HawgBeat - Toughest home game on Arkansas football's 2024 schedule?
HawgBeat breaks down the toughest opponents Arkansas football will face at home in 2024.
arkansas.rivals.com
The pressure is on for Arkansas and head coach Sam Pittman in the pivotal upcoming 2024 season, and the challenge of escaping the bottom of the SEC is made only tougher by a challenging set of games in the friendly confines of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas will begin its home slate in Fayetteville with a Week 3 matchup against UAB on Sept. 14. The Razorbacks will then go on the road at Auburn and play Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas, before facing Tennessee back in the Natural State on Oct. 5.
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Following a much-needed bye week, the Razorbacks will take on LSU in a homecoming battle for the Golden Boot on Oct. 19. A road game to Mississippi State will be up next before the Hogs welcome the Ole Miss Rebels to Razorback Stadium on Nov. 2.
Finally, Arkansas will play Texas for the first time as a league foe on Nov. 16 before playing its final home game of the year against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 23. The regular season will close on the road against Missouri on Nov. 30.
HawgBeat breaks down the three toughest games of Arkansas’ home schedule for this fall…
Ole Miss - Saturday, Nov. 2
Ole Miss is a team that did well for itself in the transfer portal once again, which included the addition of former Arkansas linebacker Chris "Pool" Paul Jr. on Dec. 8.
Led by fifth-year head coach Lane Kiffin and returning quarterback Jaxson Dart, the Rebels brought back three starters on the offensive line and three of their top receiving options from a year ago.
Receivers Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins saw the addition of South Carolina transfer Antwane Wells Jr. to their room, as well. Though the Rebels lost start running back Quinshon Judkins to Ohio State, they do return Ulysses Bentley IV, plus they added Miami transfer Henry Parris Jr. in the portal.
Paul wasn't the only defensive addition in the portal, as former Texas A&M defensive tackle Walter Nolen transferred to Ole Miss. The Rebels also added former Florida defensive lineman Princley Umanmielen and former Alabama cornerback Trey Amos, among others, to really help round out a very talented roster.
Three of Ole Miss' first five conference matchups will be on the road and two of those (at South Carolina and LSU) will come before the Arkansas game on Nov. 2.
The Razorbacks will also play three of their first five conference games away from home, with the sixth being the matchup with Ole Miss. Arkansas will play at Mississippi State the week prior to the game with the Rebels.
It's worth noting that Sam Pittman is 2-0 against Kiffin and Ole Miss during his four full seasons at the helm in Fayetteville, but the talent gap seems too wide (at least as of June 12) this year.
- Mason Choate, HawgBeat Publisher
Tennessee - Saturday, Oct. 5
Despite having first choice on Arkansas’ most difficult home game of the season, I still picked the Tennessee matchup over Texas, and here's why.
Heading into this Week 6 matchup, the Razorbacks will be — if my personal season projections hold up — licking their wounds after only playing one true home game up to this point (UAB).
Momentum will be low and apathy in the fanbase will be leaking out, providing the perfect storm for the expected high-ranked and well-rested (after coming off a bye week) Volunteers to dismantle Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Besides the storyline aspect of it, Tennessee is just a really good football program under head coach Heupel. He’s led the Volunteers to a 27-12 (14-10 SEC) record in three seasons, which includes 11-win and 9-win campaigns in 2022 and 2023,
respectively. Heupel has put his team on an upwards trajectory, while Sam Pittman has done the opposite with the Hogs in the last two years.
Is there a scenario where Arkansas wins this game? Absolutely. If offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino puts all the pieces together to make a high-octane offense, the Razorbacks may be able to match Tennessee blow-for-blow.
That's doubtful, though, especially because the Volunteers have former five-star signal caller Nico Iamaleava leading the way with receivers Bru McCoy and Dont'e Thornton spread across the field. Can the Razorbacks' secondary make a big jump in 2024? That might be the defining question when these two programs meet in October.
- Riley McFerran, Managing Editor
Texas - Saturday, Nov. 16
Since Arkansas and Texas teed off on the gridiron in 2021 at Razorback Stadium, it’s hard to deny the two programs have been on wildly different trajectories. While Arkansas won that matchup 40-21, it has since been in the cellar of the SEC, while Texas came within one play of a National Championship appearance last season.
This game stands to be the hardest on Arkansas’ schedule this season because of a couple of different factors. First and foremost, the level of athletes the Longhorns have is much better than Arkansas. In the last three recruiting cycles, the Longhorns have brought in two top-5 classes and one top-20 class.
Those classes have featured a total of seven five-star recruits and 46 four-stars. Arkansas has zero five-star prospects and 20 four-stars in that same span.
The Razorbacks will be outmatched star-level-wise on the field, and while that may have been the case in 2021, Longhorns’ head coach Steve Sarkisian won’t forget what happened the last time he was in Razorback Stadium.
Secondly, the game comes as one of the last in the 2024 season. If this game were played earlier in the year, Texas would be pushing for a playoff spot, while Arkansas would already be out of bowl contention.
If that same trajectory holds for the 2024 season, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman will have to rely on motivating his team on pride alone. It’s possible, sure, but it’s harder to hype up a team that knows there’s little hope of a postseason.
- Daniel Fair, HawgBeat Recruiting
