A Rivalry Renewed: Previewing The Texas vs. The Arkansas Razorbacks

Following an impressive win over Louisiana in the season opener, the Texas Longhorns will face a tough road test

Matt Galatzan | Sep 6, 2021

Coming off of an impressive win over Louisiana, Steve Sarkisian's Longhorns head to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks

The Razorbacks, led by new head coach Sam Pittman, struggled this past season. However, the Razorbacks are returning a majority of their players from that group, and are expected to take a jump going forward.

Arkansas will be coming off of a 38-17 win over the Rice Owls last weekend, where they were led by new quarterback KJ Jefferson, who threw for 128 yards and one touchdown while rushing for an additional 89 yards and two scores on nine carries.

Trelon Smith also had a huge day for the Razorbacks, rushing 22 times for 102 yards and a touchdown.

The Longhorns and Razorbacks will kick off on Saturday at 6 PM.

Arkansas

2021 Record: 1-0

Head coach: Sam Pittman

Pittman will be entering his second year with the Razorbacks, finishing last season 3-7.

Offensive set: Multiple

Defensive set: 4-3

Returning starters on offense: 9

After Arkansas lost Feleipe Franks in the draft, the quarterback position remained in question. KJ Jefferson, who started the season opener, scored three touchdowns last week and will hope to improve through the air this weekend.

Projected starters on Offense:

QB: KJ Jefferson

RB: Trelon Smith *

WR1: Treylon Burks *

WR2: Jaquayln Crawford*

WR3: Ketron Jackson*

LT: Myron Cunningham *

LG: Brady Latham *

C: Ricky Stromberg *

RG: Ty Clary *

RT: Dalton Wagner *

TE: Hudson Henry *

* Denotes returning starters

Returning starters on Defense: 10

The Razorbacks will be coming off of a solid week on the defensive side of the ball, in which they held the Rice to just 308 yards and 17 points while forcing three turnovers.

Projected starters on Defense:

JACK: Zach Williams *

DE: Eric Gregory *

DT: Taurean Carter

DT: Isaiah Nichols *

MIKE: Grant Morgan *

WILL: Bumper Pool *

CB: Hudson Clark *

SS: Jalen Catalon *

BS: Joe Foucha *

CB: Montaric Brown *

NICKEL: Greg Brooks Jr. *

After Texas:

Following their clash with the Longhorns, the Razorbacks will stay at home for the third consecutive week, as they prepare for a matchup with the Georgia Southern Eagles.

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Published Sep 6, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.