Arkansas Football Report: Regionals, once held annually, resume after 44-year hiatus

FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas and Oklahoma State will meet for the 46th time, but for the first time in more than 40 years, at 11 a.m. Saturday in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The Razorbacks and Cowboys will play the opener, which will consist of four games under the agreement and will be played twice on each campus.

Arkansas is scheduled to sign a rematch on Sept. 11, 2027, and then the teams are scheduled to face off in consecutive years on Sept. 18, 2032 and Sept. 17, 2033, with the first game to take place at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, who attended high school in Grove, Oklahoma, about 155 miles from Stillwater and about 72 miles from Fayetteville, said he liked the idea of ​​playing a regional rival.

“When you play against more even competition, then definitely, if you have to go to an away game, it’s a lot better to go to Stillwater than to Oregon,” Pittman said.

“But there will be guys you know on both sides. Kids will know each other. And the closer you can be at away games, the better, just because of the travel and the time it takes to get home.”

Oklahoma State’s campus is 184 miles from Fayetteville, making it the closest Power 4 school to Arkansas. The University of Oklahoma is 240 miles away as the closest SEC campus to Arkansas, and the University of Missouri is 313 miles away.

The University of Tulsa is the closest FBS school to Arkansas, located 113 miles away.

Arkansas leads the all-time series against Oklahoma State with a 30-15-1 advantage, including the last five games in a row. The Razorbacks won 33-20 on Sept. 20, 1980, in the last meeting played at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

The teams have not met in Fayetteville since the Cowboys’ 19-14 victory on September 29, 1945. Since then, 25 games have been played in Little Rock and four games in Stillwater.

2 Minute Taylen

Arkansas got a chance to see quarterback Taylen Green perform a two-minute drill in Thursday’s 70-0 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the opener thanks to a timeout Pittman called with 1:54 left in the second quarter and UAPB facing a third-and-9 yards to go from the Razorbacks’ 46-yard line.

“I really wanted to get to that point,” Pittman said. “I called a timeout, which forced them to make a decision whether they were going to keep playing or try for a third-and-nine.

“I wanted to get to those two minutes because I felt like Taylen was going to be done at the end of the game, whether we scored or not.”

After an incomplete pass and a 23-yard field goal by the Golden Lions, Green and the Razorbacks got the ball at the Arkansas 23 with 1:42 left in the game.

A holding penalty on Keyshawn Blackstock negated a 42-yard catch-and-run by Isaiah Sategna for a first-and-20 from the 13, but offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino remained aggressive.

Green led an 87-yard drive in seven plays and 1:33, scoring on a 36-yard run with 9 seconds left in the first half to extend the Razorbacks’ lead to 49-0. He continued the attack with a pass to Khafre Brown, who completed a 17-yard touchdown pass on third down and 10 yards from the Arkansas 23-yard line.

“I thought he did really well, especially after we got the penalty,” Pittman said. “I wanted to get that across to myself, them and Bobby, to try to get that message across. It worked. I was really happy when we beat the penalty, came down and scored.”

Salty shake

Pittman seemed aware that UAPB coach Alonzo Hampton’s postgame handshake was very brief, perhaps indicating that Hampton was not pleased with the Razorbacks scoring a touchdown on Tyrell Reed’s 4-yard run with 36 seconds left in the game to seal a 70-0 victory.

Pittman said Monday that the plan was for third-string quarterback KJ Jackson and that unit to do a good job behind Green and Malachi Singleton if circumstances allowed. Green was allowed to do a two-minute drill to end the first half, and Jackson did the same to end the game on his only series.

“I know the score got a little out of hand, but at the same time we had to worry about our team more than anyone else,” Pittman said.

Carmona wins

Third-year player Fernando Carmona was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week after his performance in the Razorbacks’ 70-0 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Arkansas amassed 687 total yards, the third-most in school history, against the Golden Lions, and Carmona put up a solid effort. According to Pro Football Focus, Carmona earned a grade of 78.0 on 49 offensive plays.

The Razorbacks did not allow a single sack against UAPB and earned their biggest victory since a 73-0 victory over Rhodes College in 1928.

Ramsey solid

Kyle Ramsey missed practice midway through camp with groin soreness and was named the team’s top kicker.

Ramsey, a sixth-year senior transfer from Abilene Christian, was good on all 10 of his extra-point attempts against UAPB. He failed to attempt a field goal as the Razorbacks scored touchdowns on all of their possessions.

“He was injured, so we sat him out for five days,” Pittman said. “Really, we just weren’t kicking as well as we wanted him to, and when he came back, he was pretty solid out there.”

Ramsey defeated Matthew Shipley, a fifth-year college student from Hawaii.

“It was just a ‘decide who we’re going to go with’ kind of deal,” Pittman said. “It wasn’t a given and that’s his job until we figure something else out.”

“I hope not. I hope he does them all and we can continue, but we have full confidence in him and Shipley.”

Out of the way

The Razorbacks beat UAPB thanks to defensive coordinator Travis Williams, who operated from the sideline after calling plays from the press box in his first season at Arkansas.

“He asked if he could go down there and with the new technology he can see what’s going on,” Pittman said, referring to the legalization of using iPads to watch replays. “And I think he’s more comfortable with it and has good energy, you know.

“I think he wanted to push it to the sidelines. Of course, it was just one game and that’s it, but everything worked out well. I think he’ll do the same this weekend.”

Williams said during camp that last season was the first time he was in the press box during games.

Stein’s Agreement

Pittman said Eli Stein, the Razorbacks’ leading snapper in field goals, extra points and kickoffs the past two seasons, opted to leave the team before the UAPB game rather than share duties with Ashton Ngo.

“The depth chart came out and he lost half of his starting role,” Pittman said. “One was long and one was short. I just don’t think he wanted to be one or the other, so he decided to leave the team.”

Ngo, a redshirt junior, handled the snaps against UAPB without any issues. Stein is eligible to redshirt this season and has two years of eligibility remaining.