By DON KAUSLER JR.

This is it. This is the one. This is the game the Arkansas Razorbacks can’t lose.

Even candid Coach Sam Pittman stated the obvious urgency.

"We’ve got to win,” he said Monday. “We have to win. Have to win Saturday."

This is the time. This is the place.

After losing 4 consecutive SEC games away from home and 5 consecutive games overall, Arkansas (2-5, 0-4 SEC) returns home for an 11 a.m. CDT game Saturday (ESPN) at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

This is the opponent: Mississippi State (3-3, 0-3).

This is the precarious stake: last place in the SEC West.

This is the line: Arkansas is a 6-point favorite.

This is the cliché that few coaches will utter: must win.

"When the season starts, you have all these goals, and there are still some that we have,” Pittman said. “Now, they may have been down here to get up here, but there are still some attainable goals that we have. And our kids know. I’m going to talk to them today about it. But this game Saturday is a big, big game for us. They all are, but you keep backing yourself up into a corner, at some point you have to go forward.”

This is one goal: bowl eligibility.

This is what Arkansas can’t afford: two more losses.

This is what gives the Razorbacks a flicker of hope: 4 of their last 5 regular-season games are at home (all but a Nov. 4 game at Florida).

Arkansas is coming off a 24-21 loss at Alabama, a fourth one-possession loss of the season (all but a 34-22 loss to Texas A&M).

"We’ve proven that we’ve got a pretty good football team,” Pittman said. “We haven’t proven we can win. So, we’ve got to do that Saturday. I think our kids understand that. There are some things in that locker room, you know, the kids that have been here for 4 years have started that we don’t want to let go of. There’s a lot of motivation and things. One of them is being back home. We want to show the state of Arkansas that we have a good football team, one good enough to win. So, there’s a lot of motivation there."

FIRST DOWN

Now this is unbelievable. …

Rankings: Of course, Arkansas is not ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll or the coaches’ poll. But check this out: The Razorbacks are ranked No. 31 in the latest ESPN Football Power Index rankings. They are ranked No. 30 by Josh Pate of CBS/247Sports. He gives heavy weight to strength of schedule.

“Would you believe the JP poll has Arkansas rated higher than Iowa and Wisconsin, which means we would have Arkansas favored to win the Big Ten West?” Pate said on his latest “Late Kick Live” show.

Arkansas’ last five games are against No. 48 (ESPN FPI) Mississippi State (3-3), No. 35 Florida (5-2), No. 37 Auburn (3-3), Florida International University (3-4) and No. 27 Missouri (6-1).

FIU is ranked last among 133 FBS teams. Kent State (1-6) is ranked No. 132. Arkansas defeated Kent State 28-6 on Sept. 9. The Razorbacks are still stinging from a 37-30 loss to BYU on Sept. 16 at home.

BYU (4-2) is ranked No. 68 in the ESPN FPI ratings. Texas A&M (4-3) is No. 17. LSU (5-2) is No. 11. Ole Miss (5-1) is No. 12. Alabama (6-1) is No. 7.

By the way, Georgia (7-0) is No. 8. Tennessee (5-1) is No. 16. South Carolina (2-4) is No. 38. Kentucky (5-2) is No. 43.

For what it’s worth, Ohio State (6-0), Penn State (6-0) and Michigan (7-0) are Nos. 1, 3 and 4. Oklahoma (6-0) is No. 2. Colorado (4-3) is No. 74.

SECOND DOWN

Out indefinitely: Arkansas will play again Saturday without star junior running back Raheim “Rocket”

Sanders, who has appeared in only 3 of 7 games this season.

“I have no idea when he’s going to be back,” Pittman said.

Sanders ran for 1,443 yards last season. He ran for at least 100 yards 7 times. This season, he not only has not had a 100-yard game; he has not run for 100 yards total – 34 carries for 91 yards this season.

Sanders injured a knee in the season-opening 56-13 victory over Western Carolina. He ran 15 times for 42 yards and 2 touchdowns in that game at Little Rock.

He missed the next 3 games, played against Texas A&M (11 carries for 34 yards) and Ole Miss (8 carries for 15 yards) and then didn’t even make the trip to Alabama.

Pittman said Sanders went for more rehab and didn’t feel like his knee was 100 percent. It was not announced until shortly before the game that Sanders was sidelined, but Pittman said Monday that he knew the previous Tuesday that Sanders wouldn’t play.

