University of Arkansas senior Ja’Quinden Jackson gave the running game a nice boost with his return against Texas on Saturday.
Jackson, a senior running back who missed the previous two games against Mississippi State and Ole Miss with a nagging ankle injury, played off the bench and had 11 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown in the Longhorns’ 20-10 victory over Arkansas at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
“In all honesty, probably should have got him in there more,” Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said. “I just didn’t want to start him because he had been out for three or four weeks.
“Other than that, there were no limitations on how much we played him. I do think he got into a nice rhythm. … He ran extremely hard.”
Jackson had five carries for 25 yards, including a 12-yard run, on a 75-yard touchdown drive that pulled the Razorbacks within 13-7 with 3:39 left in the third quarter. He capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green said the offense benefits from the energy Jackson brings with his running style.
“You know, it’s aggressive,” Green said. “When he carries people on his back or runs through somebody, just that type of energy rubs off not only to myself, but the whole offense to the O-line, to the tight ends, to the receivers. So it was a big help.”
Arkansas junior Rashod Dubinion started at running back and had seven carries for 30 yards.
Freshman running back Braylen Russell didn’t play for the Razorbacks.
“He could go, but he wasn’t full speed this week,” Pittman said. “So we played the healthy ones.”
Jackson, a transfer from Utah, has 115 carries for 648 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season.
DB shakeup
As expected, the Razorbacks had a significant shakeup in their defensive backfield with only two starters from the last game, safety Jayden Johnson and nickel back Doneiko Slaughter, in the opening lineup.
Defensive coordinator Travis Williams and defensive backs coaches Marcus Woodson and Deron Wilson went with Hudson Clark and Kee’yon Stewart at cornerback, Johnson, Miguel Mitchell and Larry Worth in a three-deep safety look and Slaughter at nickel back.
In the Hogs’ last game against Ole Miss, the starters were Marquise Robinson and Jaheim Singletary at cornerback and Jayden Johnson and TJ Metcalf at safety.
Those players all rotated in during the first quarter as the Razorbacks worked multiple combinations in the secondary.
Coach Sam Pittman said the unit was in the midst of a renewed competition after allowing 562 passing yards and 7 touchdowns to Ole Miss in a 63-31 loss to the Rebels on Nov. 2.
Arkansas had an open date and two weeks of practice to between the Ole Miss and Texas games to revamp the starting secondary.
“I thought it worked,” Pittman said of the changes made. “We got beat on a double-move (for a touchdown in the first quarter). … Other than that, I just didn’t feel like we cut people loose.”
Streak continues
Arkansas sixth-year player Andrew Armstrong had six catches for 74 yards to extend his streak with at least one catch to 37 games going back to the 2021 season when he played at Texas A&M-Commerce.
Armstrong, who transferred to Arkansas last year, has 32 consecutive games with multiple catches.
Nice coverage
Devin Bale, who handles kickoffs as well as punts for the Razorbacks, tackled Texas kickoff returner Matthew Golden at the Longhorns’ 25 in the fourth quarter after Arkansas had closed within 13-10.
KJ in the stands
KJ Jefferson, Arkansas’ starting quarterback the previous three seasons who is now at Central Florida, attended the game and posted video from the stands on his Instagram account.
Jefferson began the season as the starter for Central Florida — which had an open date Saturday — but he was benched after five games and hasn’t played in the past five for the 4-6 Knights.
The last game Jefferson played was in Central Florida’s 24-13 loss to Florida on Oct. 5. On the season he has completed 64 of 108 passes for 1,012 yards and 7 touchdowns with 4 interceptions and rushed 61 times. For 193 yards and 2 touchdowns.
When Arkansas beat Texas 40-21 in 2021, Jefferson had 211 combined yards passing and rushing.
60th anniversary
Living members of the 1964 Razorbacks, who finished 11-0 and won a share of the national championship along with Alabama, were introduced on the field between the first and second quarters on the 60th anniversary of their perfect season. Several family members of coaches and players who have died were also recognized.
Among the players from the 1964 team on hand were Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Ken Hatfield, the former Arkansas coach whose punt return for touchdown in the 1964 Arkansas-Texas game helped propel the Hogs to a 14-13 victory over the No. 1 Longhorns. Also among the players introduced were Jim Lindsey, Fred Marshall and Jim Williams.
Rankled
Arkansas fell to 1-5 this season against teams that were ranked when the Razorbacks played them with their loss to No. 3 Texas.
The Razorbacks’ only victory over a ranked team was 19-14 over No. 4 Tennessee on Oct. 5 at home.
Oklahoma State was ranked No. 16 when the Cowboys beat the Razorbacks 39-31 in double overtime in Stillwater, Okla., on Sept. 7. The Cowboys have since fallen out of the rankings.
Other teams and their rankings when they beat Arkansas include No. 24 Texas A&M, No. 8 LSU and No. 19 Ole Miss.
The Longhorns are 18-4 in games played in Fayetteville.
Arkansas had won its previous two games against Texas before Saturday, including 31-7 at the Texas Bowl in Houston in 2014 and 40-21 in Fayetteville in 2021.
Texas beat Arkansas for the first time since a 52-10 victory on Sept. 27, 2008 in Austin, Texas.
Tractor driver
Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek drove the tractor hauling the trailer with the Razorbacks’ live mascot, Tusk VI, as the passenger around the field before kickoff.
On the sideline
Among those spotted on the sidelines were Keith Burns, a former Arkansas safety and defensive coordinator, and Jim Schlossnagle, the new Texas baseball coach.
Road warriors
Texas won its 10th consecutive road game and improved to 3-0 in true road games this season with victories at Michigan, Vanderbilt and Arkansas. The Longhorns also beat Oklahoma in Dallas in what technically was home game for the Sooners but in reality is a neutral site matchup.
The last road loss for Texas was 41-34 at Oklahoma State in 2002. The Longhorns won their last road games in 2022 at Kansas State and Kansas, then went 5-0 last season with victories at Alabama, Baylor, Houston, TCU and Iowa State.
Track honored
Arkansas’ 2024 women’s track and field team, which won NCAA indoor and outdoor championships last year, was introduced and honored on the field at halftime.
Beer, brother
Hulk Hogan, the retired professional wrestler, make an appearance on the field during a break in the first half.
Hogan, 71, was in Arkansas over the weekend as part of promotional tour for Real American Beer, a new low-carb lager. He met with fans at bars in Fayetteville, Bentonville and Rogers on Friday.
Hogan’s given name is Terry Gene Bollea.
