Penn State Nittany Lions vs Arkansas Razorbacks Match Player Stats On Jan 01, 2022

KJ Jefferson and Raheim Sanders combined for 189 rushing yards and three scores Saturday to lead No. 21 Arkansas past Penn State 24-10 in the Outback Bowl at Tampa, Fla.

Jefferson, who completed 14 of 19 passes for 90 yards, with an interception, did the bulk of his damage on the ground for the Razorbacks (9-4), who posted 17 third-quarter points in overcoming a sluggish first half. Jefferson rushed 20 times for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Sanders carried 13 times for 79 yards and two TDs as Arkansas defeated a Big Ten opponent in a bowl game for the first time in five tries. The Razorbacks, from the Southeastern Conference, concluded their season by winning five of six games.

Sean Clifford was 14 of 32 for 195 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions, for Penn State (7-6), which ended its season with six losses in eight games. Clifford also had a team-high 47 rushing yards.

Penn State led 10-7 during a sloppy first half that began with a missed field goal by the Nittany Lions, followed by interceptions by each team less than a minute apart. The first half ended with Penn State failing badly on a fake punt before Arkansas' Warren Thompson threw an interception on a wide receiver pass.

In between the errors, each team scored one first-half touchdown. The Razorbacks got on the board first on Sanders' 3-yard TD run on the final play of the first quarter. Then, following an exchange of punts, Clifford found a wide-open KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the end zone for a tying 42-yard score.

Jake Pinegar's 43-yard field goal on the Nittany Lions' next possession created a 10-7 margin.

Arkansas took the opening drive of the second half and marched 75 yards to the end zone. Jefferson had a 10-yard run, a pair of 14-yard runs and finally an 8-yard burst to put his team ahead 14-10.

After a punt by Penn State, Arkansas tacked on a 37-yard field goal by Cam Little to make it 17-10.

The Nittany Lions punted again, and this time it took the Razorbacks only four plays to reach the end zone. Long runs by Jefferson (34 yards) and Malik Hornsby (32 yards) set up Sanders' 1-yard TD plunge.

Penn State had only one substantial second-half drive, and it ended with an interception.

--Field Level Media