No. 3 Texas vs. Arkansas: Five matchups to watch

The Longhorns look to right the wrongs of 2021 on Saturday.

The No. 3 Texas Longhorns are venturing into hostile territory this week heading into Fayetteville to take on Sam Pittman’s Arkansas Razorbacks. Following a win against the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs losing in Oxford, the Longhorns once again control their own destiny as they look to make it to Atlanta to compete for the SEC championship on their maiden voyage in their new conference.

Three years ago, the Longhorns made the trip to Fayetteville and walked away licking their wounds, as they were handed a 40-21 loss at the hands of the Razorbacks in Steve Sarkisian’s first year at the helm in Austin. The Longhorns would love more than to get some sweet revenge and continue down the path to Atlanta.

Lets take a look at some of the key matchups to keep an eye on heading into Saturday against the Hogs.

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The Texas passing attack vs. the Arkansas secondary

The Longhorns offense led by quarterback Quinn Ewers ranks 10th in the country in passing offense, averaging 301.1 yards per game through the air. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks defense ranks 124th in the country in passing yards allowed, as they are on average allowing 266.2 yards per game, giving up 2,396 passing yards on the year.

In their last matchup against OIe Miss, Arkansas got absolutely shredded by Jaxson Dart to the tune of 515 yards and six touchdowns with 254 of those yards going to Jordan Watkins along with five of the touchdowns. Watkins has played the role of Ole Miss’ WR2, but has played a larger role with their WR1 Tre Harris being out due to injury.

Dart and Watkins did whatever they wanted against the Razorbacks secondary and that has me wondering how Sarkisian will be scheming things up on Saturday. The Longhorns will be working with a fully healthy wide receiver corps and we saw last week against Florida how having a healthy Isaiah Bond can change the math for how you have to defend them. If Texas can get things blocked up and protect Ewers, he could be in for a big day in Fayetteville.

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The Arkansas rushing attack vs. Texas’ defensive front seven

The Arkansas offense boasts the 32nd-ranked rushing attack in the country, averaging 192.4 yards per game. Their ground and pound game is anchored by two Texas high school football alums in quarterback Taylen Green and running back Ja’Quinden Jackson.

Both Green and Jackson portaled their way to Fayetteville, with Green coming in by way of Boise State and Jackson making his way there from Utah after originally signing with Texas out of high school. A lot of Texas fans probably remember Jackson signing with the Longhorns back in 2020 as a top-100 prospect. He eventually opted to transfer out, as he looked for an opportunity to be featured as a quarterback, which never happened for him.

Jackson and Green are Arkansas’ top two rushers and have combined for just over 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year. They are the engine of this offense and you can bet the house they will be featured heavily on the ground after Pittman and Bobby Petrino saw the Texas defense struggle some against defending the inside run against Florida last week.

Texas is allowing 115.7 yards per game on the ground, which is good for 29th in the country. They have done a fairly solid job over the course of the year against the run, but they will need to be at their best on Saturday.

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Taylen Green vs. the Texas secondary

Here is a little more about the Arkansas signal caller — while his legs will certainly get a good bit of attention, he has gotten it done through the air as well.

Green is not your typical drop-back passer by any stretch — he’s is the kind of quarterback that isn’t afraid to pull it down and run and is very capable of making the off-schedule plays if a defense isn’t disciplined when he escapes the pocket. On the year, Green has thrown for 2,214 yards with an 11-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He has been sacked 21 times on the year, so despite his athleticism that means he can be pressured and wrangled due to his protection up front.

To date, Green might be the most problematic signal caller that the Texas defense has faced all year, but coming into this matchup the Longhorns remain the best defense against the pass. If the Texas defense can choke the Arkansas run game and turn Green into a drop-back passer, I think they will have a chance to come away with some turnovers, which has become a frequent thing from week to week.

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Texas vs. the hostile environment of Fayetteville

Not much needs to be said here. This is a rivalry matchup on the road in front of a crowd that will be very loud and hostile. The last time Texas ventured into Donald W. Reynolds Razorback stadium they were beaten badly and were never able to take the crowd out of the game. Texas has had tendencies to get off to slow starts offensively and it will be key to get out of that pattern on Saturday so that the home crowd doesn’t have a large impact on the game.

We’ve seen the Texas offensive line have issues with procedure penalties this year, particularly false starts and snap infractions. Making the crowd a non-factor by executing the opening script and getting on the board early will go a long way in this matchup. Ole Miss took the fight right to them from the very beginning of the game and you could hear a pin drop the rest of the afternoon.

If Texas comes out sluggish and can’t get into a groove they will feed right into that home crowd and the confidence of the Razorbacks who would love nothing more than to make it two in a row against one of their hated rivals.

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The Texas rushing attack vs. Arkansas’ defensive front seven

The Texas offense has not been consistent from week to week on the ground. Texas is 61st in the country in rushing yards per game in 2024 with no single rusher having over 500 yards on the ground thus far. Quintrevion Wisner leads the way so far with 409 rushing yards and it is looking very likely that Sarkisian is not going to extend his streak of having a 1,000-yard back.

Jerrick Gibson got back into the mix last week against Florida, as he rushed for 100 yards a touchdown after being invisible for a few weeks in a row. Could he potentially be looking at a bigger role heading into this week?

I am curious to see what the plan is for Gibson moving forward, as I have been a proponent of getting him more involved since earlier in the season. He certainly needs to get the ball-security issues in check, but there is no doubt he can tote the pill and be a factor in the Texas backfield if he can hold onto the football.

Arkansas ranks 37th against the run as a unit, allowing 121.2 yards per game on average. Getting the running game going would go a long way towards getting Ewers comfortable early on and giving the offense some balance.