Sanders has not been redshirted since coming to Arkansas in 2021. He would save a year of eligibility if he appears in no more than 4 games.

THIRD DOWN

QB mystery: Mississippi State is coming off a bye week that followed a 41-28 victory over Western Michigan. Standout quarterback Will Rogers was injured in that game, and his status for Saturday is

uncertain.

That means Arkansas must prepare for facing Rogers, a prolific passer, and backup Mike Wright, a dual threat.

“He throws better than I want him to,” Pittman said of Wright, a transfer from Vanderbilt. “He’s fast. Obviously, they’ll run him with run-designed plays for him, not just read plays where he can have the opportunity to keep it. Run a lot of fly sweeps with him with the opportunity to pitch or keep. Right now, they’re reading the defensive end and allowing him to run or hand it off, and running naked (bootlegs) and letting him throw a little bit out of that.

“He did throw more against Western Michigan than he had before, but I think he had more opportunity as well, which proved he could throw the football, and we saw at Vandy he could, too.”

Rogers injured his non-throwing shoulder. In relief, Wright completed 70 percent of his passes for 57 yards. He also rushed for 24 yards and a touchdown.

Wright has a .558 completion percentage on 344 career passing attempts. his career, which includes 26 games at Vanderbilt.

He has thrown for 2,128 yards and 22 touchdowns. He also has rushed for 1,043 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“No matter what position you play, whether you are the starter or not, you must prepare as you are the starter,” said Zach Arnett, who was promoted from defensive coordinator to Mississippi State’s head coach after Mike Leach’s death in December. “So, I have full faith and confidence. Mike (Wright) has taken advantage of every opportunity he’s had this season. He’s scored several touchdowns. He’s distributed the ball for several touchdowns when he’s been in. He saw increased action last week. If he has to play additional snaps, we have no reason to believe he won’t perform the exact same.”

Pittman spoke highly of Arnett.

“I think he’s done a really good job,” Pittman said. “He’s been hit with injuries now. … He’s tried to take them to a new offense, and obviously, he’s still working with the defense. …

“I have a lot of respect for him and had a lot of respect for him when he was a D coordinator. … If they’ll stay with him, he’ll bring a tough, physical team. But a lot of their situation has come from injuries, and some of their best players have been out.”

FOURTH DOWN

Sack man: Arkansas junior defensive end Landon Jackson came into the 2023 season with 3 career sacks. He more than doubled that total in a 24-21 loss to the Crimson Tide. The 6-7, 281-pound transfer from LSU had 3½ sacks and 11 total tackles and was named the SEC's Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week. The sacks were the most by a Razorback since Trey Flowers in 2014.

"Make them remember your name," Jackson said he was told by defensive coordinator Travis Williams before playing Alabama. “That’s what just kept running through my head was, ‘I’ve got to make them remember my name."

Pittman was impressed.

“What a great game,” he said of Jackson. “He’s had them. He may not have that type of stats, but he’s certainly played well.”

Pittman said Monday that Jackson hasn’t always been able to plant and get under and turn the edge.

"Right now, he’s turning the edge really, really well,” Pittman said. “He’s not a lot different. He’s a little better with his clubs, his rips, his swims, but the key is when he turns, he’s turning now. He’s not wasting movement. Once he turns, he’s getting straight to the quarterback."

Jackson has 5½ sacks this season. He is the second Arkansas lineman to win the SEC award this season. Trajan Jeffcoat, a transfer from Missouri, earned the recognition after a Sept. 9 victory over Kent State.

“We’re very, very fortunate to have both of them,” Pittman said. “They’re both good against the run and good against the pass. That’s kind of a rarity.”

Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson said Jackson did a tremendous job against Alabama.

"I was just asking him back there how many sacks he had,” Jefferson said. “I mean he was just flying around, getting off blocks, running to tackles, rallying around the ball. Good overall effort by him. It just showed the grit and tenacity he plays with. It’s contagious as well. Other guys feed off his energy and him making plays."

Jackson has become a leader on an Arkansas defense that has been solid this season.

"Keep fighting," Jackson said of his mindset as the Razorbacks try to end their 5-game losing streak. "You’ve got to keep fighting. You can never bow down and just be OK with losing. I mean, it sucks. I really thought we were going to pull this one off. …”