I’m not going to get lost in the emotion of a loss when I predicted them to lose their first game of the season to Texas A&M in the preseason and before the game. I also ranked the SEC last week and put Texas A&M as my No. 1 team in the SEC. Yes, I know they have to go to Tuscaloosa. The difference between those two teams to me is Alabama has a true freshman quarterback and Texas A&M has a senior, even though he’s a transfer.
I didn’t expect Arkansas to go undefeated this year. In fact, I picked them to win 8 games in the preseason, and my opinion of the team is actually higher now. I think they could win more than 8.
I thought they would beat TCU in the preseason because while TCU does a great job executing a scheme that works for them, I knew Arkansas has the same thing in a different way with better players top to bottom. I picked a loss to A&M because I felt they had some guys who were awful match-ups for Arkansas, and that’s what college football is all about – exploiting match-ups and inexperience.
Many fans reacting to the last loss will argue that Arkansas doesn’t deserve to be in the Top-25 anymore. Odds are they will be proven right in two weeks when No. 1 Alabama comes to town as Arkansas will obviously be the underdog and will out of the polls with a loss, but even if they lose that one I think they have a great shot to be back in the polls by the end of the regular season and finish as a Top-25 team, and it won’t be because they ‘finally turned it on.’ It’ll be because they are the team that they are now which has gradually improved through the season like most other good teams, and because they will have faced opponents they are top-to-bottom better than with the better QB.
I think Ole Miss is a tossup game, and everyone will be going off if Arkansas loses back-to-back home against Alabama and Ole Miss, but it could happen. Ole Miss’ schedule shapes up great for Arkansas with a bye week before the game while the Hogs will be coming off the Bama game.
But then the Hogs have a chance to go on a run at Auburn, versus Florida, versus LSU, at Mississippi State and at Missouri. They’ll be 4-1 after this weekend when they beat Alcorn State in Little Rock, and even if they drop the next 2 to go 4-3, they have a viable chance to finish 5-0 to go with 9 regular season wins and a chance for 10. I really think anything worse than 4-1 to finish out would be a disappointment for this team. They are better than Florida, LSU, Mississippi State and Missouri. Winning at Auburn is never easy, but they’re better than Auburn. Right now, they look more stable with a much better QB situation than all 5 of those opponents. If they beat Ole Miss, the expectation from there on out should be that they win 9 in the regular season with potential for 10.
Austin Allen has been better than anyone could have imagined through four games. Where are all these people complaining about Bielema naming a starting quarterback midway through the spring? Where are all the people saying they’re tired of having an Allen at QB before the guy ever takes a snap? -All aboard the Allen bandwagon now is where they are, and they should be after the way he has played.
I think everyone has seen what I have seen the last two weeks out of Devwah Whaley. He has a different gear. When he plants his foot and makes that first cut he is explosive. He is on the verge of breaking off a long run due to that ability, and when he gets into the open field he will be tough to catch. It is about time for Arkansas to rotate him in freely. Rawleigh Williams will always be a key part of the offense as long as he is at Arkansas, but at some point in the games ahead I think Whaley emerges as an equal to Williams.
Dominique Reed has probably been the biggest disappointment so far. After the way he finished last season most were expecting him to take off right from the get-go. He hasn’t come close to that but there is still time for him. The good news is Arkansas is still in great shape at receiver. Keon Hatcher, Drew Morgan, Jared Cornelius and Cody Hollister are all very good, very reliable receivers, and the first three have all shown the capability to turn shorter passes into big gains. It does seem like Jeremy Sprinkle would be getting more targets than he has gotten so far since he does seem like such a matchup problem, but every catch he makes seems to be a critical one.
The offensive line is still in development, and they are going to especially come off looking like that when they’re matched up with a front like A&M has. I think, even with Alabama coming to town, that will prove to be the best defensive line they will have faced this season. In college football, you lose players. There are no 7-year veteran offensive linemen in college football. Teams develop lines and if there is turnover it takes some time to restructure – especially with a situation like Arkansas just underwent. Not only did they lose three starters (including an early undrafted entry who really would have helped this season), they also lost their offensive line coach. I think putting Brian Wallace as the starter at right tackle was the correct choice. He has a high ceiling. He actually fared pretty well in his first start considering he was facing a 6-6, 270-pound senior end who will likely go in the first three rounds in April.
The O-line will fare better as the season progresses due to more experience and better matchups, but they will probably never be viewed as an outright strength this year. But even with the loss of Dan Skipper they will be a much better ‘stouter’ and more experienced unit in 2017.
On the defensive line, I would like to see McTelvin Agim get more snaps and would like to see him on the field lined up at nose alongside Jeremiah Ledbetter. I’m not saying take Taiwan Johnson out, continue with him because that rotation is important but increase Agim’s role alongside the first unit. I think Johnson is a good player, but just about everyone fits that description in this conference. The defensive line play overall to this point has been good but not great, with Ledbetter probably playing the best overall.
The linebackers are not exceptional, but they are an above average duo in the SEC, which is better than most thought they would be this year. Both linebackers are, in my opinion, dramatically better than they were a year ago – with Ellis improving in pass coverage and Greenlaw improving all around. But it’s still only Brooks Ellis and Dre Greenlaw. Khalia Hackett is in the doghouse now, and nobody else was playing snaps when the game was on the line besides those three.
I really hate it for D.J. Dean that this has been his senior season because he dealt with that toe issue so long and then the hamstring. Due to injuries, a new position coach and missing time, he has just been passed. And Ryan Pulley has probably been the most pleasant surprise on defense. I may not see Jared Collins get an interception, but honestly how often have you even thought about him through four games? I thought of him once last week when he was hit with that awful pass interference call. That is a good thing. The safety play overall has been below average, though. I think Josh Liddell has been steady for the most part, but Santos Ramirez either makes a great play or gives up a great play. The game is designed where offenses have an advantage, but the safety play so far has been improved over last year but not great.
