Steve Sarkisian’s team travels to Fayetteville to renew an old rivalry.
The Arkansas Razorbacks vs. the No. 3 Texas Longhorns, a rivalry renewed by Texas’ move to the SEC — the Hogs host Horns this Saturday after a very interesting season.
Head coach Sam Pittman’s team has proven that they have an ability to not only compete with the top teams in the nation, but also best them after their 19–14 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers. The Razorbacks have played a difficult schedule with four opponents in the AP Top 25 poll — Texas A&M, Tennessee, LSU, and Ole Miss, games in which they’ve gone 1-3.
The most concerning threat that Arkansas poses this Saturday, is it may very well be the second or third team the Horns have faced all season with an elite defense that isn’t on their second or third string quarterback.
Offense
The Razorbacks offense can be dynamic in both the run game and the passing game and it all runs through their dual threat junior quarterback Taylen Green, who was injured against Ole Miss in their last game and is currently listed as probable on the Thursday injury report.
The Razorbacks have speed on the ground with Green, and power with their 233-pound power back Ja’Quinden Jackson, giving them a 1-2 punch in the ground game. They can make defenses pay through the air as well, with one of the best receivers in the nation in Andrew Armstrong playing in offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s passing attack.
Overall the skill positions are elite for the Razorbacks, however it all runs behind a shaky offensive line that has already allowed 17 sacks this season. Against a Texas pass rush that has gotten home 21 times this year, this might be the Achilles heel for the Hogs that can decide the game this Saturday.
Quarterback
The Longhorns almost faced yet another SEC opponent without the help of their starting quarterback after Green left their last game against Ole Miss in the second quarter with a knee injury. During the bye week, though, Green was a full participant in practice and should be good to go this Saturday in Fayetteville.
“Taylen practiced every day last week and I believe he’ll be fine,” Pittman said.
Due to the knee injury, the dual-threat quarterback’s mobility might be limited. Green is currently the second-leading rusher for the Razorbacks with 411 rushing yards on 105 attempts with five touchdowns.
If Green’s rushing ability is lessened, it would be a huge blow to the Razorbacks’ offense, as he is a capable passer, but certainly struggles with efficiency — he’s 161-of-263 passing for 2,214 yards, 11 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, Green can sling the rock, but at times has trouble reading coverages, and can at times attempt to throw his way out of a bad situation.
The faith in his arm is certainly warranted, as Green can seemingly sling the pill all over the yard. On passes over 20 yards, Green has gone 19-of-44 passing for 605 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions. The deep ball is an ever-present threat with Green under center and he has a talented pass catcher to help facilitate it.
Wide receivers
The Razorbacks have a talented group of wide receivers, but none potentially more dangerous than Armstrong, a senior who is NFL-ready and the No. 5-ranked wide receiver according to PFF, and has been playing as such all season. At 6’4, 202 pounds, Armstrong has a large frame, but also elite speed and the ability to high-point balls and make contested catches over practically any defensive player on the field.
This season he has been Green’s favorite target by a wide margin with 55 receptions on 84 targets for 857 yards and a touchdown, well on his way to a 1,000-yard receiving season.
Armstrong does the majority of his work in the short and intermediate range with an average depth of target of 11.7 yards, generally lined up out wide — 90.8 percent of his snaps are out wide, making slants, quick outs and crossing routes his M.O with only two receptions over 20 yards on seven targets for 54 yards and his only touchdown of the year.
More than anything, Armstrong has sure hands with only two dropped passes on the season for a drop percentage of 3.5 percent. Because he’s such a reliable target and has a gunslinger throwing him the ball, this can lead to interceptions with four of Green’s seven interceptions on balls thrown his way.
Running back
The strength of this Arkansas offense flows primarily through their running game with Green and Jackson, a wrecking ball that, at times, is seemingly impossible to bring down.
Of the 594 yards Jackson has accrued this season, 386 have occurred after contact. With such a large frame and weight for a running back, Jackson is exceptional both between the tackles and out in space — 34 percent of his attempts are in the A gaps outside the center, while 35.9 percent of his attempts are along the outside in space.
Jackson can be a do-it-all back for the Razorbacks with 11 receptions for 125 yards this year.
Tight end
The Razorbacks utilize their big-bodied tight end, Luke Hasz, in the passing game frequently, primarily in the red area. Standing 6’3 241 pounds, Hasz uses his size and weight to bully defenders in the red zone, racking up a team-leading four receiving touchdowns this year.
He is also the fourth-leading target on the Razorbacks with 20 targets, bringing in all but four for 267 yards. In their last game against Ole Miss, Hasz was an integral part of the offense, with five receptions on five targets for 77 yards and a touchdown.
