Tag: Arkansas Western Carolina

Many to choose from when picking Arkansas’ Players of the Game vs WCU

Just about every Arkansas player was in on the action Saturday in the season opener.

The depth of Arkansas’ roster appears to be as good as it has been in years.

Granted, the Razorbacks’ opponent for their season opener was a mediocre FCS team. But plenty of Arkansas individuals had what one would qualify as a good game.

Accordingly, picking the RazorbacksWire Players of the Game was a tough task for our crew of four.

Each week, after each game, our staff of editor E. Wayne and contributors Derek Oxford, Connor Goodson and Steve Andrews will make their selections – one on offense and one on defense, individually – of the player each writer felt was most significant on that particular day.

That means you’ll likely see plenty of KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders.

Just not this week.

Here are our selections after Arkansas’ 56-13 win over Western Carolina.

Everything Sam Pittman said after Arkansas’ victory over Western Carolina

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has a better idea about his team after Saturday’s season-opening win.

Sam Pittman said it himself after Arkansas’ 56-13 win over Western Carolina on Saturday.

The game wasn’t going to answer the Razorbacks’ questions about the season, but it could give glimpses.

Most things went right for the Hogs in the blowout. KJ Jefferson is clearly just as good as he ever was at quarterback. The new receivers seem to be FBS caliber. The secondary is more aggressive. Arkansas won’t be short of linebackers.

But a couple issues cropped up, too. The most major was with the running game and offensive line. Arkansas had just 105 yards on 36 carries after being top 10 in FBS in rushing last year.

The line was short two starters, one of whom Pittman thinks will be back Monday, which will help alleviate things.

But all in all, the fourth-year Arkansas coach was happy with what his team accomplished in the season opener. Check out what he had to say below.

Arkansas sends Western Carolina home meowing to open season with win

Things were never close and always easy for the Razorbacks on Saturday.

Arkansas was never going to lose to Western Carolina on Saturday. The question was how big the margin may be.

Turns out, 43 points.

The Razorbacks had no trouble against FCS’ Catamounts in the season opener from War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Arkansas scored on literally its second offensive play of the game.

The touchdowns just kept coming after that in Arkansas’ 56-13 victory.

Quarterback KJ Jefferson completed his first nine passes, including touchdowns to Jaedon Wilson – on the second play – and Isaac TeSlaa in the first quarter. Jefferson ultimately went 18 of 23 for 233 yards and three touchdowns while adding another touchdown rushing.

The passes were spread, too, as nine different Arkansas receivers caught at least one ball. Newcomer Andrew Armstrong led the team with five grabs for 78 yards and a score. Davion Dozier, a freshman, caught a touchdown, as well, in the fourth quarter from back-up Jacolby Criswell.

Defensively, Arkansas forced five turnovers, four of which came by interception. Freshman linebacker Brad Spence had the final Arkansas touchdown when he picked off a Western Carolina pass and returned it 85 yards the other way.

Arkansas’ schedule doesn’t get much harder in Week 2 as lowly Kent State, out of the Mid-American Conference, visits Fayetteville.

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Arkansas – Western Carolina: LIVE 2nd Half updates, summary and highlights

Arkansas leads 35-3 after a dominant 1st half, follow along here for live updates from the 2nd half in Little Rock.

Arkansas was dominant in the first half against Western Carolina, they lead 35-3 going into the break.

The new-look passing game under Dan Enos was able to get established on the first two plays from scrimmage as Arkansas was able to score in just 36 seconds. It’s been all Hogs since that point.

KJ Jefferson is 14-16 for 214 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Jaedon Wilson leads the Hogs in receiving with 2 catches for 69 yards and one touchdown. Isaac TeSlaa also has 3 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.

The only concern is the lack of success in the running game. Arkansas only has 39 yards rushing.

On defense the Hogs have forced three turnovers and have dominated the Catamounts from the beginning of the game.

Don’t miss any of the second half action and follow along right here for drive-by-drive and score-by-score updates from War Memorial Stadium.

Arkansas – Western Carolina: LIVE 1st Half updates, summary and highlights

Follow first half updates from Arkansas and Western Carolina in the 2023 season opener in Little Rock.

Arkansas and Western Carolina are underway from War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

The 2023 college football arrived in earnest this week and the Razorbacks begin their trek through the 12-game regular-season slate Saturday against FCS opponent Western Carolina in Little Rock.

No one outside of that mountainous region of the Tar Heel State truly thinks the Catamounts have much of a chance to win, but they’ll bring home some bucks, just for trying.

Don’t miss any of the action and follow along right here for drive-by-drive and score-by-score updates from Little Rock.

Report: Two Arkansas defensive backs to miss season opener

Arkansas will be without safety Malik Chavis (hand injury) and corner Kee’yon Stewart (arrest) for Saturday’s game vs. Western Carolina.

Arkansas will be without two key depth pieces in the secondary as they open the season against Western Carolina.

According to reports, redshirt seniors [autotag]Malik Chavis[/autotag] (safety) and [autotag]Kee’yon Stewart[/autotag] (cornerback) did not make the trip to Little Rock for Saturday’s game. The reason for each player missing the game is vastly different, though.

