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Week two may not have the sexy slate of games week one did but the Arkansas vs 15th ranked TCU game could be a good one. That is if both of them have corrected major issues.
With both teams coming off of week one struggles, both Arkansas and TCU are trying to work out some of the same issues. While TCU offensively did what everyone expected and scored 59 points, the defense was not up to coaches standards.
In his weekly pregame interview, Gary Patterson emphasised that his staff must do a better job to stop the Razorbacks. “Hopefully, we’ll do a lot better job as a coaching staff of getting them put in position against Arkansas. If not, they’ll have 1,000 yards and 1,000 points. We’ve got to do a lot better job this week.”
The Horned Frogs gave up 461 yards and 41 points against South Dakota State last week. Much like Arkansas , TCU had a problem with jamming up receivers at the line. Arkansas may traditionally be a run first team but with the receiving core the Hogs have, you can expect a high scoring game if TCU still has weak coverage.
This game will be the first big test for Arkansas secondary coach Paul Rhoads. In the season opener, the Razorbacks gave up 212 yards passing to Louisiana Tech. TCU veteran receivers Deante’ Gray and Ty Slanina could make it a long day for the Hogs. It has to start at the line for Arkansas. If the Hogs give TCU a 6-yard cushion off the line, it’s gonna be a long day in Fort Worth.
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One area the Hogs do match up well against the Horned Frogs is the size of the Arkansas offensive line. Like every other team in the Big 12, TCU runs the spread and that is what they are built to defend. The defensive line is a bit smaller than a SEC team but much faster. Last week against LA Tech, the o-line missed blocks left and right. Against the speed of TCU, you can bet if a defender gets through the line, Austin Allen is going down.
In order for the Razorbacks to stand a chance, they are gonna have to get to their roots and run. Slow, physical drives that take a lot of time off the clock are a must to control the tempo. This is the kind of game I expect to see the coaches use Kody Walker and Rawleigh Williams to punish TCU for short yard gains.
Historically, Arkansas has dominated TCU from the days of the South West conference. The Razorbacks are 43-23-2 against the Horned Frogs, averaging a score of 20.3 to 12.1. Oh, how the times have changed.
Vegas has the line at TCU -7.5 and if I were a betting man, I’d take TCU to cover. My score prediction is 56 to 38 leaving the Hogs 1-1 going into the Texas State game. Kickoff is set for 6:00 pm Saturday on ESPN. Let’s hope Arkansas can show that the “outdated” offense Bielema is known for, can still be effective against the fun and flashy spread. Woo Pig!
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