Razorbacks' Toughest Opponent in Today's Game is Themselves

Arkansas heavy favorite to blitz the Blazers but should take notice of what happened last weekend

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive lineman Nico Davillier rushing the passer against UAPB in the season opener in Little Rock, Ark. / Ted McClenning-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Domination is what everyone expects when Arkansas plays host to an inferior program today at Razorback Stadium. Arkansas fans want nothing less.

Hogs coaches expect improvement over last week which should produce a big win. What about the players?

Well, they plan on scoring 70 and blanking the Blazers. They realize, however, that UAB is far superior to UAPB.

Against UA(Pitiful)B, the Hogs dominated in historical fashion, scoring on all 10 possessions to prevail 70-0. UAB ain't that bad, although they did abandon their football program a decade ago.

The big brass at the downtown Birmingham school brought back football just two years later. That worked out pretty well as the Blazers needed just two seasons to win a Conference USA championship and a bowl game.

They won another league crown and two more bowl games since, but also got whipped by Louisiana-Monroe 32-6 last week. But back in 2018, UAB whipped Northern Illinois in the Boca Raton Bowl by a 37-13 margin.

Coincidentally, that's just about how much the Hogs are favored in today's tussle. But being a 24.5-point favorite sometimes doesn't mean a whole lot when college kids who aren't old enough to buy a beer at a bar square off in competition.

Just ask Notre Dame, a team that strutted into Kyle Field and took down highly regarded Texas A&M in front of more than 100,000 hostile fans. What did the Fighting Irish do for an encore?

Well, they apparently didn't fight much as they were about a four-touchdown favorite at home the next week but lost to Northern Illinois. Yep, the same Northern Illinois program that lost to UAB six years ago in a minor bowl game.

Don't call it parity when trying to explain Notre Dame losing at home last week. It was simply overconfidence and lack of preparation and focus.

That shouldn't be a problem for the Razorbacks today. Coming off last Saturday's double-overtime loss to No. 13 Oklahoma State in Stillwater was a stinging disappointment the Hogs can't forget.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman at practice on the indoor field in Fayetteville, Ark. / Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

Parroting their leader, coach Sam Pittman, Arkansas players said they had to flush Saturday's loss about 100 times in one online meeting with the media. That shows they were intent on following Sam's instruction and made it their mantra.

The week of practice supposedly produced improvement that'll be displayed in flashes against UAB. The Hogs will play hard to the end and handily prevail.

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive lineman Nico Davillier rushes the passer against UAPB in the season opener in Little Rock. / Ted McClenning-Hogs on SI Images

At least that's what UA junior defensive lineman Nico Davillier foresees.

"I think if we go out there and play the brand of football we know how to play, I think we could just dominate those guys," Davillier said.

Sounds good. It's probably what Notre Dame players said before getting their comeuppance at the hands of Northern Illinois, a team now ranked No. 25.

Still, it's believable the Hogs did flush it and move on. So today's game is a stepping stone to further improvement, a likely showcase for the potentially explosive offense and an opportunity for the defense to dominate and figure out how to get sacks and takeaways.

Wouldn't hurt to catch all the punts and make all the kicks either. Special teams will need to be special with the tough schedule the Hogs face after today.

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