FAYETTEVILLE – There is no joy in Fayetteville. Mighty Arkansas…
Nevermind.
Those words aren’t quite completely true. They are also not all that far off base. The mood in northwest Arkansas is cautious, worrisome, even, following the Razorbacks’ loss to Toledo on Saturday.
The team is running for fewer than 150 yards per game, a year after going for more than 210. Granted, it is through just two games, but those games were against UTEP and Toledo. There are concerns.
Texas Tech gets the unenviable task of facing an Arkansas angry and seeking to get on track. The Hogs ran for almost 500 yards in the teams’ matchup last year. And while this isn’t a make-or-break game for Arkansas, a loss would be devastating.
Here are the five most important players to watch Saturday.
Arkansas running back Alex Collins – Fair or not, few players on the field will have the amount of pressure Collins carries into the Razorbacks’ game Saturday. Touted as a natural fit sliding into the feature-back role after the team’s loss of leading rusher Jonathan Williams, Collins and the Arkansas rushing attack has disappointed through two games. It has not wholly been Collins’ fault. It probably has not been much his fault at all, judging from the tape. But when outsiders look at the statistics the question is asked: “What’s wrong with Alex Collins?”
Arkansas wide receiver Drew Morgan – Morgan will slide into the Z-position for Keon Hatcher after Hatcher, the team’s leading receiver, was lost to a broken foot against Toledo on Saturday. Morgan has six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown so far this season playing mostly from the slot. Hatcher had 13 grabs for 198 yards and two scores from his first-read position.
Arkansas offensive tackle Denver Kirkland – The most scrutiny in the state has been on Kirkland. Almost no one is suggesting the near-unanimous All-SEC selection is suddenly a bad player. The same people are wondering why he hasn’t, to their eyes, been as good a tackle as he was a guard last year. The coaching staff reiterating no one on the team’s offensive line will change positions, so Kirkland remains on the left side. Arkansas hasn’t given up a sack in 73 pass attempts. It’s also 90th in FBS in rushing.
Arkansas cornerback Henre’ Toliver – Toliver has been the team’s best defensive back this season. He plays almost exclusive in the slot in the team’s nickel package and still leads the secondary in tackles (12), pass break-ups (2) and interceptions (1). He has been so good in the position the team runs five defensive backs on a regular basis. He will have to be good against a Texas Tech passing offense that is second in the nation.
Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes II – The Arkansas-Texas Tech game last year in Lubbock was Mahomes’ first opportunity to showcase his skill. Literally the same time this season he’s the man leading the second-ranked passing team in FBS.
Eric Bolin is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football and Arkansas.
