Arkansas kicked off its 2023 season against Western Carolina at home. The game was the first for new offensive coordinator Dan Enos, who was hired in January of this year. It was a new era in Arkansas, as the Razorbacks passed the ball very well in the 56-13 win against the Catamounts.

While the passing game was very good, the usually very good ground game really struggled in the win.

While there were some good signs from the team, there are still definitely some things the Razorbacks need to work on to get better.

Player of the Week: QB KJ Jefferson

For Jefferson, he looked very good when it came to passing the football. He started the game 12-of-12 passing the ball.

He showed great command of the offense, making the right reads and allowing his receivers to make plays after the catch. One surprising statistic was that he rushed for only 11 yards, but with Enos’ new offensive system, Jefferson isn’t going to be asked to run the ball nearly as often.

A total of 9 receivers had a catch yesterday, with 6 of them having at least 2 catches.

Freshman of the Week:  Linebacker Brad Spencer

For many freshmen across the country, this was the first time they got to play collegiate football. Nerves and excitement can mess with a freshman, but for Brad Spence, he was able to create a memory of a lifetime on Saturday.

Spence was making his collegiate debut on Saturday as a LB for the Razorbacks, and he made the most of it with 2 tackles and 1 memorable 85-yard touchdown on a pick-6.

Biggest surprise: Defense shows more playmaking ability this year with 4 interceptions

Last season, the Razorbacks struggled to take the ball away from their opponents. They had only 9 interceptions last season but showed in Week 1 that they may have the ability to create more big plays on defense.

Arkansas intercepted Western Carolina quarterbacks 4 times, including the touchdown by Spence. Dwight McGlothern, who led the team with 4 interceptions last year, was able to get an interception on Saturday as well.

Biggest concern: The Razorbacks rushing attack was held in check

Sam Pittman is the type of coach who wants to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. That certainly includes running the ball on offense.

However, that wasn’t the case in Week 1, as the Razorbacks struggled mightily to run the ball. Arkansas ran the ball 36 times for only 105 yards, which is 2.9 yards per carry. Raheim Sanders, who rushed for 1,443 yards last season, was able to muster only 42 yards on 15 carries. With the Razorbacks not relying on Jefferson to run the ball as much, Sanders will be counted on even more to be able to run the ball.

Developing trend: Penalties proved costly in the game

If there was one thing to look out for, it was that the Razorbacks had 7 penalties for 86 yards. A big issue there includes the fact these weren’t just the 5-yard variety, as the penalties had an average of 12.3 yards per penalty.

Multiple times the penalties either extended drives for Western Carolina or ended drives for Arkansas. As the competition continues to get tougher, this is something Arkansas needs to fix sooner rather than later.

Key Stat: 105 yards rushing

It is one game, so there is obviously a lot of time to fix it, but Arkansas has to fix the issues in the run game quickly. The offensive line did a relatively good job in the passing game, as Western Carolina had only 1 sack. However, very few times were there any holes for the Razorbacks to make a big play in the rushing game.

This isn’t for a lack of talent, as Sanders is one of the best running backs not only in the SEC but also in all of college football. At 6-foot-2, 242 pounds, Sanders is a freight train who has the ability to run people over, but also very solid speed.

There is no reason the Razorbacks weren’t able to run the ball, and is something that Pittman and his staff are probably already working on to fix. With a road game at LSU in just 3 weeks, this has to change and be a one-game fluke.

First impression about Week 2

The bottom line from Saturday’s game is that the positives did outweigh the negatives. The passing game was very solid, and the defense showed a lot of promise. The Razorbacks take on Kent State next weekend, and you can be sure that Arkansas is going to look to establish the line of scrimmage very early in the game with Sanders and the offensive line. In the 56-6 loss to UCF last weekend, Kent State gave up 389 rushing yards on 46 carries.