Arkansas is 1-0 after a breezy 56-13 win over Western Carolina to open the season. The game went roughly as expected, so there isn’t just a whole lot to say.
The Good
The receivers were awesome. Isaac TeSlaa, Andrew Armstrong, and Jaedon Wilson in particular looked really good, while Luke Hasz made an immediate impact as a true freshman, and Isaiah Sategna was fantastic as a return man. They ran good routes, caught everything, and (typical of a Dan Enos offense) blocked downfield really well. We’ll see how good they really are when the competition steps up, but this was a great start.
The secondary is massively improved. The Hogs played a lot of man and held up just fine. You may say “but it’s just an FCS opponent”… but Missouri State last year was just an FCS opponent, and the Hogs couldn’t stay in front in that one. Jayden Johnson looked great, while Al Walcott was all over the place early. Five total takeaways – including four picks – are good to see. Again, time will tell, but at least there’s obvious improvement.
Max Fletcher had a nice game punting. He averaged 49.0 net yards per punt and essentially allowed no returns, pinning two punts inside the 20 with no touchbacks. His kicks had great hangtime. The best was a 52-yard bomb from his own 2. Fans were uneasy when Fletcher finally replaced Reid Bauer last year, but the reason was obvious: Fletcher has much higher potential. You saw it in this game.
The Bad
Explosive runs. Okay, we warned about this one in the preview. Dan Enos is not nearly as good as Kendal Briles at scheming up explosive runs, and his offense doesn’t generate a ton of yards before contact. Instead, he needs runners that can drag tacklers and get yards after contact:
Sanders was the only starting-level rusher in the SEC last season to get more than half his yards before contact. His 3.03 YAC per rush ranked 12th out of 14 starting SEC running backs, ahead of only the backs from Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. As with Jefferson’s accuracy, this suggests that Arkansas’ scheme was really good for Sanders to be that productive while creating that few yards after contact.
Enos prefers bigger personnel groups (the Hogs spent more than 20 snaps in two-TE personnel against WCU) and a run game that can not go backwards and set up play-action. He’s not really after big runs. That’s a major departure from Briles, and it means that Sanders is going to have to be a different type of runner to be successful this year.
Against WCU, Sanders generated just 21 yards after contact, or just 1.4 YAC per rush. That’s the worst of the five Hog running backs who toted the ball. As we warned in the preview, Dominique Johnson led the way in YAC for this game, just as he did in 2021. If he stays healthy, he could see a bigger role this year.
On the bright side, the Hogs allowed just four total havoc plays, and one was a bad snap. They had zero turnovers and only two run stuffs. That’s a lot less “boom or bust” than Briles was.
Other games
Colorado 45, TCU 42. The “former Hog bowl” went the way of Deion Sanders’ group in a thriller, with Jordan Domineck and Myles Slusher playing minor roles in the win. Meanwhile, Briles’s TCU offense had his signature 48-second three-and-out to open the game, and then were mostly great against a poor Colorado defense. Chandler Morris was fine at QB. Warren Thompson had a catch. I think that covers everyone with Arkansas ties. With Colorado’s serious lack of depth, I doubt they can hold up all year, but their first unit sure is fun to watch.
North Carolina 31, South Carolina 17. It was all there for Shane Beamer, who had overtaken Sam Pittman as the underdog coaching darling of the SEC. The hope was for a big breakout starting with this game. If you had told me that Spencer Rattler would complete 30 of 39 passes for 371 yards, I’d take the Gamecocks in an easy win. Alas, Dowell Loggains’ offense couldn’t protect Rattler, who was sacked eight times in an ugly loss. The Gamecocks will probably be fine, but they still have road games against Georgia and Tennessee this month.
Utah 24, Florida 11. I think Billy Napier is a good coach, but I’m not sure he’s going to get the patience he needs, especially with Colorado’s quick rebuild providing a model of fast turnarounds. Florida pulled Graham Mertz out of the portal to play quarterback, and he looked as blah as he could be. The Utes were without their star QB and still controlled this game. I don’t know that Florida is going to be fine… they may struggle just to make a bowl this season.
Texas State 42, Baylor 31. GJ Kinne also did a big overhaul this offseason, bringing in around 50 new players to Texas State. They promptly knocked off Baylor, who seems to be reeling in Dave Aranda’s third season. Malik Hornsby couldn’t beat out Auburn transfer TJ Finley for the Bobcat QB job, and Finley was fantastic against Baylor. Speaking of Baylor’s defense, given this performance, did Lorando Johnson and Al Walcott know they were jumping off a sinking ship when they transferred to Fayetteville? Because an Aranda defense is not supposed to let that happen.
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