Hugh Freeze’s No. 23 Liberty beats Arkansas 21-19; Watch KJ Jefferson stopped on late 2-point play
No. 23 Liberty raced out to a 21-0 lead, then came up with a stop on a potential game-tying 2-point conversion to beat Arkansas on Saturday.
Johnathan Bennett threw three touchdown passes, then Liberty (8-1) stopped KJ Jefferson’s conversion attempt with 1:11 left to seal the win.
The Razorbacks (5-4) scored 19 unanswered points on a field goal, safety, two touchdowns and a 2-point conversion. Jefferson took a shotgun snap up the middle on the conversion try and was marked short of the end zone near the goal line. Officials upheld the call after more than two minutes of review.
Liberty raced to a 21-point lead behind Bennett’s three first-half TD passes. Bennett finished 15 of 25 for 224 yards. But the Flames were held to just 79 yards in the second half while Arkansas had 250.
Jefferson was 23 of 37 passing for 284 yards with two touchdown passes, both to tight end Trey Knox, and two interceptions. One of the picks was late in the first half when he looked for Knox on a 26-yard pass in the end zone. The ball bounced off the tight end and into the hands of a Liberty defender.
The win will no doubt ramp up the speculation about Freeze’s future. He has been atop many lists to be the next Auburn football coach.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.