After an uninspiring 31-14 win over North Alabama to open the season that featured what new coach Ryan Silverfield called “one of the worst offensive performances that I’ve been a part of,” the schedule doesn’t get easier for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
While the Razorbacks’ defense played well, holding the Lions to 14 points and just 153 yards of total offense (18 yards at halftime), the offensive play left much to be desired, despite gaining 415 yards.
Starting quarterback KJ Jackson threw for three touchdowns and 267 yards and completed 68% of his passes, but also threw an interception and lost a fumble, while running back Sutton Smith lost a fumble.
The “Hogs” up front didn’t do a good enough job, and Arkansas ran for only 148 yards with no running back gaining more than 50 yards. Arkansas also allowed three sacks and five tackles for loss.
Right after Saturday’s win, Silverfield’s attention turned toward the trip to Salt Lake City, where the Razorbacks will be just the second SEC team ever to play at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Arkansas is a 12.5-point underdog, and Silverfield has praised the Utes at every turn in the lead-up to Saturday’s late-night game (8:15 p.m. MDT, ESPN).
“We’re excited about the challenge ahead, going to Salt Lake City and playing a great Utah team. Obviously they’re a top-25 team for a reason,” Silverfield said.
Utah won its opening game handily, defeating Idaho 66-14 and putting up 663 yards of offense. Though the Utes weren’t perfect in the game and still have aspects to clean up — especially on both sides of the trenches — they played a mostly mistake-free game with no turnovers and just one penalty.
Quarterback Devon Dampier played just over a half, throwing for 176 yards and three touchdowns, and has Arkansas’ full respect heading into Saturday’s matchup.
“They obviously have had a tremendous defense for many, many years and that continues to be the case. Their offense, they are really, really effective,” Silverfield said. “The quarterback can do it all. Not only is he a tremendous thrower, but obviously does a great job with his legs.
“They rely on their running backs quite heavily. So we got to prepare and it starts after last night’s practice, putting the blinders on and focusing on getting better one day at a time.”
Containing Dampier
Arkansas’ defensive game plan will focus heavily on containing the dual-threat Dampier. In a tuneup game against Idaho, Dampier didn’t need to run, rushing just six times for 31 yards, but the Hogs are expecting that to change Saturday.
“That’s what’s so unique is because, is it a true quarterback run? Now all of a sudden he puts on the parking brake and then is able to throw a slant, right? All of a sudden you think he’s just going to hand it off to the dive and next thing you know, he’s out there running triple option and throwing a bubble,” Silverfield said.
“Next thing you know, it’s just true quarterback run design, quarterback counter. So they’ve done a great job of implementing all those different aspects into their offense and that’s what makes it challenging.”
Silverfield is drawing on his experiences coaching against the run-heavy Navy team to help inform the defensive game plan for Utah. The key for Arkansas will be playing disciplined, trusting your eyes, and not falling for all of Utah’s motion.
But unlike some running quarterbacks, Dampier can beat you through the air, and through one game, new offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven has shown a willingness to throw it deep. In Week 1, Dampier threw it over 20 yards seven times.
“To Utah’s credit, they’ve got a guy doing it that’s really experienced, really good at it and he can run and he can throw, and so that makes it challenging,” Silverfield said. “A lot of times back in the day, those option quarterbacks weren’t great throwers. He can do it all.”
In the trenches
Utah’s offense looked good against overmatched Idaho in Week 1. Wayshawn Parker scored a career-high three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing), Braden Pegan looked the part of WR1 with 81 yards and a touchdown on four receptions, and Utah was able to spread the ball around to a variety of different receivers and running backs.
The new-look offensive line, which was missing a potential starter in Keith Olson and a rotation player in Isaiah Garcia, took a bit to settle in, with Dampier taking a few more hits (but no sacks) than Utah would like.
Was it the dominant performance of last year’s offensive line? No, but Utah did rush for 364 yards and the offensive line tightened up its pass protection as the game went along. Olson and Garcia “should be ready to go” this week, Scalley said, and Utah will tighten up its O-line rotation from last week.
