Despite not playing a fellow Power Five program, Arkansas has one of the most interesting draws to open the season.
No. 23 Arkansas welcomes the No. 22 Cincinnati Bearcats to Reynolds Razorback Stadium for the season opener on Saturday, with both teams each bringing items of interest into the contest.
Arkansas surprised many people outside of the state by winning nine games last season and returns plenty of units for the 2022 season. Cincinnati, however, became the first Group of Five program to earn a trip to the College Football Playoff last season. How do they regroup after making the big stage?
USA Today Sports’ Erick Smith recently revealed his picks for week one’s “can’t miss” College Football games, where he included Arkansas vs. Cincinnati:
The Bearcats have won all of their 22 regular-season games the past two seasons before getting tripped up by SEC teams in bowl games, the last coming against Alabama in the playoff. With several starters departed, there are questions about how Cincinnati continues its success. There’s probably no better place to quiet critics than winning on the road against the Razorbacks. Arkansas surprised with nine wins last season and bring back quarterback KJ Jefferson along with many of its key defenders. A possible run at the top half of the SEC West isn’t out of the question for the Hogs, so this early game will provide a litmus test about its upward mobility.
Arkansas-Cincinnati is one of three games on Saturday that feature two ranked teams, joining No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 12 Oregon, and No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame.
[mm-video type=video id=01g126e2j5e6vxwhcxdd playlist_id=01fc3h383th881vsf1 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g126e2j5e6vxwhcxdd/01g126e2j5e6vxwhcxdd-e16c0be95a1a32f3b17fbf4233f016ac.jpg]
[listicle id=11445]