Arkansas didn’t blow anybody away in its opener but that’s not really news because it’s all anybody’s been talking about this week.
The Razorbacks beat North Alabama 31-14, and instead of feeling good about it, fans spent the following days picking apart everything that went wrong.
Those Arkansas football consistency questions have hung over this program since spring practice, and one shaky night against an overmatched opponent didn’t put them to rest.
This week raises the stakes considerably.
The Hogs head to Salt Lake City to face a ranked Utah team, with kickoff set for a late 9:15 p.m. Arkansas time start inside a stadium known for giving the home team a real edge.
There won’t be much room for the mistakes that piled up in Week 1.
Utah isn’t easing into anything either.
The Utes throttled Idaho 66-14 in their opener, with quarterback Devon Dampier going 13 for 18 with 176 yards and three touchdowns while the offense racked up 633 total yards.
Offense still has plenty to clean up
That’s a much different challenge than an FCS team that couldn’t move the ball.
The Razorbacks actually controlled the game on the stat sheet, piling up 417 yards and holding the ball for more than 41 minutes. The problem was everything wrapped around those numbers.
Penalties kept stalling drives, the Hogs lost two fumbles and a first-half interception from quarterback KJ Jackson made the final score look closer than it needed to be.
Coach Ryan Silverfield didn’t hide his frustration afterward. Asked about the offense’s performance, he said it was “probably one of the worst I’ve ever been associated with.”
Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey was just as blunt on Tuesday.
“False start penalties are unacceptable,” Cramsey said. “Missing things that we went over already, unacceptable. Unacceptable on my part, because obviously I didn’t go over it enough. Unacceptable on their part because they don’t retain it.”
Stating the obvious as not being something the coaches ill accept is one thing. Getting it done in a game is one of those things we’re going to have to see to accept.
The running game was part of the issue, with the Razorbacks managing only 148 yards on 49 carries behind an offensive line that couldn’t create consistent push.
Road trip adds another layer of difficulty
Cramsey said of Utah’s defense wasn’t anything new.
“He’s running the same exact defense he ran last year,” he said Tuesday and added that he expects the Utes to lean on a handful of favorite blitz packages after scouting last Saturday’s tape.
Jackson settled down as the game went on, finishing 12 of 13 in the second half after a rough opening 30 minutes.
Silverfield said Monday that Jackson “looked me straight in the eye” at halftime and told him, “I know exactly what I did wrong and I’ll get it fixed.”
Rice-Eccles Stadium and a defense that blitzes often will test that composure in a way North Alabama never could.
The bright spot from Week 1 was clearly the defense. The Hogs forced three straight three-and-outs to open the game and kept North Alabama without a single yard for a large stretch of the first half, a real step up from how that unit looked a season ago.
It was against an out-manned team in the opener but as horrible as things were last year Arkansas will take whatever it can get right now
That’s still a defense that only had to prove itself against an FCS offense. Utah counters with two capable quarterbacks in Dampier and Byrd Ficklin, giving the Razorbacks multiple looks to prepare for instead of just one.
This week carries stakes for both programs
Linebacker Ben Bogle said Wednesday that the group has been “simulating all week, trying to get after the quarterback.” Bogle added, “We say once we hit him, he’s not going to want to be hit. He’s going to want to scramble and get out of the pocke.”
Containing him will be the key to breaking Utah’s offense down.
Utah’s Morgan Scalley is also new to his job, and beating an SEC opponent at home in his second game would be a signature moment for him too. That adds even more weight to a matchup that already carries plenty for Arkansas.
None of the issues from the opener are impossible to fix on their own. Stacked together on the road against a ranked team, though, they become a much bigger problem.
If the offensive line doesn’t hold up and Jackson doesn’t carry his second-half form into the first snap, this trip could get away from the Hogs in a hurry.
The Razorbacks have talked all week about correcting what went wrong.
Now they have to prove it against a team that isn’t going to hand out three-and-outs the way North Alabama did.
