Following a dominant 70-0 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Arkansas Razorback traveled to Oklahoma State for their first true test of the season. This also was a leap in competition for Oklahoma State who secured a 44-20 victory over South Dakota State in their opening game.
An old rivalry looking to be renewed, 16th-ranked Oklahoma State entered the matchup as 10-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. Arkansas entered the game as +330 underdogs on the moneyline with the game total set at 61 points.
Arkansas Strikes Fear into OK State
The Razorbacks were able to strike first in the matchup scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter to leap out to a 14-0 lead. Ja’Quinden Jackson was responsible for both scores to set the tone early on.
Oklahoma State CB Kale Smith then injected some life into his team by taking back a 73-yard interception return for the team’s first score.
Arkansas answered quickly as Ja’Quinden Jackson tallied his third rushing touchdown to push the score to 21-7. This score remained heading into halftime.
In the first half, Oklahoma State tallied just 13 total rushing yards compared to the 158 that Arkansas produced.
Oklahoma State Fights Back in the Second Half
The Oklahoma State Cowboys started to scrap back coming out of halftime. They opened things up with a pair of field goals before the offense finally touched paydirt for the first time. A seven-yard pass from Alan Bowman to Brennan Presley put Oklahoma State fully back in the game and they capped this off with a two-point conversion to tie the game at 21.
They were aided by a muffed punt that gave Oklahoma State the ball at the 24-yard line. It was these self-inflicted wounds that brought the Cowboys back into the game. Arkansas turned the ball over three times during the game which put OK State in a position to score in each situation.
Arkansas’ offense hit a complete lull and gave the ball back to Oklahoma State without much trouble. The Cowboys then secured their first lead of the day with 5:13 remaining in the 4th quarter on a three-yard run by Brennan Presley.
The action to close the game was far from over as Arkansas produced a 43-yard touchdown to tie things up. With 4:01 remaining on the clock, Oklahoma State received the ball back and drove it 55 yards in just over three minutes of game time. A 38-yard field goal from Logan Ward soared through the uprights with 55 seconds on the game clock to give OK State the 31-28 advantage.
Arkansas was given another chance and received the ball with 55 seconds remaining. This proved to be just enough time as Arkansas drove the ball 45 yards down the field to set themselves up for a game-tying field goal. Despite missing a 41-yard field goal already in the same quarter, Kyle Ramsey stepped up with confidence and tied the game for his team.
Oklahoma State Pulls Through in Overtime
With momentum on their side, Arkansas received the ball first to start overtime. They opened the extra period up with a 12-yard rush and looked to have the inside track toward taking the lead. However, on a crucial third down, quarterback Taylen Green took a costly sack which resulted in a 4th and 25 and cost the team the position they gained.
Ramsey stepped back up, this time to attempt a 46-yard field goal, but was unable to deliver for his team.
Oklahoma State also was unable to get anything going to start the overtime period. They gained just one yard across their three attempts before sending their kicker out to close things out. Redshirt junior Logan Ward was unable to hit the 41-yard attempt to leave the game up for grabs.
When the game hangs in the balance for so long, teams need their stars to step up and grab it. It took plenty of time, but finally, Oklahoma State star running back Ollie Gordon II did just this. The Heisman hopeful carried the ball 12 yards into the end zone to take control. The Cowboys went right back to their star for the two-point conversion as he caught the two-yard pass to put Oklahoma State up 39-31.
Arkansas was unable to answer and Oklahoma State officially secured the victory.
Stats and Takeaways
While he came through when it mattered most, it was a quiet game from Ollie Gordon II. He finished with 17 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown. Gordon II also added a pair of receptions for 20 yards.
Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman completed 27 of his 48 passes for 326 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the matchup. Brennan Pressley led the team in receiving with nine receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown. Rashod Owens also added five receptions for 64 yards. There were seven other players to also register a reception for the Cowboys.
Arkansas leaned heavily on running back Ja’Quinden Jackson throughout the matchup. The 6-foot-2 senior carried the ball 24 times for 149 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Taylen Green completed 26 of his 46 pass attempts for 416 yards, one interception, and one touchdown. Andrew Armstrong was the leading receiver and tallied 10 catches for 164 total yards.
As a team, Arkansas dominated most of the statistical categories which makes the loss all the more frustrating. The Razorback tallied 648 total yards of offense compared to the Cowboys’ 385. On the ground, Arkansas rushed for 232 yards while Oklahoma State was able to muster up just 59 yards rushing. They also produced 33 total first downs compared to OK State’s 20.
The story of the game was unfortunate turnovers and not being able to capitalize on their opportunities to win. Arkansas produced a proper game plan and executed it at a fairly high level, but let the better team hang around for far too long and eventually paid the price.
Oklahoma State has higher expectations for their season and will need to produce better moving forward. They entered the season with a season-long win total of 8 games on DraftKings Sportsbook and +15000 to win the National Championship. Ollie Gordon II holds +6000 odds to win the Heisman following the game which ranks 21st in the country.
Oklahoma State still has a ways to go in evening out the historical matchup as Arkansas holds a 29-15 record in this matchup in the program’s history.
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