Chavis was added to the injury list earlier this week and has apparently been battling a hand injury. He stayed behind in Fayetteville to not risk further injury, but no timetable has been given for his return.

As for Stewart, it’s being reported that he was arrested in Fayetteville early Friday morning for speeding and reckless driving. The TCU transfer was booked in Washington County at 10:18 a.m. Friday morning and released later that evening at 9:44 p.m. There has been no word from Sam Pittman or the team at this time regarding the matter.

The absence of both Chavis and Stewart will likely open much more playing time for some of the younger second and third-team guys. Kickoff against Western Carolina is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

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Hype for Arkansas football is real Saturday morning on social media

Arkansas’ march toward another bowl begins in Little Rock and fans are ready.

Arkansas has had more exciting opening games to a football season.

That couldn’t matter less.

The 2023 college football arrived in earnest this week and the Razorbacks begin their trek through the 12-game regular-season slate Saturday against FCS opponent Western Carolina in Little Rock.

No one outside of that mountainous region of the Tar Heel State truly thinks the Catamounts have much of a chance to win, but they’ll bring home some bucks, just for trying.

For Arkansas, the win is nice, but getting a first look at players like wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, offensive tackle Patrick Kutas and defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat is nicer. Those are the kinds of players the Hogs needs to bolster the star power that quarterback KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders bring to the table.

Just ahead of kickoff at noon, let’s take a look at how social media is preparing for Hogs-Catamounts.

Score predictions from RazorbacksWire staff as Hogs take on WCU

Arkansas isn’t losing, that much we know for sure.

Finally.

The first week of college footbal list here.

Well, unless you’re Arkansas, then it isn’t here, it’s in Little Rock, the state capital three hours away from campus.

But otherwise!

The Razorbacks open the 2023 season in just about the easiest way possible, against FCS Western Carolina. The Catamounts haven’t been a winning program the last 20 years and Arkansas is a team looking to take the next step up into eight-, nine-win territory.

In other words, the game won’t be close. Rather, it shouldn’t be close. We suppose if KJ Jefferson, two running backs, two offensive line starters and maybe half the defense go down, sure, Western Carolina has a shot.

The Citadel, though, WCU is not.

Let’s take a look at how the RazorbacksWire staff sees the game going Saturday.

Column: Arkansas needs to handle business in convincing fashion Saturday

There’s plenty of reasons why Arkansas should beat Western Carolina convincingly, but for Sam Pittman, one reason stands above the rest.

Entering the Saturday’s game against Western Carolina, there’s some pressure on Arkansas head football coach [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag].

A lot of that stems from last season’s extremely disappointing results on the heels of a 9-win 2021. But a lot of that pressure isn’t really dominating the talk around Arkansas football entering this year.

Instead, there’s plenty of optimism about the team’s two new coordinators, [autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Dan Enos[/autotag], and the collection of talent up and down the Razorback roster. As for this writer, I’ve actually gone on record as saying this is the most talented roster Pittman’s had since taking becoming head coach.

However, while that is all great, games aren’t played on paper and a majority of the fanbase won’t be satisfied if there aren’t results to back up some of the preseason optimism. The elephant in the room over the summer has been the pressure on Pittman to turn things around and remain in the good graces of Arkansas fans.

That elephant has largely been ignored, but it won’t be for long if things start to go south this season. The best way for Pittman to kickstart this important 2023 campaign is with an extremely convincing win and no theatrics.

Pittman himself admitted earlier this week that the Hogs have struggled with “non-logo” schools of late, and he’s not the only one that’s noticed. The Rice, Missouri State and Liberty games transported fans back to the dark ages of 2018 and 2019 – times they thought were long gone.

So, not only do the Razorbacks need to win on Saturday, but they need to leave absolutely zero doubt. Western Carolina is an inferior opponent, who should receive an extremely lopsided defeat to go along with their six-figure game check.

If that doesn’t happen and Arkansas stumbles out of the gates, the temperature on Pittman’s seat will begin to rise. Not by much but ever so slightly. That elephant in the room? It begins to draw a little more attention.

It’s just one game in an extremely long season, but it could represent a lot more later down the road.

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Could Western Carolina do the unthinkable on Saturday? Unlikely, but not impossible

As kickoff grows near, let’s take a look at three reasons why Arkansas will win and three reasons why Western Carolina could pull off a massive upset.

“So, you’re telling me there’s a chance.” – Jim Carrey (Lloyd Christmas), Dumb and Dumber

Arkansas has a really solid track record of opening seasons with a win. Since 2000, the Hogs are 19-3 in season openers. This year, all signs are pointing towards Arkansas being 20-3 in openers when Western Carolina comes to Little Rock on Saturday.

According to ESPN’s FPI, the Razorbacks are heavy favorites with a 99 percent chance to send the Catamounts home with a loss.

But as we all know, games aren’t played on paper and college football is known for upsets. And while Arkansas has fared well in season-openers, they’ve had their fair share of struggles at Little Rock in recent history.

That could open the door for Western Carolina to do the unthinkable if the Hogs aren’t fully prepared.

Let’s take a look at three reasons why the Catamounts could leave Little Rock victorious, and three reasons why Arkansas will take care of business on Saturday.