What's Left to Project or Predict for Razorbacks' Opener?

The time for guessing is over as Hogs host Western Carolina in SEC opener

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Sep 2, 2023 1:23 AM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas' football operations have moved south until Saturday night to open a season with far more questions than answers against Western Carolina at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock at noon. The game will be broadcast only on ESPN+.

It's far easier to list what we know about this Razorback team than list all the questions and possibilities. Quarterback is more solid than it's been in over half a decade with KJ Jefferson and Jacolby Criswell next if something happens. Running back is good with Raheim "Rocket" Sanders, AJ Green and Rashod Dubinion. There are two returning offensive linemen.

Everything else has a lot of questions we won't get answers about Saturday. The Catamounts aren't exactly the best team at the FCS level and they simply don't have the depth or quality of players the Hogs have until you get really deeper into the roster than anybody wants to do here.

All you need to know is if you want to put a bag of popcorn on the outcome and want the Hogs you're going to have to lay five touchdowns before the kickoff. You can make your own judgements on that, but there are a ton of questions with nothing but some projections and hope.

There are some good people based upon what coaches have seen in practice. You could put together a ton of practice All-Americans in the history of college football. Hogs coach Sam Pittman knows the first true test for this team is going to come in week four against LSU in Baton Rouge.

Until then it's coaches making their best guess at who should be in what rotation and future decisions will be made based in large part on what happens in this game. It's likely even those final evaluations are subject to change week to week.

None of that is new. When eventual Stanford's Heisman winner Jim Plunkett and receiver Randy Vataha lit up the Hogs' in a highly-anticipated 1970 season opener in Little Rock, you could see the coaches huddling on the sideline. That was a little different and it wasn't a good sign.

Frank Broyles and staff completely revamped the defense the next week in what eventually was a 9-2 season but no bowl bid. Broyles talked his way out of a third straight Sugar Bowl trip and the Hogs didn't play in the postseason. It was a different day and age in college football.

There is no way we'll see a repeat of that 53 years later, but simply to point out making changes after the opener isn't anything new. The Hogs will win it and we'll have complete in-game coverage with our staff in Little Rock complete with video updates from the allHOGS studios in Fayetteville.