Opinion or commentary 

By Morgan Nunley 

Online Editor 

With the almost half the season in the books for the 2023 Arkansas Razorbacks football team, the season hasn’t gone exactly how the fans or team would have hoped. A dismal 2-3 start has left the Hog fans wondering if the team can even compete for a bowl game. The last few opponents for the Hogs have been tough, with the schedule not lightening up anytime soon. Looking back at their first five games and how they fared provides key observations and possible predictions for this team’s performance and what we could expect from the Hogs for the next few games, along with the rest of the season.

Western Carolina 

The first week of the season against the Western Carolina Catamounts proved a statement victory for the Hogs in the game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Hogs started by turning three three-and-outs from the Catamounts into two touchdowns — one a 65-yard bomb from quarterback KJ Jefferson to wideout Jaedon Wilson, and the other being a 3-yard run from Raheim “Rocket” Sanders. The game would only get uglier from here for the Catamounts as the total amount of their next five offensive drives resulted in a field goal, a fumble, two interceptions, and a punt. The Razorbacks, on the other hand, scored three more touchdowns in their next five drives. The first was a 31-yard pass from Jefferson to wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, after an interception by the defense. The second was a 17-yard run for Jefferson after another Catamount interception. The third was a 1-yard run from Sanders to bring a close to the half with a score of 35-3, Razorbacks. 

The team was on cruise control for the rest of the game; with the damage mostly done, the Razorbacks ended week 1 with a 56-13 win over Western Carolina. Quarterback KJ Jefferson ended with 246 yards passing and 4 total touchdowns. Other notable Razorback performances included Sanders who had 42 yards and two touchdowns. Wilson had 83 yards and a touchdown and TeSlaa 

ended with 66 yards and a touchdown, while wideout Andrew Armstrong also contributed 5 receptions and 78 yards. 

Kent State 

On to week 2, where the Razorback clashed with the Kent State Golden Flashes in Fayetteville. Both Arkansas and Kent State started slowly with the only points on the board near the end of the first quarter being a Kent field goal. That changed with about a minute left in the quarter when Arkansas linebacker Antonio Grier picked off Kent quarterback Michael Alaimo and returned it for a touchdown to open the lead to 4 for Arkansas. There was a punt from each team before Kent State kicked another field goal and Arkansas quarterback Jefferson threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Armstrong, bringing the halftime score to 14-6, Arkansas. The Arkansas defense held in the second half, not allowing another point from the Kent State offense, while Arkansas scored two more touchdowns to seal the win, 28-6. 

The important player statistics from the game included Jefferson having only 136 yards passing, but 48 yards rushing and 2 passing touchdowns. Running back AJ Green had a great game rushing for 82 yards and looking dominant at the line of scrimmage. TeSlaa ended with the most receiving yards on the day, with 51, while Wilson had another 31 yards, and Armstrong added 21 yards and two touchdowns. 

BYU 

The Razorbacks, in the third weekend, faced their toughest test to date, playing the BYU Cougars in Fayetteville. The Hogs started hot with an AJ Green 55-yard touchdown run on the opening drive, followed by a three-and-out on defense, and then a punt return touchdown by Isaiah Sategna, opening up a 14 to nil Arkansas lead. The next 11 drives of the first half were rough for the Hogs, as they punted on every possession and gave up the 14-point lead they quickly built as BYU ran for two touchdowns and passed for another in their drives and took their first lead of the game. The last three 

drives of the first half ended well for the Razorbacks as they finally scored another touchdown, forced a fumble by the Cougars, and got a field goal to end the half up by 3, 24-21. 

The first four drives of the second half were another great sign as they scored another touchdown and forced two more three-and-outs for the Cougars. A turnover on downs changed the momentum of the game in favor of the Cougars as on the final six Arkansas drives ended with an interception, a fumble, a turnover on downs, a punt, a missed field goal, and the end of the game, while the Cougars came back from 10 down and scored 17 unanswered points to win the game 31-38. 

The Razorbacks’ disappointing outcome overshadowed some pretty impressive performances. AJ Green ended with 86 yards and two touchdowns. Jefferson ended with 247 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble lost, and 1 interception in what was a below average day for the quarterback’s standards. Andrew Armstrong had an impressive 98 yards on 9 receptions, while tight end Luke Hasz had his breakout game with 78 yards and a touchdown. 

LSU 

The fourth game of the season came against the LSU Tigers, in Baton Rouge, for the famed “boot” trophy of the two states combined. The game started slowly for both teams as the Hogs put up the only points through the first quarter, with each quarterback already having thrown an interception. To end the half, both teams put together a touchdown and field goal drive, with Tyrone Broden catching a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson, and the score going into halftime being a 13-10 lead for the Razorbacks. 

