FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas football team struggled to maintain home-field advantage against a top-10 opponent on Saturday night.
Eighth-ranked LSU dominated the game from start to finish, defeating the Razorbacks 34-10 in front of an announced crowd of 75,893 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. By the end of the game, many of the fans in attendance were LSU supporters dressed in purple and gold.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier had a strong performance, completing 22 of 33 passes for 224 yards, while running back Caden Durham contributed with three touchdowns, leading the Tigers (6-1, 3-0 SEC) to their sixth consecutive victory. This win marks LSU’s third straight over Arkansas and their fifth in a row on the Razorbacks’ home turf.
Arkansas has not defeated LSU at home since 2014.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance. “These games have always been close, but to come down here and play the kind of football we did today, controlling the line of scrimmage — [Arkansas] had 38 yards rushing — and for us to run the football and close out the game with [a long drive], those are the signs of a team emerging as a contender,” Kelly stated.
Arkansas (4-3, 2-2) failed to secure a victory following a week off for the first time since 2020. This matchup was the Razorbacks’ first game since their 19-14 win over then-No. 4 Tennessee on October 5.
Similar to the Volunteers after their bye week, the Razorbacks struggled early in the game. LSU outgained Arkansas 384-277, with 158 of those yards coming on the ground. Ja’Quinden Jackson, limited by an ankle injury, managed only 26 yards on five attempts.
“We got handled physically from the start,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman remarked during the postgame show.
Durham opened the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown run, aided by a pass interference and roughing the passer call against Arkansas. Although a touchdown catch by Mason Taylor was called back due to offensive pass interference, the Tigers managed to score after Durham evaded multiple tackles to dive into the end zone. He finished with 101 yards on 21 carries and scored all of LSU’s touchdowns.
In the first half, kicker Damian Ramos added field goals from 33, 48, and 33 yards, helping LSU to a 16-7 halftime lead, and he later converted a 47-yarder early in the fourth quarter to extend the Tigers’ advantage to 27-10.
Pittman acknowledged the importance of Ramos’ kicks in maintaining momentum for LSU. Last season, Ramos executed a late 20-yard field goal against Arkansas that secured LSU a 34-31 win.
Arkansas narrowed the gap to 13-7 when quarterback Taylen Green connected with Andrew Armstrong for a 25-yard touchdown pass with just over eight minutes remaining in the second quarter. This score capped a 75-yard drive, with Green completing all five of his passes for 59 yards.
Despite a bruised left knee that had affected him in the previous game, Green showed resilience, ending the night with 21 completions on 31 attempts for 239 yards but threw a crucial interception late in the third quarter that hindered Arkansas’ comeback efforts.
With the score at 16-10, Green’s pass from his own 14 was deflected and intercepted by Whit Weeks, who returned it to the Arkansas 2-yard line. Durham then ran in for another touchdown, followed by Nussmeier’s successful 2-point conversion pass to tight end Trey’Dez Green, putting the Tigers up 24-10.
LSU capitalized on the turnover situation, winning the turnover battle 3-0 and scoring 11 points off Arkansas’s mistakes.
“Fifty offensive snaps and three turnovers. We have to do better there,” Pittman said.
The Tigers capped off their strong performance with a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, with Durham scoring again to seal the game at 34-10.
LSU outperformed expectations on third downs, converting 8 of 14 (57.1%) opportunities against an Arkansas defense that had previously allowed a 33.3% conversion rate.
The 24-point margin of victory was the largest in the rivalry since LSU’s national championship team won decisively in 2019. The preceding four matchups had all been decided by a field goal, with LSU winning three of those.
Looking Ahead
Arkansas will face Mississippi State (1-6, 0-4) next Saturday at 11:45 a.m.