No. 3 Texas at Arkansas final score: Longhorns put Hogs away with clutch drive in 20-10 victory

To make the SEC Championship game, the Longhorns need to maintain their road winning streak.

The path to the SEC Championship game remains simple for the No. 3 Texas Longhorns with one conference loss — win the final three regular-season games and play in Atlanta.

Standing in the way on Saturday are the Arkansas Razorbacks, the old Southwest Conference rival hoping a hostile environment at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville can make the difference for head coach Sam Pittman’s team on Saturday at 11 a.m. Central on ABC.

The Razorbacks are seeking bowl eligibility, but more importantly want to play spoiler for the Longhorns, who are putting a nine-game road winning streak on the line — Texas hasn’t lost on the road since traveling to Stillwater to face the Cowboys more than two years ago.

Injury reports

Texas will be without redshirt freshman edge Colton Vasek and senior linebacker Mo Blackwell on Saturday, while Arkansas removed starting quarterback Taylen Green and starting running back Ja’Quinden Jackson from Saturday’s pre-game injury report, along with running back Braylen Russell — the Razorbacks will have their two main offensive engines available against the Longhorns.

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First quarter

The game got off to a slow, defensive-oriented start with three possessions in less than five minutes of game time — a drive by Texas that featured a 17-yard completion to junior wide receiver Isaiah Bond on second down that ended with a sack of redshirt junior quarterback Quinn Ewers, a three and out by Arkansas, and a three and out for the Longhorns.

Texas super senior cornerback Jahdae Barron came up with the game’s first big play, coming up with a tipped-ball interception of Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green at the Texas 39-yard line.

Then the Horns found some explosive plays with an 11-yard gain by sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner off the right side and a 17-yard gain by senior wide receiver Silas Bolden. Gaining a rhythm, junior running back Jaydon Blue moved the chains with two runs before Ewers underthrew a pass intended for freshman wide receiver Ryan Wingo that was tipped and nearly caught by the Missouri product. On the next play, Texas faked a bubble screen to free up junior wide receiver Matthew Golden for a wide-open, 20-yard touchdown catch and a 7-0 lead.

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Barron came up with another big play on the ensuing Arkansas drive, blowing up a block on a swing pass and making a tackle for loss on 3rd and 3 to force a punt by the Razorbacks.

Despite getting the ball in good field position, the Horns couldn’t take advantage as Ewers had to throw the ball away on first down and then took a coverage sack on third down for another three and out.

Green scrambled to make a big throw on the run for a 25-yard gain to open the drive for the Hogs and move into Longhorns territory. Able to get into 3rd and 1, running back Ja’Quinden Jackson picked up the first down against his former team. Then Texas super senior defensive tackle Alfred Collins came up with a big sack for a 12-yard loss on first down, continuing his recent high-level play. After a second-down incompletion, the Longhorns were able to collapse the pocket and come up with another sack by freshman edge Colin Simmons. Texas got a break on the punt, which was shanked out of bounds for just eight yards instead of pinning the Longhorns back against their own goal line.

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Second quarter

Two runs by Wisner only gained two yards, setting up 3rd and 8 after a timeout by Texas, a swing pass to Bond, allowing the Longhorns to go for it on 4th and 1 just outside of field-goal range, a misdirection handoff to freshman running back Jerrick Gibson. Ewers had a window to hit Golden up the sideline, but the ball hung in the air too long, allowing the safety to close on the play. Wisner bounced a run for a solid gain on second down, but Golden was called for holding, putting Texas farther off schedule. A well-designed screen for tight end Gunnar Helm picked up 17 yards and the first down. Ewers couldn’t connect with Helm on second down, forcing the Longhorns into a third-and-long situation, an incompletion intended for Golden that featured some contact from the defender in the end zone. Texas settled for a 39-yard field goal by senior kicker Bert Auburn.

Arkansas began to mount a methodical drive with solid gains in the run game and the passing game, passing midfield, although Texas senior Jack end Barryn Sorrell was able to come up with a stop of Jackson at the line of scrimmage to finally slow the momentum. When the Razorbacks were flagged for holding Longhorns junior edge Trey Moore, the defense had an opportunity to get an important stop. Texas sophomore safety Jelani McDonald broke up the pass from Green, who had a defender around his ankles, and the third-down throw from the Arkansas quarterback was a check down for a minimal gain.

The punt by the Razorbacks bounced towards the goal line before Bolden fielded it in a questionable decision that ultimately worked out on a 12-yard return.

Helm opened the drive with the first clear drop of his Texas career, but the Horns picked up a first down with a 10-yard completion to Bond before Ewers missed a deep shot. A run by Blue got Texas into a manageable third-down situation with six yards to go and Helm made up for his drop with a catch over that window that required Ewers to hit a small rht downwindow. Bolden caught a short throw and made some moves after the catch for a nine-yard gain on first down before Arkansas was called for offsides. Ewers checked it down to Blue for a solid gain and runs by Gibson and Blue gained another fresh set of downs. On second down, a throwback screen was blown up and instead of throwing the ball away, Ewers completed it to Wisner for an eight-yard loss that pushed the Longhorns out of field-goal range. Trying to pick up half the yardage to go for it on fourth down, Texas threw a screen pass to Blue that was stopped heading into the two-minute timeout.