The Hogs registered five tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble against North Alabama, and Arkansas’ defensive line will pose the first challenge for the rebuilt offensive line. The Hogs’ defensive front brings SEC size and skill to Salt Lake City for a matchup that will tell us a lot about the Utes’ offensive line.
“It’s going to be a physical game,” Utah coach Morgan Scalley said. “They’re an SEC crew, they’ve got an offensive and defensive line that are stout, they’re physical and aggressive, and that’s where the game’s going to be won or lost, really, is at the line of scrimmage.”
While the Razorbacks didn’t have the best performance on offense last week, they still pose a threat to a Utah defense that had its lapses in its opening game.
The starting defensive line of Lance Holzclaw, Karson Kaufusi, Jireh Moe and Ethan Day got off to a good start, with all of those players ranking in the top six in defensive PFF grades, but the backups didn’t fare as well. While the starting lineup will get a lot more run than it did in Week 1, the rotation players must be up to the task against an Arkansas offensive line when called upon.
Arkansas QB and running game
Jackson is a dual-threat option, and the running game, led by Smith, was supposed to be Arkansas’ strength this year. Despite the underwhelming rushing performance against North Alabama, the Razorbacks will try to get the ground game going early and often.
For the Utes, it will be their first chance to exorcise the demons from the final two regular season games — though the defensive tackles from those performances are gone — and start to answer some of the questions about a young defensive tackles room.
“On the offensive side of the ball, very stout up front. The quarterback’s another dual-threat guy. So another dual-threat quarterback that we’ll face with some backs that have some juice and some speed at wide receiver. This will be a very good challenge and we’re excited for it,” Scalley said.
Defensive coordinator Colton Swan only blitzed 53.1% of the time against Idaho, per PFF, but it felt like more than that as the Utes got pressure on Vandal quarterback Joshua Wood early and often. Does Swan dial up the pressure even more on Saturday?
On the other side, Silverfield is preparing his offense for a tough Utah defense.
“They’re so fundamentally sound. They’re where they need to be. He’s got a lot of guys that have been a part of his system. They’ve got transfers like we all do, and they’ve lost a few guys here or there, but I think one of the unique things is you can tell they’re well coached,” Silverfield said.
“They know where they need to be. Their communication’s on point. They tackle well and they play really well within what’s asked of them. I don’t think you sit there and say one guy’s out there just trying to make plays and they’re leaving open gaps. They’re going to challenge you. You have to find a way to beat them. They’re not going to beat themselves.”
“... There’s a reason they had so much confidence (in Scalley) that he was the head coach in waiting even before all the stuff went down this past offseason.”
While the game start, altitude and crowd noise isn’t nearly as much of a factor as what’s happening between the lines, it’s been a topic of conversation throughout the lead-up to Saturday’s game.
Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek objected to the 9:15 p.m. CDT kickoff followed by an 11 a.m. CDT kickoff next Saturday vs. Georgia in Arkansas, saying it is “a genuine welfare issue for the young men who represent our program and contribute greatly to the bottom line of our television partners” due to costing “our student-athletes nearly a full day of rest and recovery that they would otherwise have available to them.”
To prepare for the trip to Salt Lake City, Arkansas held a scrimmage at 9:15 p.m. CDT to simulate what is believed to be the latest kickoff in Razorbacks history. Silverfield doesn’t believe the altitude will have a “major direct effect,” but one aspect of the Rice-Eccles Stadium experience that the Hogs have been preparing for is the crowd noise, pumping it in during practices.
“We know it’s going to be a sellout crowd. We know the tremendous job their fans do showing up. It’s going to be a night game, so it’ll be another sellout for them. So we’ve got to prepare for it. We will be obviously using crowd noise and preparing to the best of our ability for it,” Silverfield said.
There’s a lot on the line for Utah — and to some extent, the Big 12 — as the Utes try to protect home field against an Arkansas team picked to finish last in the SEC.
“You definitely want to show well for the conference. Just the challenge of playing top-quality teams … regardless of where they’re coming from, you want to be able to show your best stuff,” Scalley said.
