What questions did Hogs fans get answered in Razorbacks' opener?

Arkansas gets big win over Alabama A&M as people frantically tried to learn about team

Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver CJ Brown (3) scores a touchdown in the first quarter against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Razorback Stadium. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After what feels like three years of waiting to know much of anything about this Arkansas football team, Razorbacks fans finally got their first glimpse at the newest iteration of the Hogs.

The questions were endless, but at least five got some sort of answered in a 52-7 win over Alabama A&M in the season opener at Razorback Stadium.

Is the Hogs' defense that bad or is the offense that good?

Throughout camp reports kept coming of big plays made by the offense on a regular basis. What couldn't be discerned since reporters weren't allowed to watch the actual practices was whether that was because the offense was so explosive or because the defense was that bad.

The answer appears to be kinda yes on both parts. The defense looked atrocious to start as the Alabama A&M offense, led by extra veteran quarterback Cornelius Brown, ripped through the Hogs' defense like a high school JV team.

It was clear Arkansas is bigger and faster in the secondary as advertised and they pack a wallop when they tackle someone. However, there were a lot of problems in coverage as receivers ran free and found holes on a regular basis.

Had it not been for self-inflicted mistakes with false starts, the Bulldogs may have had 21 points and the momentum in the first quarter. Eventually, things settled down and the starting defense held things to a single touchdown as the offense slowly pulled away.

On the offensive side, there were times where Arkansas looked unstoppable, but not quite as explosive as was continously reported with numerous 40+ yard plays.

Will Green find a way to distribute the ball to multiple threats or will he get locked in again?

That one was pretty simple. Green threw six touchdowns in 2.5 quarters to five different receivers, including one to traditional pass blocking tight end Andreas Paaske.

Only CJ Brown caught more than one touchdown. Nine Razorbacks caught a pass from Green, including five who caught three or more.

That makes watching tape and planning to stop the Hogs' passing game much more difficult than last season when the plan was basically to shut down Andrew Armstrong.

Does Green have a new Andrew Armstrong?

The answer is yes, but there is a caveat. Green found a reliable source of comfort in highly-touted transfer O'Mega Blake.

Blake led Arkansas receivers with seven catches and 121 yards with Green on the field, three more receptions and 72 yards more than Green's second favorite target in Brown. However, it wasn't forced the way it was with Armstrong last year.

One of his biggest weaknesses was overlooking a wide open Isaac TeSlaa or Luke Hasz to force a ball to Armstorng. In this case, Blake used his speed to create open space, justifying his targets.

He will draw ultimate attention next week in Little Rock against Arkansas State, but nothing was shown to make anyone think those receptions won't go to Brown or Raylen Sharpe if the defense focuses on shutting down Blake. That's the big difference.

Is Washington worth all the hype heard coming in?

The answer is yes and no. Did he produce a dud like Arch Manning did over at Texas? No.

Did he go out there and break off multiple huge runs? No, he didn't do that either.

What he showed was explosion through the hole as he got to the second level fast on every carry. It was easy to see that if he makes a man miss or gets a clean running lane, he is going to be in the end zone fast.

However, for some reason, he didn't get a lot of plays. It was unclear whether he was missing blocking assignments in protecting Green, got a little dinged up, or if Pittman just wanted to see some of the other starters with the starters.

Hopefully, that will be something Pittman specifically addresses after the game, but as of post time for this piece, he hasn't spoken to the media. Washington did come in and get a big play in the fourth quarter against back-ups and then had a touchdown catch from KJ Jackson, so if the issue was an injury concern, that went away with time.

Is Scott Starzyk going to be a kicker the Hogs can rely on in front of a crowd?

All preseason Pittman kept trying to come up with ways to put pressure on true freshman kicker Scott Starzyk, including bringing out school administrators. However, nothing equates to doing it in front of tens of thousands of fans in a game day setting.

Well, so far, so good. It wasn't exactly the ideal way to get a young kicker his first points of his career, but Starzyk stepped in and knocked a 53-yarder right down the middle with plenty of room to spare.