The punt by Longhorns freshman Michael Kern bounced into the end zone between two players on the coverage unit, but with Green dropping back trying to find a chunk play in the passing game, Moore was able to come up with his second sack of the season, allowing Texas to call a timeout with 1:46 remaining in the half.

Green scrambled for a short gain on second down as the Horns called their final timeout of the half. A swing pass was also stopped for minimal yardage, forcing a punt without the aid of another chance to stop the clock.

Trying to mount a late drive, Ewers took a sack on third down and Arkansas called timeout to force the punt by Kern. A sack by Barron sent the game into halftime with a 10-0 lead for the Horns.

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Third quarter

Arkansas tried to return the second-half kickoff from the end zone, but only made it to the 14-yard line thanks to strong coverage from Texas. The defense forced the Hogs into another third-and-long situation before allowing a seven-yard gain that was barely enough for a first down. A run stuff and a pressure by sophomore linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. that forced a completion for a seven-yard loss on second down set up 3rd and 17, a second sack by Simmons on the day with a speed rush off the edge.

Texas took over at midfield on the punt and Ewers hit Wisner on a wheel route for a 30-yard gain on a busted coverage by Arkansas that converted a 3rd and 2.

Up the middle, Blue gained positive yardage in the red zone down to the 9-yard line, but then lost a yard on his second-down run. On third down, Ewers fired a low pass intended for Helm on a slant that wasn’t catchable. Forced to kick a field goal, the Horns were called for a false start, but Auburn connected from 33 yards to extend the lead to 13-0.

Arkansas was able to hit an explosive play in the passing game for 25 yards after picking up a first down, then Green was able to take the corner as the Razorbacks moved near the Longhorns red zone for the first time in the game. Jackson stepped through an arm tackle for 12 yards, Green got down to the 5-yard line on a zone read behind an arc block, and Jackson picked up another first down near the goal line, then punched it in on his next effort.

Wisner was tackled for a loss on the first play from scrimmage for Texas on its crucial drive as momentum started to swing in favor of Arkansas with a dropped pass on a crossing route, forcing the Horns into 3rd and 12. Under pressure, Ewers was able to step out of a sack, but couldn’t connect with Bolden over the middle.

With the momentum, the Razorbacks were able to pick up consistent gains on the ground until Green hit an in-breaking route against Longhorns sophomore cornerback Manny Muhammad that stood on review. A run stuff on the following play ended the third quarter with Arkansas possessing the ball for 11:25, a major strain on the Texas defense.

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Fourth quarter

Green started the fourth quarter by breaking an arm tackle on an inverted zone read for 11 yards, but Texas senior safety Andrew Mukuba read the zone read on the next play and came up with a six-yard tackle for loss. A swing pass picked up the lost yardage on second down, leaving 10 yards to gain on third down. In a creative blitz call by Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, Barron was lined up in an interior gap and came on the blitz, forcing an incompletion by Green and a 44-yard field goal by the Hogs.

Ewers found Bond for an important 20-yard gain to start the drive and Blue followed by picking up a first down on two runs. On a third straight carry, Blue hit a seam for 28 yards, fumbling at the end and getting lucky that it went out of bounds. A catch by senior tight end Juan Davis on second down secured a 1st and goal situation for the Horns and Wisner picked up some tough yardage between the tackles down near the goal line. Golden converted it once again, creating just enough separation and finishing the play with strong hands on a designed rollout for Ewers. The 20-10 lead for Texas pushed the win probability to 94.5 percent, according to ESPN.

The Texas pass rush continued to harry Green, drawing a holding penalty on first down that the Horns declined, allowing the Hogs to set up 3rd and 5 after a check down, a conversion on a slant route. Up the middle, Jackson picked up another first down. The coverage from Texas on a shot play by Green wasn’t ideal, but the Arkansas quarterback missed the throw. Then Collins came up with a game-changing play, hustling to cover a slip screen and slamming the ball to the turf with redshirt junior safety Michael Taaffe coming up with the recovery.

The turnover put Texas in an interesting position — needing to lean on Arkansas with the running game to fully put the game away. Wisner opened the drive with a gain of five yards and Blue bounced a run outside for six yards. On the next play, however, the Razorbacks came downhill with force, stopping the run for a loss when the cornerback beat Bond to the ball. An incompletion on a shot play stopped the clock and set up 3rd and 13, converted by Blue on a well-executed screen pass.

Two more runs by Wisner secured another first down and forced Arkansas to call a timeout in desperation, trying to preserve the increasingly narrow shot at a comeback. After a two-yard gain by Wisner, the Hogs used a second timeout, then stuffed Blue on second down and called their final timeout. A run on third down pushed towards the edge of field-goal range with Texas trying to get Arkansas to jump offsides with a hard count before calling its own timeout. Going for it on 4th and 2, Sarkisian called a rare zone read for Ewers, who pulled the ball and made the yard to gain to ice it.

Texas ended the game in victory formation for the 20-10 win to stay alive in the SEC Championship game race and the College Football Playoffs.