The Longhorns got pushed around in a major way the last time they visited Fayetteville.
After more than 30 years, the No. 3 Texas Longhorns are squaring off against the Arkansas Razorbacks as conference foes, renewing a rivalry that dates back to 1894. Modernity has not been kind to Texas in this rivalry, with Arkansas winning four of the six meetings since the year 2000, including back-to-back blowouts in 2014 and 2021.
Here are three keys to the game.
Control the line of scrimmage
One of the defining moments of the first year of Steve Sarkisian’s tenure at Texas was the embarrassing 40-21 road loss to Arkansas. While the Longhorns turned out to be woefully overhyped and the Razorbacks underhyped, going on the road and getting demolished by a historic rival in the week’s marquee game stung. One of the most jarring aspects of that game was the Longhorns’ inability to keep the Razorbacks out of the backfield, giving up nine tackles for loss and three sacks while managing seven tackles for loss and going without a sack. Texas and Sarkisian immediately addressed that issue via recruiting and have seemingly turned things around in the trenches.
In 2024, Arkansas is still a rather formidable offensive line unit, sitting at No. 4 in the SEC in line yards per rush with 3.3. On the other sideline, the Longhorns’ defense is allowing 2.8 line yards per rush, which is also good enough for No. 4 in the conference. However, that trend of excellence does not hold up in the passing game, with Arkansas currently sitting No. 116 in the country in sacks allowed, a stat inflated by the eight sacks given up in their blowout loss to Ole Miss.
The Longhorns have struggled to consistently create a cushion for rushers, ranking No. 9 in the SEC in line yards per rush, and are held to three yards or fewer on 18.8 percent of their attempts this year. This is shaping up to be a battle of a stoppable force and a movable object, with the Razorbacks boasting the worst stuff rate in the SEC with 13.2 percent and ranking No. 13 in the conference in line yards per rush allowed.
Win the turnover battle
Arkansas has been downright bad this year at both taking care of the football and forcing opponents to do the same. The Razorbacks sit No. 88 in turnover margin with a minus-three mark on the year, a number floated by two games in which they’ve forced five turnovers. Outside of those two games, wins over Auburn and Mississippi State, the Razorbacks have not had a game in which opponents turned the ball over more than once and have gone without a turnover in five contests.
On the other side of the ball, Arkansas has struggled to hold onto the ball, giving it to opponents 15 times through nine games. The Razorbacks have lost two fumbles in four games this year, which unsurprisingly account for all four losses. Arkansas has turned the ball over in all but two of their games this year — the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and the low-scoring upset of Tennessee in early October.
Contain Taylen Green
The Longhorns have faced mobile quarterbacks multiple times this year with varying degrees of success. Texas managed to shut down Michigan’s Alex Orji in limited snaps in addition to containing Oklahoma’s Michael Hawkins Jr. and Mississippi State’s Michael Van Buren Jr., but part of the success was their inability to move the ball down the field with their passing. Vanderbilt star Diego Pavia, who is a true dual threat, put up his fourth-best rushing performance of the year against Texas with 67 yards and a touchdown.
Arkansas is 4-0 in games in which quarterback Taylen Green has rushed for more than 70 yards, with their only win in which he failed to meet that mark was the 19-14 upset of Tennessee.
So the Longhorns need to contain Green, especially on off-schedule plays.