Availability Report: No Taylen Listed Gives Hogs Green Light

Either Razorbacks will have QB1 against LSU or Sam Pittman playing games with Brian Kelly

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green in warmups before game with the Tennessee Volunteers at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Ted McClenning-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The gut feeling of most Arkansas fans is Taylen Green will at least be the starter at quarterback against LSU. The most important thing may be who finishes.

With a week off, it's not really surprising Green will probably be able to go Saturday night against the No. 8 Tigers at Razorback Stadium. The key is going to be seeing how he withstands a few whacks from LSU's rapidly-improving defense.

In a 29-26 overtime win over Ole Miss last week, the Tigers almost grew up during the game. As they began to consistently get more time against Jaxson Dart and Ole Miss, their improvement could be seen. The Tigers' defensive front beat the Rebels' front by halftime and hammered that high-powered attack the rest of the way.

Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) is sacked by LSU Tigers safety Major Burns (8) during the second half at Tiger Stadium. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

On the availability report released Friday, Green's name was nowhere to be found. The Razorbacks only listed three names — Jaylon Braxton and Kyle Ramsey out, Rodney Hill doubtful.

There are only two conclusions to draw from that. Green's injury either healed with the off week or he dresses out, takes part in warm-ups and never gets into the game.

That would be playing games because there's not really a rule against it. Arkansas coach Sam Pittman probably hopes LSU coach Brian Kelly is wondering about it ... or even cares.

LSU Tigers coach Brian Kelly looks on during the second half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Tiger Stadium. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

By the time those injury lists come out, there's not much that can be done anyway. As a couple of coaches said Friday afternoon, "the hay's in the barn," meaning they either have it or they don't.

That may not be what either coach is counting on, either. Kelly may simply believe he has better defensive players than the Razorbacks have on offense.

Saturday night will tell if that's the case. How the players handled things this week on both teams will determine whether that matters.

The Hogs are confident right now after beating No. 4 Tennessee a couple of weeks ago. Since they haven't played anyone else, it would be the first time they have a shot at beating two Top 10 teams in a row in program history while unranked.

The Razorbacks are seeking consecutive wins against ranked opponents for the first time since 2015, when they defeated No. 19 Ole Miss and No. 9 LSU on the road.

10 Things to Know before tomorrow's matchup with LSU, presented by Cox Communications ⤵️https://t.co/44IPIq4REJ

— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) October 18, 2024

They have beaten ranked teams before, just not Top 10. A win keeps hopes alive for the winner Saturday night in the College Football Playoff.

If they keep winning, and that's no guarantee for either team, the Hogs will have games against Ole Miss, Texas and Missouri after this. Losing would put Pittman into a situation with a shrinking margin of error just to make a bowl game.

Probably the thing he wants most is to leave his time as the coach of the Razorbacks on his terms, which means he doesn't want one of those meetings like the three coaches before him. The Razorbacks need a win, but so does LSU, which has shaken off an early loss to USC and avoided being down by 20 points or more in the first quarter against Ole Miss to get a win.

They may have convinced themselves they can win. A huge part of that has been the constant improvement of the defense.

LSU played like a different group in the second half last week than the one that started the game against the Rebels. It could be a confidence that throws all of the Razorback fans' projections completely off track.

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