Razorback Defense Has To Make Utah One-Dimensional

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas linebacker Ben Bogle played against Utah and quarterback Devon Dampier last year when he was with West Virginia. Suffice to say, the game did not go his way.

Utah beat West Virginia 48-14 as Dampier went 21-26 for 237 yards and four touchdowns, adding 33 yards and another score on the ground.

Suffice to say, Bogle wants revenge, and he thinks he knows how to get it.

Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker Ben Bogle tackles a UNA offensive player during the season opener. | Nilsen Roman

"They like throwing the ball," Bogle said Wednesday. "The do a lot of trickery stuff. You know, a lot of counter, a lot of power-read, stuff like that. We have to make them one dimensional. We struggled with that last year.

"I'm looking forward to kind of a revenge game, almost if you will, and just getting after him, making him one dimensional, and I think it's going to be a completely different result than we had last year."

Utah's offense was clean and crisp in the Utes' Sept. 3 66-14 win over Idaho, in which Dampier went 13-8 for 176 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

"We say once we hit him, he’s not going to want to be hit," Bogle said. "He’s going to want to scramble and get out of the pocket. So we’ve got to do a good job of containing him and just getting after him and hitting him in the mouth. Just doing that over and over again. People can’t handle that and I think they’ll break down."

Bogle might want to make Utah one-dimensional, but it's hard to say Arkansas would choose to face either only the Utes' passing game or ground attack. Dampier is a very capable passer, and Utah ran for 7.4 yards a carry and 364 yards in total.

Utah Utes running back Wayshawn Parker (1) runs for a 21-yard touchdown against the Idaho Vandals during the first quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Either way you slice it, Utah's offense looked much better than Arkansas' in Week 1, and both squads were playing FCS opponents. The good news for Arkansas is that its defense looked to be much improved from its 2025 iteration, holding North Alabama to only 153 total yards, 59 of which came on a busted coverage play to former Memphis wide receiver Xavier Johnson.

"I believe Coach Roberts," DB Jahiem "Joker" Johnson said. "He’s going to put us in the best situation to win. So whatever he calls we’re going to go out there and execute. I like us. Go out there and play with confidence and believe you can do what you can do. We are here for a reason, so I like us."

Kickoff between Arkansas and Utah is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. Saturday, with coverage on ESPN and the Razorback Sports Network.

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