Schedule Preview: Arkansas
We are nearly a month away from fall camp and two months away from the start of the college football season, and while there are still several questions that need to be answered before Missouri kicks off its 2019 campaign (such as clearing up whether the team will be allowed to play in the postseason this year), it’s never too early to start taking a look at the schedule. In this series, we have gone game-by-game to break down each of the Tiger opponents. This final installment takes a look at Arkansas, who Missouri will face in Little Rock on Black Friday. Each of the previous preview stories is linked below.
2018 season
Record: 2-10
Against Missouri: Lost 38-0
Key Losses: QB Ty Storey, WR LaMichael Pettway, S Santos Ramirez, LB Dre Greenlaw, DT Armon Watts, DE Randy Ramsey
Key Returners: RB Rakeem Boyd, RB Devwah Waley, TE Cheyenne O’Grady, OT Colton Jackson, C Tyler Clary, DT McTelvin Agim, LB De’Jon Harris, LB Bumper Pool, S Kamren Curl
Quick Look
The Chad Morris era at Arkansas got off to a rough start last season, and it appears likely that this year will be a continuation of the rebuild. The Razorbacks suffered ugly non-conference losses to North Texas and Colorado State a season ago and capped a winless season in SEC play by getting shut out by Missouri. Arkansas particularly struggled on offense; it ranked last in the SEC and No. 118 out of 130 FBS teams in total offense. Attempting to change that will most likely be graduate transfer quarterback Ben Hicks, who played under Morris at SMU. Arkansas cycled through several quarterbacks last season, but Ty Storey, Connor Noland and Cole Kelley all left the program during the offseason, opening the door for Hicks to be the likely starter.
Hicks saw significant action in each of his first three college seasons, and he had his best year as a sophomore, which was Morris’ final year at SMU. Hicks completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 3,569 yards, 33 touchdowns and 12 interceptions that season. He has struggled a bit with turnovers in his career, throwing 34 interceptions across the past three seasons. Arkansas would certainly benefit from an improved passing attack under Hicks. Last season, the Razorbacks averaged just 192 yards per game through the air — No. 98 in the country. They were one of eight teams to throw more interceptions (18) than touchdowns (17) on the season. Leading receiver LaMichael Pettway transferred out of the program during the offseason, but tight end Cheyenne O’Grady, who caught 30 passes for 400 yards and six scores last season, will be back. The Razorbacks need to shore up the offensive line in both the passing and running games. Last season, Arkansas surrendered 32 sacks, including five against Missouri, and 89 tackles for loss. The team returns all three of its leading rushers from last season in Rakeem Boyd, Devwah Waley and Chase Hayden, but that may not be a ton of consolation considering the team’s rushing attack ranked No. 99 in the country last year.
Arkansas was a bit better on the defensive side of the ball, but it also lost more pieces there during the offseason. Defensive tackle Armon Watts, who earned the highest grade of any Razorback defender last season according to Pro Football Focus, safety Santos Ramirez and linebacker Dre Greenlaw are the most notable departures. Arkansas still has some talent on the interior of the defensive line in the form of McTelvin Agim and T.J. Smith. Agim led the team with 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season. Leading tackler De’Jon Harris will also return at middle linebacker, which should bolster the run defense. Pass defense will be much more of a concern. Arkansas ranked No. 87 nationally against the pass a year ago. It will need someone to emerge at defensive end — no returning player recorded more than two sacks a season ago — and its defensive backs need to find a way to generate turnovers. Arkansas intercepted just five passes last season, tied for the fifth-fewest in the country.
Players to watch
1. Ben Hicks, QB
Morris’ ideal offense is built around a quarterback who can stretch the field. In 2017, his final season at SMU, the Mustangs ranked No. 19 nationally in both passing attempts and yardage per game. Hicks threw the ninth most touchdowns in the country that season. No one should expect that level of production now that Hicks is no longer passing to Courtland Sutton and facing the most athletic defenses in the country, but if he is able to improve Arkansas’ passing game, it would go a long way toward improving the offense as a whole. The biggest key will be ball security. Last season, Arkansas committed the seventh-most turnovers in the country. Hicks, who was at times interception prone at SMU, cannot afford to give opponents field position and momentum by turning the ball over.
2. Offensive line
Missouri absolutely dominated Arkansas’ offensive line in last season’s meeting. Jordan Elliott recorded three sacks, including a strip sack that resulted in a touchdown, and the Tigers as a team recorded eight tackles for loss. The Razorbacks rushed the ball 39 times for 52 yards during the game. Arkansas simply must get better up front, both at protecting its quarterback and opening up holes in the running game.
3. De’Jon Harris, LB
While it may not be Morris’ preferred style, if Arkansas is going to upset Missouri, it will almost certainly have to do so by winning ugly. The Razorbacks do have some proven run-stuffers, including Harris, who totaled the second-most tackles in the SEC last season. That will be a necessary first step to slowing down the Tiger offense. Arkansas will likely also need Harris and company to manufacture some turnovers to give its offense some easy scoring opportunities.
Summary
It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if Arkansas improves upon its two-win season in Morris’ opening campaign, but the Razorbacks still appear to be at a talent deficit compared to the rest of the SEC. Look for Missouri to assert its will along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. You can never count out an upset — it’s (sort of) a rivalry matchup, after all, and the Razorbacks will have had an entire season to get young players acclimated — but if Missouri is able to stay healthy and take care of the ball, it should have a good chance to take home the Battle Line trophy for the fourth season in a row.
Missouri's full 2019 schedule
8/31: at Wyoming (Read our preview here.)
9/7: West Virginia (Preview)
9/14: Southeast Missouri State
9/21: South Carolina (Preview)
10/5: Troy (Preview)
10/12: Ole Miss (Preview)
10/19: at Vanderbilt (Preview)
10/26: at Kentucky (Preview)
11/9: at Georgia (Preview)
11/16: Florida (Preview)
11/23: Tennessee (Preview)
11/29: at Arkansas*
* Game will be played in Little Rock