I didn’t expect Arkansas to go undefeated this year. In fact, I picked them to win 8 games in the preseason, and my opinion of the team is actually higher now. I think they could win more than 8.
I thought they would beat TCU in the preseason because while TCU does a great job executing a scheme that works for them, I knew Arkansas has the same thing in a different way with better players top to bottom. I picked a loss to A&M because I felt they had some guys who were awful match-ups for Arkansas, and that’s what college football is all about – exploiting match-ups and inexperience.
Many fans reacting to the last loss will argue that Arkansas doesn’t deserve to be in the Top-25 anymore. Odds are they will be proven right in two weeks when No. 1 Alabama comes to town as Arkansas will obviously be the underdog and will out of the polls with a loss, but even if they lose that one I think they have a great shot to be back in the polls by the end of the regular season and finish as a Top-25 team, and it won’t be because they ‘finally turned it on.’ It’ll be because they are the team that they are now which has gradually improved through the season like most other good teams, and because they will have faced opponents they are top-to-bottom better than with the better QB.
I think Ole Miss is a tossup game, and everyone will be going off if Arkansas loses back-to-back home against Alabama and Ole Miss, but it could happen. Ole Miss’ schedule shapes up great for Arkansas with a bye week before the game while the Hogs will be coming off the Bama game.
But then the Hogs have a chance to go on a run at Auburn, versus Florida, versus LSU, at Mississippi State and at Missouri. They’ll be 4-1 after this weekend when they beat Alcorn State in Little Rock, and even if they drop the next 2 to go 4-3, they have a viable chance to finish 5-0 to go with 9 regular season wins and a chance for 10. I really think anything worse than 4-1 to finish out would be a disappointment for this team. They are better than Florida, LSU, Mississippi State and Missouri. Winning at Auburn is never easy, but they’re better than Auburn. Right now, they look more stable with a much better QB situation than all 5 of those opponents. If they beat Ole Miss, the expectation from there on out should be that they win 9 in the regular season with potential for 10.
Austin Allen has been better than anyone could have imagined through four games. Where are all these people complaining about Bielema naming a starting quarterback midway through the spring? Where are all the people saying they’re tired of having an Allen at QB before the guy ever takes a snap? -All aboard the Allen bandwagon now is where they are, and they should be after the way he has played.
I think everyone has seen what I have seen the last two weeks out of Devwah Whaley. He has a different gear. When he plants his foot and makes that first cut he is explosive. He is on the verge of breaking off a long run due to that ability, and when he gets into the open field he will be tough to catch. It is about time for Arkansas to rotate him in freely. Rawleigh Williams will always be a key part of the offense as long as he is at Arkansas, but at some point in the games ahead I think Whaley emerges as an equal to Williams.
Dominique Reed has probably been the biggest disappointment so far. After the way he finished last season most were expecting him to take off right from the get-go. He hasn’t come close to that but there is still time for him. The good news is Arkansas is still in great shape at receiver. Keon Hatcher, Drew Morgan, Jared Cornelius and Cody Hollister are all very good, very reliable receivers, and the first three have all shown the capability to turn shorter passes into big gains. It does seem like Jeremy Sprinkle would be getting more targets than he has gotten so far since he does seem like such a matchup problem, but every catch he makes seems to be a critical one.
The offensive line is still in development, and they are going to especially come off looking like that when they’re matched up with a front like A&M has. I think, even with Alabama coming to town, that will prove to be the best defensive line they will have faced this season. In college football, you lose players. There are no 7-year veteran offensive linemen in college football. Teams develop lines and if there is turnover it takes some time to restructure – especially with a situation like Arkansas just underwent. Not only did they lose three starters (including an early undrafted entry who really would have helped this season), they also lost their offensive line coach. I think putting Brian Wallace as the starter at right tackle was the correct choice. He has a high ceiling. He actually fared pretty well in his first start considering he was facing a 6-6, 270-pound senior end who will likely go in the first three rounds in April.
The O-line will fare better as the season progresses due to more experience and better matchups, but they will probably never be viewed as an outright strength this year. But even with the loss of Dan Skipper they will be a much better ‘stouter’ and more experienced unit in 2017.
On the defensive line, I would like to see McTelvin Agim get more snaps and would like to see him on the field lined up at nose alongside Jeremiah Ledbetter. I’m not saying take Taiwan Johnson out, continue with him because that rotation is important but increase Agim’s role alongside the first unit. I think Johnson is a good player, but just about everyone fits that description in this conference. The defensive line play overall to this point has been good but not great, with Ledbetter probably playing the best overall.
The linebackers are not exceptional, but they are an above average duo in the SEC, which is better than most thought they would be this year. Both linebackers are, in my opinion, dramatically better than they were a year ago – with Ellis improving in pass coverage and Greenlaw improving all around. But it’s still only Brooks Ellis and Dre Greenlaw. Khalia Hackett is in the doghouse now, and nobody else was playing snaps when the game was on the line besides those three.
I really hate it for D.J. Dean that this has been his senior season because he dealt with that toe issue so long and then the hamstring. Due to injuries, a new position coach and missing time, he has just been passed. And Ryan Pulley has probably been the most pleasant surprise on defense. I may not see Jared Collins get an interception, but honestly how often have you even thought about him through four games? I thought of him once last week when he was hit with that awful pass interference call. That is a good thing. The safety play overall has been below average, though. I think Josh Liddell has been steady for the most part, but Santos Ramirez either makes a great play or gives up a great play. The game is designed where offenses have an advantage, but the safety play so far has been improved over last year but not great.
