The production is in full swing, the spotlight is bright as the former Hogs quarterback looks to beat prime time

DALLAS, Texas – Arkansas fans have an interesting opportunity today for a split screen, or at least flipping during commercials.

Former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson finds himself on college football’s primetime (2:30 p.m.) against the man who calls himself primetime, Colorado coach Deion Sanders, as the Buffaloes take their hype train to the bounce house in Central Florida bring. Although he has played in some big games, including two close games against Nick Saban’s Alabama teams that had people all over the country walking out of their games to see if he could make a splash, this may be the brightest spotlight in which he has ever played.

That’s not because the Big 12 is respected as a football conference, because that’s not the case. That’s because Colorado has become a special main event attraction, much like Andre the Giant and Brock Lesnar were in their pro wrestling heyday.

If Jefferson can find a way to put on a big game to further solidify the Knights’ place at the top of the conference, then not only will he become a hero in Central Florida, he will also win the approval of the loudest portion of the college football audience , which has nothing but contempt for Sanders and the way he has conducted himself since moving up to Division I as a head coach.

While Arkansas fans get a sense of the disaster that was Jefferson’s final season in Fayetteville, he has clearly turned things around under the careful guidance of UCF coach Gus Malzahn. There, relying on a strong running game built on the legs of RJ Harvey has allowed Jefferson to be the complement of the offense rather than the main cog.

The result was a stunning statistical turnaround in the areas that drove Razorbacks fans crazy last season. Most notable is the number of sacks captured.

Last year, an offensive line so bad that many assumed it intentionally let defenders pass at times resulted in Jefferson being sacked 42 times. That’s an average of 3.5 sacks per game.

He was sacked just three times in three games this season. Part of this is achieved through careful management of Malzahn.

Arkansas required Jefferson to throw 16 times per game, whereas at UCF he was only asked to throw the ball 10 times per game. That’s 18 fewer chances of him being released so far.

Jefferson’s rushing average is also higher than ever, his interceptions are way down, and his yards per attempt have taken a significant jump over what he achieved as a Razorback. His yards per carry are up to 4.7, a full two yards more than last season and higher than his previous career high of 4.5 in 2021.

Meanwhile, Jefferson is on pace to throw just four interceptions this season. That’s half of what he threw in his senior year at Arkansas and would match the 2021 performance that put him on the college football map.

He’s now well over double digits in yards per attempt, averaging 11 yards per attempt. Process this very quickly.

He doesn’t average every time a receiver catches the ball. Jefferson averages better than a first down every time he simply tries to throw it.

Last year, that number was seven yards per attempt, meaning he was able to increase his production per pass attempt by almost 60%. Even in his best year at Arkansas, that number was 9.1.

The principle “less is more” has even carried over into the running game. Malzahn turns Jefferson into a runner 3.4 times per game than he did in his senior year at Arkansas, in a season in which offensive coordinator Dan Enos and head coach Sam Pittman were focused on reducing his runs to keep him healthy and Jefferson as to present possible NFL-ready candidates.

Even though he’s running less, he expects to surpass his total rushing yards from last season by the end of October or at the latest by the first weekend of November. That’s only if he hasn’t already played against Florida, a team he had a lot of success against last week that might shut it down, whether it has a head coach or not, or given the terrible conditions they face he will be suspended this weekend.

The game between UCF and Colorado is expected to be played in the rain for most of the second half. This means a steady dose of Harvey and Jefferson is likely as two SEC-caliber athletes look to impose their will against a Big 12-level defense.

It could be an interesting afternoon. If things go wrong in Arlington, Arkansas fans will at least have something to watch to distract from their frustration if another possible loss to Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium seems inevitable.

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