The second half was a rough one for the Hogs. LSU scored on their first three possessions they had, with the Razorbacks being forced to match the LSU output. The Hogs were able to keep pace scoring a field goal on their first possession, bringing the score to 16-17, and scoring two touchdowns on their next two drives. Both were connections of Jefferson and Luke Hasz as they found each other for a 59-yard touchdown and another 11-yard touchdown to bring the game to a tie 

at 31 all. Unfortunately for the Hogs, the Tigers’ offense couldn’t be stopped as they were able to get in field goal range and make the game winning field goal, leaving only enough time for Jefferson to throw one pass, that ended up being intercepted as the Hogs lost 31-34. 

The game was a mixed one for quarterback KJ Jefferson as he completed 21 of his 31 passes for 289 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions, while also adding 48 yards on the ground. Tied End Luke Hasz had his breakout performance, scoring two touchdowns and picking up 116 yards receiving on only 6 receptions. Running back Rashod Dubinion added 78 yards rushing and 35 yards receiving, while Andrew Armstrong also tacked on 76 yards receiving on 6 receptions. 

Texas A&M 

In the fifth game of the year, the Hogs went down to Arlington, Texas to play the Texas A&M Aggies, in the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. The first half proved to be a discouraging effort for the Razorback defense as they allowed the Aggies a chance to put points on the board in all four of their first half drives. The Aggies capitalized scoring two touchdowns and a field goal but missed another field goal attempt. The Hogs weren’t as lethal with their offensive drives, only getting two field goals, a punt, and a turnover on downs, with the score being 6-17 at half. 

The second half of the ball game started with some hope for the Hogs as Lorando Johnson picked off Aggies quarterback Max Johnson, and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown, bringing the score to 13-17. The next few drives for both teams resulted in a field goal for each and a couple of punts, along with an A&M fumble. With the score 16-20, quarterback KJ Jefferson threw his own pick six, and it virtually ended the game as the Razorbacks were never able to quite recover from that mistake. The special teams made it all the worse later by allowing a punt return for a touchdown that would seal the game for A&M. The Hogs scored one last touchdown to bring the final score to 22-34. 

The game was a pitiful one for the Razorbacks all-around, with the only bright spot being Andrew Armstrong’s strong performance, with 3 receptions, 78 yards, and a touchdown. Jefferson played well below his standards, finishing 9 of 17 passing the ball, with only 132 yards and one touchdown to match his one interception. 

Where Do They Go from Here? 

Overall, the season has been rough for the Hogs. The 2-3 record is a disappointing record, although not an awful one by any means at this point in the season. In total yards of offense in the NCAA, the Hogs rank toward the bottom of the teams, according to ESPN.com. However, the Hogs are in the upper tiers of teams that can put points on the board, averaging 33.6 a game thus far. In the offensive passing game they rank toward the top of the NCAA in completion percentage, touchdowns, and passer rating. However, the Hogs also find themselves towards the top of the teams in terms of sacks and interceptions. The passing offense is good, but could be slightly better, to put the team into true bowl game status. The Razorbacks are below average in the NCAA in all the rushing statistics, receiving statistics, and first downs. They are above average in third down percentage and fourth down percentage. The Razorbacks are also among the leaders in penalties and penalty yards on offense. Overall, it’s an offense that could use some more cleaning up and has shown flashes of brilliance. 

The Razorbacks are above average on defense in the run game. The Razorbacks allow 112.0 rushing yards per game, among the top quarter or so of NCAA teams. This makes up for the Razorbacks middling pass defense that has held up somewhat consistently over the course of the short season. The Hogs also have an above average defense in terms of yardage in the NCAA. The Razorbacks have fallen in terms of scoring defense though, being about average compared to the other teams. The Hogs’ pass defense does have a great touchdowns-allowed-to-interception ratio, with that being 9 to 7. The Hogs’ defense has also been very good with the sacks that they have been able to come up with, totaling 14. The opponent passer rating is what kills the Hogs as they allow almost a 142- passer rating for opposing quarterbacks. 

The upcoming stretch of the schedule is the roughest patch for the Razorbacks. Two of the Hogs’ next 5 games come against teams currently ranked in the Top 25, both of which are away games. The Hogs must play #16 Ole Miss on Oct. 7 and #11 Alabama on Oct. 14. 

The next three games afterward? All SEC games. On Oct. 21, they play Mississippi State, a team that the Hogs have won the three most recent games in the series. Then the Hogs will play at Florida on Nov. 4 and then in Fayetteville against Auburn on Nov. 11. The upcoming schedule will be the true test for this Arkansas team, to find out if they are here to stay and contend for a bowl game this winter. 

Morgan Nunley is a journalism student and the online editor for the NWACC Eagle View.