The week before he brought in two touchdowns — Hasz is surely becoming more and more of an utilized weapon in this offense and this streak will likely continue as he continues to gain rapport with Green and his coaching staff.
Offensive line
The Arkansas offensive line has certainly had struggles protecting the quarterback this season with a whopping 17 total sacks.
The offensive line has also seen its fair share of changes as they attempt to find the right combination to protect their dynamic quarterback. Arkansas shifted right tackle Keyshawn Blackstock to left guard and E’Marion Harris to the right tackle spot two weeks ago.
Harris in his new position at right tackles has certainly struggled with the shift, allowing a whopping three sacks last week against Ole Miss. The question still remains if after such a performance, he lacks the lateral speed to compete in the tackle position and will move back to guard.
The rest of the offensive line has seen more consistency, with junior Fernando Carmona (6’5, 322) at left tackle, junior Patrick Kutas (6’5, 313) at left guard, sophomore Addison Nichols (6’5, 329) at center, and senior Joshua Braun (6’6, 338) at right guard.
It is likely that we see changes to the offensive line after the bye week this Saturday, in an attempt to better protect their dual threat quarterback coming off a knee injury against Ole Miss, the question is what combination it will be.
Defense
If there is one incredible strength that this defense possesses, it is their ability to get home, with an incredible 19 sacks on the season.
Defensive line
The defensive line runs through senior edge rusher Landon Jackson. I don’t know what they’re feeding this man, but at 6’7, 280 pounds, he still possesses the speed and agility to overpower and swim past elite offensive tackles off the edge.
Jackson is easy to spot at 6’7 — No. 40 is flying off the edge and has five sacks this season with 32 pressures, 20 hurries, three batted balls, and 26 tackles through nine games. The man is a problem and Texas junior left tackle Kelvin Banks will have his hands full this Saturday attempting to contain him.
Linebackers
The linebacking core is led by junior Georgia transfer Xavian Sorey. He leads the team in tackles with 73, 50 of them solo. He is incredible in the open field and has the agility and size to bring town talented ball carries with only eight missed tackles this season.
Sorey can effectively play in any role this defense needs from coverage to run defense and even pass rush with 10 pressures, two sacks, and an interception. He has an ability to fly to the ball and be in the right place to make important stops with a team high 35 on the season.
Secondary
The Arkansas secondary is anchored by sophomore safety TJ Metcalf. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because it is. TJ is the younger cousin of Seahawks all star wide receiver DK Metcalf.
The 6’1, 200-pound safety is aggressive in coverage, jumping balls as opposed to playing behind opposing pass coverages, leading to three interceptions on the season, but also some blown coverages.
Metcalf lines up all throughout the secondary — at free safety, in the box, and even in the slot at times as well.
Special Teams
Kicker
The place-kicking duties have fallen under the leg of senior Matthew Shipley after senior kicker Kyle Ramsey injured his groin against Tennessee on a missed 44-yard field-goal attempt. Right now Shipley is getting the job done for the Razorbacks going a perfect 13-of-13 from extra points and 6-of-8 from field goals. This year Shipley has fit into the role nicely sinking two kicks from 50-plus yards.
Returner
Isaiah Satenga handles the punt return duties, but has not done much of it this season. Satenga has not returned a punt since Tennessee Week Six, and as a whole has only returned five punts all season. The first game of the year he was able to return a punt for 33 yards. Since then has primarily called for the fair catch for most of the punts sent his way.
The kickoff is quite similar to the punt return team in that they have not done much returning all season. Satenga handles most of the return duties and has only made two on kickoffs.
Overall
This could be a trap game for the Longhorns if they are not careful. The Razorbacks’ 5–4 record does not seem indicative of how good this team really is or how good they can be, primarily based on the difficulty of their schedule up until this point of the season.
They have proven that they can compete with the top teams of the nation after upsetting Tennessee and that they can compete in all three phases of the game.
The defense is the most troubling aspect of the Razorbacks, primarily their defensive front. For a Texas offensive line that has plenty of talent, but has looked shaky over the last few weeks, containing Landon Jackson and the rest of this pass rush will be a tall task. They also must be able to create lanes for the running game and keep quarterback Quinn Ewers clean if they have any shot of moving the ball down the field.
On defense, everything hinges on the Green’s health. His mobility could play a huge role in Arkansas ability to stay on the field. Their offense runs very similar to Vanderbilt’s behind Diego Pavia. This one could get close quick, so the Longhorns need to contain their rushing attack and force Green to beat them through the air.
The offensive line for the Razorbacks has been shaky this season, so if Trey Moore, Colin Simons, Barryn Sorrell, and Alfred Collins can get home and make Green uncomfortable, they will be able to shut this offense down.