Tag: Arkansas Cincinnati

Top six players to watch in Arkansas-Cincinnati on Saturday

Here is a look at the best players to look out for during one of the best College Football opening weekend games.

The best thing about college football is watching the emergence of new players. And with the new transfer portal acting as an amateur-level free agency, we’ll also see new faces in new places.

No. 23 Arkansas and no. 22 Cincinnati offer new players making their first start in college football and transfers hoping to make noise in their new home.

The Hogs are looking to begin the season on a positive with the toughest schedule in college football. For a betting fan, the odds are in their favor, with a 59% chance of winning, along with the historical dominance the SEC has on non-conference opponents in opening games.

But with high expectations come unwarranted pressure, and the question is can the top players for the Hogs handle it?

The Bearcats, on the other hand, are playing with church money. Luke Fickell is bringing a young team into Fayetteville, but Cincy has shown over the last couple of years that they are a good football program.

Arkansas is “tough, nasty” says Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell

And the Razorbacks wouldn’t want it any other way.

The place will be packed. Luke Fickell knows that.

The Cincinnati coach has spent a lot of this week preparing his team for the expected hostilities of the Arkansas crowd inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday when the two teams open their respective seasons.

“It’s going to be a tough, nasty game, just like the environment’s going to be,” Fickell said. “I think they pride themselves in things like that. We pride ourselves in things like that.”

The truth is both teams have plenty to gain, but plenty to lose, too. Arkansas is ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll and No. 23 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The Bearcats are No. 23 and No. 22 in the same. Such a preseason ranking shows the teams are expected to be good enough to make a run toward the College Football Playoff if things go right. If they don’t go right, however, well, that’s a different story.

Cincinnati has won five straight true road games. They lost in the CFP last year to Alabama on a neutral site. Fickell remembered how that environment troubled his team a bit.

“What the environment and atmosphere comes down to is your emotions,” he said. “But it’s not like you’re going to trigger those kinds of motions in a practice based on the environment.”

The DWRRS capacity is 76,000. No stadium in the American Athletic Conference, where Cincinnati plays, can match that. The two closest are professional stadiums, but South Florida and Temple don’t come close to meeting their capacities.

Fickell said he is looking forward to the challenge.

“Wanting these guys to experience the environments like we’re going to play in on Saturday, but also the environments of what a college campus feels like when there’s a buzz, what a community feels like when there’s a buzz.”

It’s game week! Arkansas hosts Cincinnati in first ever meeting between schools

The Razorbacks host the ranked non-conference opponent in the schools’ first meeting against each other.

After all the preseason polls, awards, prediction, and everything else that come with preseason football, it’s officially a game week in Fayetteville.

The coaches’ poll has Arkansas and Cincinnati side by side in the polls, Cincy No. 22, with the Razorbacks right below them. These positions are different from last season’s preseason polls.

Cincy was a top-10 team in the preseason polls, and Arkansas didn’t receive a ranking spot until week three after they beat Texas, 40-21.

The expectations for Arkansas heading into this game are high. However, the element of surprise is no longer there for the Hogs, thanks to some surprising team performances from last season.

KJ Jefferson is already regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the country, being named to the Manning Award watch list. Jefferson doesn’t have his No. 1 target from last season, but transfer Jadon Haselwood can produce the same numbers as Treylon Burks.

Cincinnati is expected to use two quarterbacks, which will be an excellent test for the new defensive line. Getting to the quarterback is a top priority for the Hogs this year after being one of the worst teams in the SEC when it comes to sacking the quarterback.

The secondary, led by Jalen Catalon, has the depth and talent to give the defensive line some extra time to get to the quarterback, depending on who the Bearcats decide to throw on the field. 

The Bearcats are 6-36-1 all-time against SEC teams. The last time they defeated an SEC during the regular season was 1996, when they defeated Kentucky, 24-3, at home.

This will be the first time the Bearcats take on the Razorbacks. ESPN Power Football Index says the Razorbacks have a 59% chance of winning. Kickoff is at 2:30 pm CT this Saturday.

Pittman says Hogs will be ready for Cincy dual quarterbacks

Pittman isn’t waiting for Luke Fickell to name Cincinnati’s starting quarterback.

Sam Pittman spoke to the media, announcing the team is officially preparing for their season-opener opponent, No. 23 Cincinnati Bearcats.

Cincinnati will likely use two quarterbacks to replace last year’s star quarterback Desmond Rider. Ben Bryant and Evan Taylor are fighting for the starting spot, but Cincy head coach Luke Fickell is not rushing to name the new starter.

“They’re both good players. One obviously a little more athletic than the other,” Pittman said about the two first-time.

“We’ll prepare for both. But both of them can run. Both of them can throw. One of them is a little quicker than the other guy. We’ll be ready either way. To be honest with you, I wouldn’t be surprised if they played both of them.”

Bryant spent three seasons as Rider’s backup before transferring to Eastern Michigan. Then, after only one season away from the squad, he transferred back to Cincinnati. Like Bryant, Prater had to sit behind Rider, replacing Bryant as the backup last season.

Both offer different styles, which is why Pittman wants to

No matter what, the Hogs will have to create pressure at the line of scrimmage. The secondary for the Razorbacks is flooded with talent, but they need a solid pass rush to avoid extended coverage situations.