It’s the biggest elephant in the room, and one that most simply refuse to acknowledge.
After a pair of heartbreaking losses by the Arkansas football team, the keyboard experts have had a field day on social media the past two weeks, offering a slew of analytical assessments, along with an extensive list of the program’s problems. Yet, the most glaring issue the Razorbacks are dealing with has been completely ignored, and suspiciously swept underneath the old shag rug.
The losses were to legitimate Power Five programs, and both came down to the final plays of the game. Unfortunately, the Razorbacks came up just short each time. I have heard the reasoning range from Sam Pittman’s lack of coaching experience to quarterback KJ Jefferson’s apparent regression as a quarterback.
Not once have I heard anyone address the biggest factor, by far, in all of this – the Rocket that has yet to re-launch. After suffering an apparent knee injury early in the season-opener, Raheim Sanders played sparingly the remainder of that game, before being shut down completely for the past three games.
I know the contradictors, who will forever view the glass as half-empty, will accuse me of being some sort of homer and wearing rose-colored glasses. But is that really it? Or is it more of just an obvious observation by someone who has covered the sport for more than 35 years.
Even with my basic experience as a common fan, I can assure you that when you take away a team’s best player, in any sport, the team will surely suffer. Particularly when that player has been such a vital part of the team’s success.
I mean, we aren’t talking about a guy who was a gunner on the kickoff team or the backup holder for extra points. We are talking about the SEC’s top running back entering the 2023 season, and arguably the second-best ball-carrier in Razorbacks’ history.
We are talking about a kid who rushed for 1,442 yards a year ago – only the third Hog to ever accomplish that feat – and averaged 6.5 yards every time he touched the ball. He nearly single-handedly demolished No, 14 Ole Miss last November, with 232 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged more than 10 yards per carry and ran for over 170 yards, in wins over Auburn and BYU.
But there are those who scoff at the idea that his presence would likely have been the difference between sitting at 2-2 versus being 4-0. No guarantees, but I would surely have liked the Hogs’ chances much more with that 6-foot-2, 243-pound bruiser in the backfield. In each of those two recent losses, one or two plays could have literally been the deciding factor.
Theoretically speaking, if Sanders could have picked up that crucial 4th-and-1 midway through the BYU game, the trajectory and outcome could have been totally different. Early in the LSU game, if the Hogs could have snapped the ball quicker with a handoff to Sanders at the 1-inch line, that touchdown could have been the difference between winning and losing. Sure, a lot of what-ifs, but they’re not too far-fetched.
Not only that, but the threat of Sanders in the backfield also takes the entire focus off Jefferson. Not only would that prevent defenses from stacking the box, but it would also force them to account for two major weapons.
Obviously, the Hogs could have helped themselves in both losses without a truckload of pre-snap procedure penalties and other silly miscues. But if the Razorbacks would have won both games, those mishaps would just be a footnote. Not to mention, the social media mongrels would have had to come up with another hot discussion, or complaint.
I realize this theory doesn’t fit into the argument for those who want to continue wallering in self-pity and knocking the program, which is why it has been such a hush-hush topic. But facts are facts.
Sanders was a first-team All-SEC selection last year and was a preseason first-team All-SEC pick coming into this season. He has been mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate, while being named to the watch lists for the Walter Camp, Doak Walker and Maxwell Awards. He has also been projected as high as a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
And still, there are those who will stand there with a straight face and say his presence would not make any difference. Just take a look at how any injury can drastically sway the Vegas betting lines. I can promise you, if Sanders were to have been healthy against LSU, that line would not have been anywhere close to 18 points.
When Darren McFadden was out with a dislocated toe early in the 2006 season, Hog fans were then quick to offer his absence as the excuse for the team’s offensive woes. Matter of fact, missing those games due to the injury is likely what cost McFadden the Heisman Trophy that season. When Texas star running back Bijan Robinson was injured midway through the 2021 season, and the Longhorns struggled without him down the stretch, that was the generally accepted reasoning.
Granted, injuries are part of the game, and all teams must deal with them at some point. Rawleigh Williams III was the SEC’s leading rusher in 2016, before a neck injury in the spring of 2017 ultimately ended his career. His absence the following season likely contributed to Bret Bielema losing his job.
A post on Facebook this week asked, “With all the preseason ‘hype’ for the Hogs, why are they only 2-2?” The answer is simple. That preseason ‘hype’ was based on the assumption that the Razorbacks would be fully loaded with a legitimate SEC Player of the Year candidate toting the ball.
While driving home from Bentonville yesterday afternoon, I listened to about 45 minutes of a local sports radio show. The entire drive was filled with fans calling in with all the things wrong with the Arkansas football program. Yet, not once did any callers or the show’s two hosts ever acknowledge Sanders’ absence.
Arkansas has remained somewhat mum about the true status of Sanders’ injury. He has been practicing in a limited capacity, but the staff seems to be taking precautions before inserting him back into the lineup too soon.
Until Sanders returns healthy, Jefferson and the offense must continue operating without a key cog in the engine. The unit did offer much improvement and inspiration last Saturday in Death Valley, but the hill will remain tougher to climb until the Rocket can be launched again.