3 ‘Musts’ for Arkansas in Home Opener Against UAB

Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks are looking to bounce back in Week 3 in Fayetteville. Here are 3 ‘Musts’ for Arkansas in its home opener against UAB.

1.) Arkansas MUST Clean It Up

No disrespect to Oklahoma State, who had to take advantage of the opportunity, but in many ways Arkansas beat itself in Stillwater last weekend in a game where it appeared to clearly be the better team.

The Hogs are heavy favorites against UAB. A win — convincing, at that — is expected. But this is more about HOW Arkansas looks in the process, particularly when it comes to cleaning up self-inflicted wounds.

Arkansas has certainly used practice this week to emphasize its problem areas:

• Putting it on the turf
• Snap issues
• Point of exchange confusion
• Clock management
• Running into your own punt returner
• Making reasonably-distanced field goals

Frankly, the only way UAB makes this interesting for four quarters is if Arkansas’ mistakes traveled back home to Fayetteville.

[Related: Hogs are good, but not good enough to win sloppy]

2.) Arkansas MUST Avoid A Letdown

Losing at Oklahoma State probably went a long way towards avoiding what appeared to be a classic trap game for Arkansas in Week 3 against UAB, but you never really know until kickoff.

Having a letdown, or coming out flat, is always a concern when a team is at home and heavily favored in a game sandwiched between sexier matchups. A regional non-conference matchup with a top-20 program and the SEC opener on the road at Auburn certainly qualify.

Kent State, Liberty, Missouri State, Rice… Arkansas has had its share of weird letdowns against inferior competition in Fayetteville under Sam Pittman.

All spring and in the buildup to the season, we’ve been told “this team is different.” Well, Arkansas has already added a one-score loss to its tally. Can the Hogs start to prove a narrative shift is warranted by taking care of business with UAB on Saturday?

[You might be interested in: Inside Arkansas Picks: UAB Game & SEC Weekend]

3.) Arkansas MUST Trust Its Depth

Pick any media availability with a member of the Arkansas coaching staff during fall camp, and there is a strong chance there is a quote to be had about how deep this Razorback team is.

Well, if that is truly the case, let’s see it…

The band could have received fourth-quarter snaps against UAPB, and it wouldn’t have changed the results, but Arkansas tightened things up substantially and was noticeably gassed the next week against Oklahoma State.

Arkansas’ starting offensive line took all 93 snaps. Rodney Hill was the only running back used to spell Ja’Quinden Jackson, despite cramping issues the entire game. No backups at wideout or tight end received more than a dozen snaps.

Defensively, Arkansas only used 17 total players. For reference, there was not a single game last season where fewer than 21 defenders logged snaps. Only one DT and one DE were in the rotation behind the starters.

Arkansas NEEDS to be able to utilize more bodies. If the Razorbacks can’t trust their depth against UAB, what is going to change come SEC play?

Additionally, Arkansas is banged up heading into the weekend with Patrick Kutas, Jaylon Braxton, Hudson Clark and Anton Juncaj all ranging somewhere from questionable to out.

Here are a list of names to keep an eye out for:

• RB – Braylen Russell, Rashod Dubinion
• OL – Ty’Kieast Crawford, Joe More
• DL – Quincy Rhodes, Ian Geffrard, Danny Saili
• LB – Bradley Shaw
• DB – Larry Worth