Taking a Realistic Look at the Upcoming Arkansas Razorback Football Schedule

Is it possible for head coach Sam Pittman to put together another winning season in Fayetteville?

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Feb 22, 2023 10:13 PM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After tumultuous seasons in both football and basketball, it's time to look for some positives in the land of the Razorbacks.

Obviously, baseball and softball seasons bringing immense hope, but is there hope where the damage has been done to the hearts of Razorback fans?

The biggest opportunity to find a silver lining is by sifting through the Arkansas Razorback football schedule for wins.

The good news is that this is a dramatically easier football schedule compared to the last three years.

There's also good feelings knowing that the Razorbacks' biggest weaknesses last season – back-up quarterback and the secondary – appear to not only be stabilized, but much improved.

With that in mind, let's take an early look at how things might shake out this coming Arkansas football season.

Afterward, tell us which game you think was picked wrong in these predictions using our Twitter poll.

WESTERN CAROLINA

Sept. 2
Little Rock, Ark.
(WIN)

Even though Western Carolina is an FCS school, the Catamounts are capable of putting up huge numbers on offense.

This will be a big opportunity for fans to get a feel for how improved this defense is going to be. Western Carolina put up over 31 points per game last year and averaged nearly 500 yards of offense per game.

The Catamounts are a very balanced team, so Pittman will be able to get a good feel where adjustments will be needed on the defensive side right out of the gate.

Even still, Arkansas should be able to put this one away rather handily. While it was obvious that Missouri State was going to create match-up issues last year that were cause for concern, this game doesn't have that same feel.

KENT STATE

Sept. 9
Fayetteville, Ark.
(WIN)

When a MAC school shows up on the schedule, Arkansas fans have flashbacks to the Toledo disaster. At first glance, Kent State looks like there's nothing to worry about.

However, there's that game against Georgia. The Golden Flashes went into Athens last year and put the fear of Jesus into the eventual national champions.

Georgia led 12-10 midway through the second quarter and had to get a touchdown late to put things away, 39-22.

The Golden Flashes features a 1,300+ running back in Marquez Cooper and could be a concern if Collin Schlee decides to come back.

Whether Schlee comes back, the Razorbacks should pack away a second win, but if he does, those betting should expect the game to be closer than anticipated.

BYU

Sept. 16
Fayetteville, Ark.
(WIN)

BYU opens its first-ever season in the Big 12 the following week against Kansas. That might be a little bit of a distraction for the Cougars.

BYU was uncommonly polite in hosting Arkansas and its fans in Provo. Razorback fans and those associated with the program should repay the favor in kind in every way except for on the scoreboard.

The Cougars were too generous in that regard as the Razorbacks relatively cruised in a 52-35 shootout that wasn't as close as the score indicates.

Arkansas has already proven it can handle BYU on the road, so there's no reason to believe the Razorbacks can't take down the Cougars at home with star Puka Nacua on the field.

LSU

Sept. 23
Baton Rouge, La.
(WIN)

Every team has "that dang team" that inexplicably gives a specific team trouble no matter the records even though it doesn't make sense. For instance, this team for Arkansas is Missouri.

The good news for Razorback fans is that Arkansas might be LSU's kryptonite as long as Brian Kelly is in Baton Rouge. The defending SEC West champions would not have come away with a win last season had KJ Jefferson been healthy.

Instead, he missed the game with injury, leaving Cade Fortin and Malik Hornsby to try to lead the Razorbacks to an upset bid. Despite the lack of production from the quarterback position, Arkansas had the ball on 1st & 10 on the LSU 38-yard line with a chance to either force overtime or take the lead in the fourth quarter.

This game is early enough in the season to assume Jefferson will be healthy. This is technically a toss-up that should go to the home team, but something feels like can tip in favor of the Razorbacks.

TEXAS A&M

Sept. 30
Arlington, Texas
(LOSS)

The loss last year that required one of the freakiest plays ever to happen felt a lot like the LSU loss in basketball this past season. It was a bad loss that shouldn't have happened against such an inept team.

If this were just another Jimbo Fisher team, this would an easy call. The Razorbacks would be sitting solid in the win column.

The only problem is that Bobby Petrino left UNLV to go to College Station. Imagine Missouri State, but with the best talent money can buy instead of FCS talent.

This one will either be a shootout or Arkansas gets blown out. Either way, it's asking a lot to ask the Razorback defense to stop a Petrino offense enough times to pull out the win.

OLE MISS

Sept. 30
Oxford, Miss.
(WIN)

Arkansas was able to come away with an easy win last year while Lane Kiffin focused on his job search. With it so early in the season, Kiffin will probably be focused.

The Rebels will be coming off consecutive games with Georgia Tech, Alabama and LSU heading into the Arkansas game. Ole Miss will be beat up and most likely on a low looking to rebound.

The Razorbacks typically do

ALABAMA

Oct. 14
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
(LOSS)

Alabama has beat the Razorbacks for 16 consecutive seasons and there is no reason to believe this changes any time soon.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Oct. 21
Fayettteville, Ark.
(LOSS)

Arkansas loses this one for a pair of reasons.

The first is the famed Alabama hangover where teams are usually too beat up after playing the Tide, so Saban's team technically beats you twice.

The second is that Mississippi State quarterbacks tend to set a lot of school records when they play Arkansas, going all the way back to Dak Prescott.

In two games against the Razorbacks, Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers has completed 68-of-97 passes for 823 yards and seven touchdowns. He's back again for a third helping of Arkansas defense.

Also, this is around the time of the year where we get the obligatory game missed by Jefferson because he's been playing two games with body parts barely hanging on.

Mississippi State wins this one by a couple of touchdowns.

FLORIDA

Nov. 4
Gainesville, Fla.
(WIN)

Florida has a bye week following an Oct. 14 game against South Carolina and the Gators could very well be 2-5 at that point. If that's the case, Florida may try to get a head start on its coaching search.

That being said, Napier may be allowed to coach against Georgia to close out October just to not put too much on an interim coach, but let the interim know ahead of time that he's going to be in charge come Arkansas week and that he should spend the off week getting ready.

Teams usually play well the first game out under an interim, but if Arkansas has it together, it may not matter. There's a history of famously bad calls when the Razorbacks go to Gainesville, but if Arkansas is healthy and rolling, the Hogs should be dragging a win out of The Swamp.

AUBURN

Nov. 11
Fayetteville, Ark.
(LOSS)

As much as everyone dislikes Hugh Freeze, Sam Pittman dislikes him every more. Freeze has Pittman's number both on the field and in recruiting the state of Arkansas. It's very possible that Freeze takes down the Razorbacks while the state's top recruit watches from the stands in an Auburn hoodie.

It's a game Pittman will want to win more than anything, but unless his assistants pull out the best coaching job they've ever done, the edge is going to the Tigers.

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL

Nov. 18
Fayetteville, Ark.
(WIN)

This is a very bad team that doesn't schedule Power Five opponents. This should be a good chance to hold an audition to see who deserves to be QB1 heading into spring.

Going from playing Group of Five schools to suddenly squaring off against an SEC school not coached by Chad Morris is just too much to ask any program.

MISSOURI

Nov. 25
Fayetteville, Ark.
(WIN)

This could be a difficult game since Eli Drinkwitz could very likely be coaching for his job and for some reason, Arkansas keeps having difficulty with a very bad Missouri program.

There's never an excuse to lose to the Tigers and if the Hogs can somehow arrive here healthy and without turmoil, this should be a game in which Arkansas coasts. Even though history says Missouri will come away with some sort of fairy dust that will magically give the Tigers the win, it's just hard to wrap the mind around Missouri winning in Fayetteville.