Five Burning Answers: Arkansas 20, Portland State 13
Late last week, HawgSports.com asked five burning questions and outlined five keys to victory for Arkansas' season opener against Portland State on Saturday. Now it's time for answers following an overall disappointing showing in a 20-13 win over what was believed to be an outclassed FCS level team.
"I honestly didn't even know we were favored by four touchdowns," Arkansas senior defensive tackle McTelvin Agim said after the game. "The only thing our coaches tried to preach to us is basically that we were going to get their best shot, that these guys were very confident coming in, and these guys could play. They played in big games already, so, we understood that they were coming in here like it was their Super Bowl. So, we knew we were going to get their best shot. We were basically trying to counter and make sure that we threw the punches."
The Razorback defense did their job for the most part, but the offense sputtered after the first two series, and there never seemed to be much of a rhythm to the play-calling or how the plays were executed after that other than a couple of drives in the remaining three quarters of the game.
PREGAME TAKE: These jobs are not won in camp -- they're won with results on the field, and that's what it'll take for Hicks to prove he's the man.
Ben Hicks will get the start next week against Ole Miss, but he certainly did not do anything during the game to solidify himself as 'the guy' at quarterback for Arkansas. Hicks finished just 14 of 29 passing (48.3 percent) for 143 yards against one of the worst secondaries he will see all season. Four of his passes were dropped. The biggest passing play of the day was a 38 yarder to Trey Knox, but it was thrown by backup Nick Starkel, who despite throwing an interception had a better efficiency rating than Hicks. The QB1 title out of fall camp simply means the player gets first chance in the game to win the job. If the first half against Ole Miss goes slowly, look for Starkel to get the nod in the second half. Arkansas has to have better production.
PREGAME TAKE: If Trey Knox practiced by Friday, there is a chance he will see limited work in the game, according to Morris. But Razorback fans should get an eyeful of fellow freshman starting receiver Treylon Burks.
They're both going to be really good...they're both good now. There were times when each were open enough downfield to warrant an opportunity but weren't thrown to for one reason or another. Knox had a dropped pass early but later caught the game's longest pass on a 38-yarder from Starkel. He did all that despite missing at least eight of the last ten practices with an undisclosed illness. Burks led all Razorbacks 52 receiving yards and finished with three catches. He also had two punt returns for 16 yards. They both have big-time playmaking ability, they just have to continue to get better at being consistent at everything before they get the ball.
PREGAME TAKE: Nothing would be more disappointing since November of last season in Columbia Missouri than for the Razorback offense to come out looking sloppy and unorganized....Will the offense get things going early or take some time to get a rhythm?
They actually did get off to a pretty decent start during the scripted plays part of the game, but it faded. The Hogs had to settle for a field goal on their first drive but moved the ball down to the 16-yard line on eight plays. They went 64 yards in 10 plays and capped the drive with a touchdown to make it 10-3 on the next drive. They scored on both first quarter possessions, which is better than last year in the opener. The third drive ended on a dropped pass by Knox on third-and-8 that would have been a first down. That was the first marker of things heading downhill. The fourth drive ended in PSU territory, and the fifth ended in an interception by Starkel after a Kamren Curl interception to give Arkansas possession in the first place. That's going downhill very fast in the first half. Teams usually script approximately 15 plays, and their first 18 were relatively successful, despite what happened after that.
PREGAME TAKE: Razorback defensive coordinator John Chavis said it best when he proclaimed last week that the test of how good this team will be on defense is not about the first 11 but about their backups.
It's a little early to tell, but the Hogs certainly got several defensive players in the game, and overall the defense played pretty well. PSU quarterback Davis Alexander proved to be very elusive and had to be because the Arkansas defensive line was in his face the whole game until he came out with an injury. The Hogs have some talented young players up front, but they're relying on too many of them. The linebackers played well overall and saw a heavy rotation, which is important there. The Hogs played some backups in the secondary, but it was mostly the starters in there with Myles Masonoccasionally stepping in at safety in the dime and Micahh Smith popping in at nickel a decent bit.
PREGAME TAKE: With a full year in the system, and heavily working with the offensive line to get on the same page, he could be in store for monster numbers this season if he can stay healthy.
