Three storylines for first meeting between Razorbacks, Fighting Irish

Will Razorbacks score enough points, bring enough energy to rebound against Notre Dame?

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green dropping back to pass against the Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. | Ted McClenning-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After a month of playing away from the friendly confines of Razorback Stadium, the Hogs play arguably its most anticipated non-conference home game since drumming Texas in 2021.

For a brief period of time, Arkansas appeared to be back among the middle tier of SEC teams as the Razorbacks appeared to have their tusks back. Between road losses to Ole Miss and Memphis where the Hogs had a chance to win the game late, coach Sam Pittman's job status is in jeopardy once again.

With their backs against the wall, here are three storylines to watch as Arkansas attempts to knock off No. 21 Notre Dame in a first-time meeting between two storied programs.

Pittman's message for effort

Saturday's game against Notre Dame will tell media and fans alike if Pittman's concerns over a lack of effort last week against Memphis falls on deaf ears or motivates the team to maximize its talent.

The sixth-year coach came up with a variety of reasons the Razorbacks came out flat, mostly defensively, against the Tigers.

Memphis' Sutton Smith (5) runs in for a touchdown as fans cheer during the game between Memphis and Arkansas at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on September 20, 2025. | Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"We didn’t run to the football and we didn’t tackle well. A lot of times not tackling is effort. Obviously, it’s technique, but it’s effort," Pittman said Monday. "We had more missed assignments offensively, especially in the third quarter, than we’ve had this year. It wasn't this guy, it was this guy, or that guy, or that guy, or that guy.

"We obviously had more turnovers than we have had. So, yeah, I mean there are some things that mentally, it’s just not a physical game that mental effort, and it may have had something to do with the heat. I don’t know. We’ve got to find that out so it doesn’t happen to us again. I thought that we were either fatigued or we weren’t playing hard enough, or both on defense especially."

Over the past two seasons, defensive coordinator Travis Williams has fielded a solid run defense that's consistently ranked in the Top 30 nationally. However, Memphis rushed for 290 yards, which is the most his Arkansas defense has given up since hosting Auburn in 2023.

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Establish the run

Notre Dame's defense has taken a step back after former defensive coordinator Al Golden took the same job for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals.

The Fighting Irish are giving up just a tad over 109 yards per game on the ground, which ranks No. 41 nationally, but are going up against an Arkansas offensive line that is graded out as the top unit in college football.

Our @PFSNcollege highest-graded offensive lines to date:

1) Arkansas: 96.8
2) Utah: 94.2
3) Ohio State: 93.1
4) Vanderbilt: 92.9
5) Missouri: 92.7
6) Oregon: 92.1
7) Penn State: 91.6
8) Mississippi State: 91.4
9) Texas A&M: 91.3
10) Auburn: 91.2
11) Iowa: 91.1
12) USC: 90.8
13)… pic.twitter.com/Vn442KuuZx

— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) September 23, 2025

One player who needs to play more of a role in the backfield has to be sophomore Braylen Russell, who had a season-high 47 yards and a touchdown Saturday.

"[Russell] ran the ball well and we’ve talked about it," Pittman said. "We need to use him a little bit more. But I don’t want that to sound like when Mike [Washington] is in there, we’re not any good. I mean, I could ask the question, ‘How did Mike play when he was in there?’ And I thought he played really well."

Shootout in Razorback Stadium?

Both Arkansas (24.5 points per game) and Notre Dame (33.7 points per game) have watched their defense be generous to opponents in the scoring department.

"We match up," Pittman said. "They're good on the defensive line, but I think we've got good match-ups against them. I really like their Mike linebacker, [Drayk] Bowen. He can run side to side. We have to get him blocked. I mean, we just have to, because he can run and he's physical.

"They've run a lot of different coverages. A lot. So, we have to prepare for all those coverages. Where our match-up is, what do we try to do? In other words, are we going to try to attack outside, are we going to try to attack inside, are we going to run Taylen a lot? But all those things, anytime you have a team that's really good, you have to figure your match-ups, and I think we match up well, with great respect, against what they do."

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) runs with the ball during the first half of a NCAA football game against Purdue at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While the Razorbacks have quite the productive offense, at least in the first half, quarterback Taylen Green will be looked upon to keep his team in the game.

The Fighting Irish have an effective run game led by Jeremiyah Love combined with underrated quarterback play from C.J. Carr who are chomping at the bit to regain traction in the race for a College Football Playoff bid.

"Did I say I liked [Jeremiyah] Love?" Pittman said. "I mean, God, as I'm looking at tape, I'm going this guy is sensational. He's fast, he's mean. He can catch, he likes to jump. He's a high jump hurdler or something, but he's special.

"[C.J] Carr, really good, man. So accurate and runs the offense. really well and they throw the deep comeback on the sideline as good as anybody. And it seems like he's always got it in the right spot on time, but I got a little roll protection that they run a deep comeback on. I don't know what his percentage on it is right now, but it's high. He’s really good, really good player."

The Razorbacks do have a fighting chance as long as quarterback Taylen Green is upright and healthy going into a game. He's completed 64% of his attempts for 1,191 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions this season.

Green has also rushed for 360 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and is on pace to be the first quarterback in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

"We’ve got Taylen Green and other teams don’t," Pittman said at the Little Rock Touchdown Club in August. "That's how we feel about it."