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Arkansas and Tennessee-Martin will meet for the first time ever when the Razorbacks and Skyhawks square during Week 9 action in Fayetteville. While the Hogs are riding an emotional high after beating Auburn last week in a four-overtime thriller, they can’t take Tennessee-Martin lightly, lest they get shocked by another team such as Toledo.
The Skyhawks are 5-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference and have lost to No. 19 Ole Miss and Jacksonville State, the FCS’ No. 1 team that nearly upset Auburn, of all teams, in Week 2, also in overtime. Arkansas is 3-4 (2-2 SEC) and needs this win over Tennessee-Martin if it wants to become bowl eligible, especially with upcoming games against Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State and Missouri to round out the season.
Here’s a look at five players to keep an eye on when Arkansas takes on Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks in Week 9.
Arkansas QB Brandon Allen – Brandon Allen is riding high a week after earning the signature win of his career at Arkansas. The Razorbacks scored on final last five possessions of the four-overtime game, led by the senior quarterback. The hometown Fayetteville High School product finished with a modest 233 yards, but was clutch in the extra frames, connecting for two touchdowns and a pair of 2-point conversion strikes to Jeremy Sprinkle and Kody Walker for the win. The SEC’s active career-leader for starts (32 games) at quarterback did it all with a smile on his face and a welt on his leg that made him visibly limp.
“He played one of the most complete games of his career,” Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said earlier this week. “It was absolutely awesome to see him smiling.”
Tennessee-Martin QB Jarod Neal – Jarod Neal has a knack for throwing the ball and orchestrating comebacks. The Tennessee-Martin quarterback is coming off a 420-yard, five-touchdown performance last week against Murray State. The senior erased three Skyhawk deficits of 14 points to win 52-45 and earned Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. Neal has thrown for more than 400 yards twice this season and has 1,893 total through the air. The signal-caller will put his 22 touchdowns up against an Arkansas defense that gives up a lot of passing yards, ranking No. 100 in the nation with a 257.7 yard average. But that number is a bit misleading. The Razorback defense might be the epitome of the old adage “bend, don’t break.” Despite the high yardage, Robb Smith’s defensive unit has only given up seven touchdowns on the year. By comparison, the NCAA’s No. 1 team in fewest yards allowed, San Jose State (122.1 YPG), has given up six touchdowns. Tennessee-Martin has scored 51 first-quarter points in seven games this season.
Arkansas RB Kody Walker – Razorback head coach Bret Bielema had high praise for Kody Walker this week, after the reserve running back helped the Hogs to a marathon win over Auburn. “If Kody Walker doesn’t play in that game, I don’t know if we win,” Bielema said of the junior tailback who rushed for 32 yards on 8 carries against the Tigers.
Walker spelled Alex Collins in overtime as fatigue from 25 rushes and 109 hard-fought yards wore down the starting running back and leading rusher. Walker, a Jefferson City, Mo., native, rushed for scores of 3 and 4 yards, and punctuated the Razorbacks’ 54-point afternoon with a 2-point conversion catch on the game’s final touchdown. Bielema continually said all week that Walker’s “fresh legs” made the difference in the Hogs’ win. Expect to see more of Walker as Arkansas likes to take its time and slowly grind out the clock with an offense that averages an SEC-best (No. 6 in the nation) 33:57 time of possession this season.
Arkansas Offensive Line – For the second time in as many years, all 1,600-plus pounds of the Arkansas offensive line has tipped the scales as the biggest unit in football. Not college football, all of football – NFL included — outweighing the San Diego Chargers (327.6 to 325.0) in average pounds. The O-line — RT Dan Skipper, RG Frank Ragnow, C Mitch Smothers, LG Sebastian Tretola and LT Denver Kirkland — has played more combined snaps (3,411) than any other in the SEC with 244 more snaps than the next closest team, Georgia. As a result, Arkansas is tops in the SEC in sacks allowed with six, making them one of just nine teams nationally to allow that many or fewer. The unit hasn’t permitted a sack in five of its last nine games, and have held opponents without a sack in 14 of 32 contests during the Bielema era. Tennessee-Martin ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference with 18 sacks, led by Damani Taylor with 4.5 quarterback drops and 6.0 tackles-for-loss.
Arkansas S Rohan Gaines/S Josh Liddell – Rohan Gaines opened Arkansas’ Week 8 win over Auburn with the Razorbacks’ first tackle of the afternoon. Josh Liddell closed out the Tigers on the contest’s final play, denying a Sean White pass on fourth down in the fourth overtime of the Hogs’ 54-46 victory. The pair each had nine tackles, while Liddell broke up two passes and forced a fumble. Their efforts against the Tigers earned the two safeties Bret Bielema’s defensive player(s) of the week honors. If the Razorback defense can come out strong against Tennessee-Martin, then Arkansas has a good chance of not disappointing the homecoming crowd this Saturday in Fayetteville. Bielema is 7-2 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium since the beginning of last season. In those games, only Texas Tech has scored on the Arkansas defense in the first quarter. That includes SEC West tilts against Alabama and Auburn, as well as LSU and Ole Miss — all of whom the Razorbacks outscored 118-14 in the first quarter. Arkansas’ 3-4 record is equally befuddling when you consider that the Hogs defense has pitched fourth-quarter shut-outs in three of its seven games.
WOW!!! #WPS last play of the game! pic.twitter.com/bQXfbJXZoc
— D.J. Williams (@dj45williams) October 24, 2015
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
