Razorbacks Concern Index Going Into Week Two Against Utes

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks have a chance to put an ugly Week One effort against North Alabama behind them with an opportunity to upset No. 21 Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.

Social media never rests and sometimes its users might over dramaticize what happened on the field throughout the week.

That's acutally an accurate representation from the season opener because everything that fans have been led to believe about this team was not seen on Frank Broyles Field and it's hard for a fanbase that has been through trying times the past 14 years to look past it.

Here are three things I'm most concerned about going into Week Two against the Utes at Rice Eccles Stadium.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jackson calls for the snap during second quarter against North Alabama. | Nilsen Roman

Quarterback: 6/10

It's been mentioned several times this week, but there is an opportunity for KJ Jackson to get back on track against Utah. That all starts in the passing game against a Utes' secondary that allowed Idaho to dink-and-dunk them throughout the season opener.

The Vandals are hardly a formidable FBS opponent anymore since dropping down to the FCS level, but still gave Utah something to think about for the first 25 minutes of the game. After a not so fast start in Week One against North Alabama, it's time for Jackson to put his first half issues behind him and lead an upset bid on Saturday night.

The 6-foot-4 passer can get the job done with his legs if there is no one open and there's room to run, which will for Utah to play disciplined on scramble drills. If Jackson doesn't improve his play from Week One, then it might be time to sound the alarms with the season going south quickly.

"You don’t want guys that make excuses," Silverfield said. "You don’t want guys who point the finger. In fact, at halftime, he looked me straight in the eye and he said, ‘I know exactly what I did wrong and I’ll get it fixed.’ And to his credit I think the second half was a cleaner set of football plays, right, in the 30 minutes that he was out there in the second half.

"We all know KJ is calm, cool and collected and no different. He took very hard coaching, and to his credit, when I called him out in front of the whole team about his play not being of the standard of what we expect around here, he nodded and said ‘Yes, sir,’ and he gets it."

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive lineman Carlon Jones lines up for a snap against North Alabama on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. | Nilsen Roman

Defensive Line: 3/10

While the Razorbacks defense was the best part of Saturday's win against North Alabama, containing quarterback Devon Dampier and his explosive offense is the test now.

Remaining disciplined against the run, and not overpursuing on RPO plays with backup quarterback Byrd Ficklin alongside Dampier is key. The Razorbacks will need to be active along the edges, which means having Quincy Rhodes return to full health being key to how disruptive Arkansas' defense can be on Saturday night.

This will be the biggest test of David Oke's career at the Power Four level since he transferred up from Abilene Christian following the 2024 season. He had just one tackle against UNA, but has the athleticsm and size to be a matchup problem for a Utah offensive line that has five new starters.

"But I think our D-line is going to [have] a wonderful opportunity preparing for these guys and have a great week of preparation," Silverfield said on Monday. "But we've got to find a way to be effective because if it starts and ends with the run game, we're going to have to find a way to stop it, and ultimately we’ve got to rely on our guys and our defensive line and our trenches.”

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive lineman Bryant Williams lines up at right tackle ahead of a snap during the Red-White Spring Game. | Bryant Williams, Instagra

Offensive Line: 8/10

There has been enough talk about how bad the offensive line played last week against the Lions, and those struggles were quite the surprise in Week One. With Caden Kitler, Kobe Branham and Malachi Breland's experience in the SEC and at Memphis, seeing them not find a way to get leverage or push up front was alarming.

Whetther it was playing with higher pad level or bad technique, the offensive line is not a position group a first-year coach will want to experiment with for long. Kitler alluded to getting on the right track during "The Ryan Silverfield Show" on Wednesday that the offensive line wants to improve this Saturday at Utah.

“You saw the performance we put on the field last game,” Kitler said during The Ryan Silverfield Show on Wednesday. “Week 1 to Week 2, you make your biggest stride. We’re trying to correct everything that we messed up in Week 1, and we're ready for this challenge going to Salt Lake City.”

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