Razorbacks’ Experienced Offense Line Faces Talented Longhorns’ Defense
Sam Pittman knows Texas is a few steps up from Rice, even the way they look.
"When they roll in here, they’re going to look like a major college football team, just like any team you play in the SEC," he said earlier this week.
A lot of Razorback fans have heard "Texas is down" and not really understood that. The truth is most fans secretly wish they had won 60% of their games the last four years instead of the 24% they did win.
No qualifiers are allowed. You are what your record says you are. Over the last 4 years the Longhorns have averaged a seventh-place finish in the composite recruiting rankings while the Hogs are 30th.
Steve Sarkisian didn't get the Longhorns' job because the previous guy couldn't recruit. He was hired to organize things and win games.
From a distance it appears he's bringing a Nick Saban-type approach to things in Austin. He's said this week playing at Arkansas is a big game with a long-time rivalry but he's focused on staying in the team's normal routine.
It has been impossible for anyone in Fayetteville to not know emotions are running sky-high for a game with the Longhorns.
The biggest question for the Hogs is what they can do against Texas' defense.
Low-scoring games in college football are rare these days and neither of these defenses are like Georgia and Clemson last weekend in a game that often resembled two mules fighting over a turnip.
Arkansas has to score points.
Pittman is expecting the ’Horns to try and just shut down the Hogs with a basic defense. The key word there is "try" because how KJ Jefferson and the offense handles it is the biggest key.
"Unless he surprises us in what we think he's going to do, they're not a huge blitz team," Pittman said this week. "They may become one. I look for them to play us a little tighter maybe than what they did Louisiana simply because of (Jefferson)'s ability to run. We'll find out."
Which means, simply, if Jefferson can't make some plays with his legs it's going to be a long day. Running up the middle probably won't work and the Hogs can't out-run the edge on the Longhorns.
"They have a nice-sized D-line," Pittman said. "I really like 18 (Oghoufo). He's a good edge rusher. He's a really, really good player and a good pass rusher."
Texas' linebackers can also run and they like contact.
"They have linebackers that are very physical," Pittman said.
Which means the passing game has to work and Jefferson can't afford a stumbling start like he had against Rice. More than one receiver is going to have to make plays because the Longhorns know all about Treylon Burks.
"They’re mostly seniors, so guys with a lot of experience, a lot of guys with speed," Tyson Morris said Tuesday after practice. "We’re going to have to play fast every snap, run, pass, just be physical with our blocking on the edge and stuff like that and we should be okay."
Saying it is one thing. Making it happen on the field is another.
But how it works out for the Hogs is going to determine the outcome of the game.
