Arkansas Razorbacks 2023 College Football Preview
July 27, 2023
2022 Recap
Record – 7-6
ATS – 6-6-1
WOO PIG busted out of the gate with three straight wins that included a pair of victories over quality opponents (Cincinnati, COCKS). Things subsequently fizzled out as they dropped three consecutive games and hobbled their way to a 6-6 regular season finish. Arkansas and Kansas treated us to a thrilling Liberty Bowl in which WOO PIG emerged with a 55-53 victory. That was a 999 unit MEGALOCKS CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX BUSTER POWER LOCK winner as the Jayhawks pulled off the miracle cover. Arkansas had bigger plans for the season but they can’t complain about a 7-6 finish given where the program has been over the last decade or so.
Arkansas Razorbacks 2023 Outlook
OFFENSE
Arkansas did a fine job on offense LY behind their stellar QB KJ Jefferson who had an excellent season (24-5 TD to INT, 640 rush, 9 TD). The Razorbacks displayed fine balance rushing for 237 YPG (#2 SEC) and passing for 235 YPG (#8). Dual-threat BEAST KJ Jefferson is back at the controls along with star RB ROCKET Sanders who is a TD just waiting to happen (1,443, 10 TD, 6.5! LY). They’ve got good depth at RB so the rushing attack will be excellent once again. The only thing to keep in mind is that the OL returns just two starters and will move on without their outstanding center Ricky Stromberg. The THROW GAME looks dicey as the Razorbacks lose their top-four (!) targets from LY’s team and don’t appear to have anything special in the WR/TE depth chart. They’ll hope that one or more of the players injected into the mix via the transfer portal end up being solid contributors.
DEFENSE
It was a HOT MESS to be sure as the Hogs fielded one of the worst defenses in the SEC LY (30.6 PPG, 2nd last SEC; 465 YPG, last). This came just one year after they played rock solid defense (22.9 PPG, #6). Things don’t look too rosy heading into this season as they lose their top-three tacklers including NFL-bound star LB Drew Sanders who filled up the stat sheet LY (#1 tackler, 9.5 sacks, 6 QBH). The DL has the potential for significant improvement as they return an experienced group and they added a bunch of talented doods via the portal including DE Trajan Jeffcoat (Missouri, 11.5 career sacks) and John Morgan (Pitt, 14 career sacks). The LB group could be a major problem area unless some newly introduced transfer bodies make a significant impact, but the secondary should be decent with the return of three starters including stud CB Dwight McGlothern (10 PBU, 4 INT) and safety Hudson Clark (11 PBU). One final note. WOO PIG will be without their top-two sack producers from LY’s defense (17 combined sacks) so it’ll be crucial for the DL to play up to their potential. Stay tuned!
SPECIAL TEAMS
Things look decent enough. PK Cam Little hit 13-16 FG attempts LY but they’ll need a better performance out of punter Max Fletcher (37.5). They’ll need to find a replacement for PR Bryce Stephens (9.9, TD).
Schedule Analysis
Overall – They’ll almost certainly get off to a 3-0 start (W Carolina, Kent St, BYU) before the yuuuge game at LSU. Arkansas’ schedule is tough enough playing in the SEC West and as an added bonus, they draw a road game with Florida from the East.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Ole Miss (Oct 7)
This is a really tough scheduling spot for WOO PIG. It comes after two emotional games (at LSU, Texas A&M) and right before the date with hated ROLL TIDE.
Season Win Total
Over 7 +110
Under 7 -130
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Under
The road schedule is hilarious in a bad way…….LSU, Ole Miss, ROLL TIDE, Florida. And the game with Texas A&M is at a neutral site. They’ll do well to get to eight wins.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Arkansas is just 21-61 (!) in conference play over the L10Y. The last time they had a winning record vs SEC opposition was way back in 2015 when they went 5-3.
Thoughts and prayers to the friends and family of former Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett who passed away tragically during the offseason. We had a chance to spend a bit of time with him during the College World Series a few years ago and he seemed like a great guy who loved life.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
This is gonna be another tough grind for Arkansas. The beginning and the end of the schedule feature several winnable games but the midsection of the season is FLAT OUT NASTY. They’ll feature a bruising rushing attack and have a fantastic QB so all is not lost. It’ll be up to the defense to show some improvement if WOO PIG wants to book another winning season.
As always,
Woooooooooo, Pig! Sooie!
Woooooooooo, Pig! Sooie!
Woooooooooo, Pig! Sooie!
Razorbacks!