Arkansas Must Fix These 8 Things Before Taking On Vanderbilt

Razorbacks have spent another week talking about improvement to win first SEC game of season

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Sutton Smith looks for room against North Alabama. | Nilsen Roma

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas has squeezed about everything it can out of looking better in a loss. At some point, improvement has to pay for the trip home.

That is where the Razorbacks stand heading to Vanderbilt. There were things worth keeping from the Tennessee game, but another week of pointing them out will not change what happened. Arkansas had an opportunity and did not finish it.

Nobody should confuse Vanderbilt with an automatic win. Nobody should pretend the Razorbacks need a perfect performance, either. They need to address these eight problems that keep showing up when a game is there to be won.

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Braylen Russell looking downfield on long run after the catch against Tulsa. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs on SI Images

Can Arkansas Run the Ball After Vanderbilt Adjusts?

The Razorbacks found something useful against Tennessee. Now they need to find out whether it can survive another coaching staff spending a week studying it.

Arkansas averages 99 rushing yards per game. That number is a reminder that one productive stretch did not repair an entire offense. The ground game still has to prove it can be more than something the Razorbacks occasionally get going.

I will be watching what happens after Vanderbilt changes its approach. If Arkansas can keep finding useful yards, the progress means something. If the run disappears and takes the rest of the offense with it, the same problem has simply followed the team to Nashville.

Will KJ Jackson Get a Chance to Settle Into Rhythm?

Jackson has to make the throws that are there. That part should not require a debate. But Arkansas also has to stop treating its quarterback like the answer to every possession that has already gone wrong.

A useful gain on first down changes his job. So does protection that lets a route develop or a receiver giving him a dependable second option. Those things do not guarantee success, but they make success a reasonable expectation rather than a rescue mission.

I want to see Jackson operating the offense instead of constantly trying to recover it. If Arkansas gives him those circumstances and he fails to capitalize, that deserves criticism. The staff needs to give him the opportunity before the evaluation becomes that simple.

Can Arkansas Get Out of Third-and-Unmanageable?

Arkansas went 2 of 12 on third down against Tennessee. Worse, the Razorbacks averaged 9.5 yards to gain. That is an offense making an already important snap unnecessarily difficult.

The correction cannot begin with a better third-down speech. It starts with the plays that come before it. Arkansas needs fewer wasted early downs and fewer possessions that leave the defense knowing exactly what is coming.

Third-and-4 does not guarantee a conversion, but it gives the offense choices. Third-and-10 takes several away. If the Razorbacks keep putting themselves in the second situation, nobody should act surprised when the drive ends with the punt team.

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive linemen Steven Soles, Hunter Osbone and Quincy Rhodes celebrate after a stop against Tennessee Volunteers. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs On SI Images

Can Razorbacks Put Curtis In Pressure Cooker?

Jared Curtis can make a defense pay once the play breaks down. Silverfield has pointed to his escapability, which makes the shape of Arkansas’ pass rush important.

Getting into the backfield is not the whole assignment. A defender running past the quarterback can create the opening Vanderbilt needed. Pressure only helps if the other defenders understand where the quarterback is being forced.

I will be watching whether Arkansas stays disciplined when a sack looks close. Make Curtis deliver a difficult throw. Do not turn a nearly successful defensive play into the easiest yards the Commodores get all evening.

Will Vanderbilt Have to Earn Its Points?

Vanderbilt has not scored more than 17 points in any of its three SEC losses. Arkansas should see that as an opportunity to make the Commodores continue confronting their offensive limitations.

The danger is helping them avoid that work. A missed tackle, a coverage error or a short field can do more for a struggling offense than anything its coordinator calls. Arkansas cannot afford to become Vanderbilt’s most effective offensive adjustment.

If the Commodores put together a good drive, make them put together a good drive. Force the extra snap. Make the next tackle. There is no reason to hand over the part of the field Vanderbilt has struggled to earn.

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey views his unit prior to the Tennessee game. | Nilsen Roman, Hogs On SI Images

What Happens After Cramsey's Opening Script?

Something Arkansas likes early will probably stop working as well later. That is not a crisis. It is what happens when the other team has coaches and a reason to pay attention.

The question is how quickly Tim Cramsey responds. If Vanderbilt crowds the run, Arkansas needs a passing answer. If the Commodores remove a receiving option, the offense cannot spend the next two possessions wondering where else to go.

I want the adjustment to look prepared, not discovered by accident. Arkansas does not have enough offensive consistency to waste long stretches searching. The second answer needs to be ready before the first one disappears.

Can the Offense Do Something With a Defensive Opportunity?

A takeaway should change the feel of a game. Too often, the excitement lasts only until Arkansas gives the ball back.

Nobody needs to demand a touchdown after every turnover. A few first downs can help. So can improved field position or enough time with the ball to let the defense catch its breath. Those are useful outcomes even when they do not make the highlight package.

What Arkansas cannot keep doing is making a big defensive play feel irrelevant five minutes later. If Vanderbilt gives the Razorbacks an opening, the offense needs to make the Commodores regret it.

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback George MacIntyre (12) dives in attempt to tackle Arkansas Razorbacks defensive lineman Quincy Rhodes Jr. (97) after an interception during the second quarter at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Will Arkansas Look Prepared When the Game Gets Tight?

This is the question behind the other seven. If the score is close late, will Arkansas look like a team that knows what it wants to do?

I will be watching the communication, the clock and the purpose behind each possession. Aggressive is not automatically smart. Conservative is not automatically responsible. The decision needs to fit the situation and the players asked to execute it.

The Razorbacks have given everyone enough material for another discussion about what might be improving. Nashville needs to provide something more useful. Play well enough, long enough, that the conversation can finally begin with a win.

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