Arkansas went into the Week 8 game against Texas A&M as heavy underdogs. The Aggies were a whopping 58.5-point favorite and were coming undefeated after overpowering opponents like Notre Dame, Auburn, and Florida. It was then expected that interim head coach Bobby Petrino’s team would come out with a blowout loss. Instead, the Razorbacks fought in the game. So much so that late in the fourth quarter, they were 42-45. Still, the 73,845-strong crowd at the Razorback Stadium watched their team go down, owing to many persistent issues.

And now, Petrino has finally opened up on those mistakes.

Although the Razorbacks never led in the game, Petrino was forced to play catch-up. The offense still put in 42 points on the scoreboard, and the rushing game showed positive signs, accumulating 268 yards. Not just that, the Razorbacks’ RB Mike Washington Jr rushed for 147 yards, showcasing incredible plays with his feet. Despite that, however, the passing game was a slight worry, and the defense and D-line didn’t offer much quality against a 4th-ranked Texas A&M. So, according to Bobby Petrino, it all came down to some lack of quality in crucial moments.

“For the second week in a row, our guys competed hard, but that’s not what we’re out there to try to do. We’re out there to try to win, and one thing I wanted to make clear in the locker room was that it’s a team loss. You know the offensive job is to outscore by at least 1 point. The defensive job is to hold them to one less point, and special teams got to give us some plays, so we didn’t,” said Petrino in the post-game press conference. It sure will feel concerning when the narrow loss like against Texas A&M becomes routine for the Razorbacks.

Last week, too, against Tennessee, the Razorbacks fell narrowly 31-34 as Washington Jr exceeded expectations, rushing for 131 yards. The same thing happened against Memphis in Week 3, falling 31-32, while the 35-41 loss against Ole Miss was also a one-possession loss. Surely then, when the pattern extends to Week 8, some changes are called for, and Bobby Petrino is touted for the same. That said, Petrino is still “proud” of his team for fighting valiantly in the A&M game.

“We’re just making too many mistakes right now to be able to just score every time we have the ball, and defensively, we came up with some stops. At times, we defended the run better. But then we rushed past the quarterback a number of times, and a guy who can run like that. You can’t rush past the quarterback, defensive tackles, and ends at least four times; all past. The depth of the quarterback can end up killing us with that, so there’s a lot of good. There are a lot of things to correct,” said Petrino.

The QB room is surely a concern for the Razorbacks this year.

Taylen Green, touted to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft before the season started, is impressive so far, despite the losses. He has accumulated 1,654 passing yards at 63% efficiency for 11 touchdowns, while also rushing for 504 yards already. Owing to his performances, Green is also listed 2nd in ESPN’s QB ratings and most likely will exceed expectations as the season progresses. However, Taylen Green’s rushing game can bring some problems if he gets injured in the process.

Why is Bobby Petrino worried about Taylen Green, despite the QB exceeding expectations?

Against Texas A&M, Green rushed for a whopping 85 yards for two touchdowns while also having a decent passing game. The Arkansas QB1 completed 19 of his 32 passes for 256 yards and threw 3 touchdowns. That too, without throwing an interception. Surely then, owing to Taylen Green’s clean bill of health, hope can remain for the Razorbacks. However, extending those plays with legs can come with massive risk, too.

For instance, just in the first quarter of the Aggies game, Green rushed for 13 yards on 2nd-and-8 for a first down. Then initially, in the second quarter, as Arkansas trailed 3-14, Green again helped execute a 71-yard field goal drive. He ran for a whopping 33 yards on 1-and-10 from Arkansas’ 25, signaling exceptional quality from the QB. But these plays aren’t sustainable for the team, which has a massive gap in quality between its QB1 and QB2.

The Razorbacks have redshirt freshman KJ Jackson, Trever Jackson, and true freshman Grayson Wilson. However, no QB amongst the three has seen starter experience and will need some time to mature into the system. Along with that, since the Razorbacks are in a transition after Sam Pittman’s exit, that won’t be easy to do quickly. All in all, Petrino then is rightly concerned for his QB1, and we may likely find him diversifying rushing plays when Arkansas faces Auburn in Week 9.