Yes, Arkansas has a special player in Boyd. He was the only back who could get anything going Saturday against Portland State. It's not ideal in a game like that, but he probably should have had about seven more carries than he did and maybe this game wouldn't have come down to the final possession. Boyd finished with 18 carries for 114 yards (6.3 yards per carry) with a touchdown and also had three catches for 22 yards for a total of 136 yards from scrimmage. The junior running back finished runs and showed good vision and speed. Arkansas may have to incorporate more jet sweeps and end around plays to guys like receiver De'Vion Warren when Boyd needs a spell because the other backs never got going.
PENALTIES
PREGAME TAKE: Arkansas actually was not a bad penalty team last season...course that could have had something to do with being routed in the second half of games. But it was also probably due to the simplicity of Arkansas' offense as Chad Morris only implemented approximately 30 percent of the playbook.
Arkansas had seven penalties for 70 yards, which is nearly twice the number they had a season ago in the opener (four for 40). Portland State finished with 10 for 85, though. Several of Arkansas' penalties came on defense, including three in the fourth quarter -- an encroachment flag, an offside flag and a pass interference flag. As Arkansas expands the offense and incorporates more pre-snap movement, the penalties are going to increase. That is fine if they have an offense that can overcome them...but they don't right now.
PREGAME TAKE: Produce a Razorback team that is positive on the season in the turnover department, and you'll likely see a team with a winning record. That was far from the case in 2018 as Arkansas ranked dead last in the SEC in turnover margin at minus-0.83, and that was easily last.
It needs to be mentioned, but Kamren Curl had as good a game as any Razorback safety in probably seven years or more. He led Arkansas with four tackles, had two sacks for minus-9 yards and had a 29-yard interception return. Jarques McClellion and Joe Foucha all had interceptions, as well. Foucha's sealed the victory for Arkansas with 11 seconds to play. Ultimately, Arkansas won the turnover battle 3-to-1.
PREGAME TAKE: Arkansas' special teams were atrocious last season, especially the punting game. And early in the season special teams were nothing short of a disaster...Arkansas cleaned things up in the second half of the season, but special teams were never a weapon for the Hogs in 2018.
It is interesting why Arkansas went with Reid Bauer to start on longer punts but then went with Sam Loy on the next four, which were all 'placement' punts. Loy has clearly displayed the bigger leg between the two. Three times on punts the ball was right there inside the 5-yard line with a Razorback player waiting, but they only corralled it once before going into the end zone for a touchback. Connor Limpert made both of his field goal attempts. Four of his five kickoffs were relatively short with only one going for a touchback, but Arkansas never gave up a notable return or had anything disastrous happen...which is a win considering how things went last season.
PREGAME TAKE: The Hogs were the worst red zone team in the SEC last season. They made the second-fewest trips, 37, and easily scored the fewest touchdowns, 16. They had a high number of field goals, ranking fifth with 15 but that's not necessarily the best news ever with only 37 trips. Arkansas easily had the worst touchdown percentage at just 43.2. Arkansas was also dead last in third down conversions at just 30.95 percent. They were 0.42 percent from being last in the SEC in fourth down conversions.
Arkansas made it to the red zone (inside the 20-yard line) six times but only came away with two touchdowns. Twice they came away without any points at all due to Starkel's interception and mismanaged time at the end of the first half. The Hogs were 5 of 15 on third down conversions, which is 33.3 percent, not much better than last year's percentage. Some of those failures were on quarterbacks, but Knox and Harrell each had key third down drops.
PREGAME TAKE: This is all about attitude, toughness and desire, but it also includes playing smart....Arkansas can't have players on the field who think, 'oh, someone else has got it.' It's cliche, but the Hogs cannot afford not to go until the echo at the end of a whistle. Arkansas needs a defense that has players flying over the pile...And on offense, that means finishing blocks and being the hammer rather than the nail.
There is no question the defense played physical. The first play of the game was a personal foul on Arkansas linebacker Hayden Henry on the opening kickoff. There were plenty of guys in 'the frame' when Portland State players were being tackled, and the defensive line was living in the backfield. PSU only had 230 yards of offense and gave up six sacks. Boyd ran physically, and Warren showed great energy, but did the offensive line finish blocks? That question will have to be answered upon further review.
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