’ game against Kent State

Arkansas could beat Kent State by even more than it beat Western Carolina.

The Arkansas football team gets its first real home game of the season Saturday against Kent State in Week 2.

It shouldn’t be close.

The crowd on-hand should, however, be larger than it was in Week 1 for Arkansas’ win against Western Carolina in Little Rock. The heat and the quality of the opponent – the Catamounts are FCS – combined with War Memorial Stadium and its lack of appeal, made for a lighter crowd in a blowout.

Kent State isn’t likely to provide competition much more stiff. But Golden Flashes are an FBS school in the Mid-American Conference, at least, so things aren’t guaranteed. Arkansas has lost to a MAC school at home in the last decade, so you never know.

But our staff here at Razorbacks Wire can’t see it happening. Here are our score predictions versus the Golden Flashes.