Although nursing a current six-game losing streak and traveling to play Florida in the daunted Swamp on Saturday, the Arkansas football team looks to rejuvenate it’s woeful season with a renewed offensive mindset.
Offensive coordinator Dan Enos was fired shortly after the Razorbacks’ 7-3 Homecoming loss to Mississippi State on Oct. 21, making way for wide receivers coach – and former Ohio State quarterback – Kenny Guiton to take the play-calling reins. Arkansas’s offense was ranked No. 119 out of 130 FBS programs, under Enos.
Surprisingly, the bettors in Vegas seem to have loaded up on the Hogs this week. The current line on the game has Arkansas getting 3.5 points, dropping two full points since Thursday.
Guiton spent four years working under former Razorback OC Kendall Briles, who departed for TCU after last season. So, it can be expected that the Hogs will revert back to what they have done the previous three seasons, under Briles, which is a much faster pace of play with quarterback KJ Jefferson improvising outside of the pocket.
Arkansas (2-6, 0-5 SEC) was off last week, giving the Hogs’ extra time to get adjusted to a new offensive coordinator, and allowed them to get some guys healthy for the stretch run.
Fortunately for Arkansas, it appears that All-SEC running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders will be returning to the lineup for a return to his home state. Due to a lingering knee issue suffered in the first game of the season, the 6-foot-2, 242-pound Sanders has played sparingly, with only 34 carries for 91 rushing yards and two touchdowns – a year after piling up 1,443 yards and 10 TDs.
Florida (5-3, 3-2 SEC) has split their last four games and is coming off a 43-20 loss to No. 1 Georgia a week ago.
The Gators hold a 10-2 all-time advantage in the series, and have never lost to the Hogs in Gainesville. After Arkansas defeated Florida 28-24 in the 1982 Bluebonnet Bowl, Florida reeled off nine straight wins in the series, before Arkansas finally beat them 31-10 in Razorback Stadium in 2016.
How to Watch:
- Date: Saturday, November 4
- Time: 11 a.m. CT
- TV Channel: ESPN2, and SEC+, ESPN+
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)
- Radio: Aired across the state on the Razorback Sports Network, or get the radio stream FREE on the Arkansas Razorbacks app.