Gameday Live Arkansas vs Kentucky
The Arkansas Razorbacks take on the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (CDT) at Kroger Field in Lexington (Ky.). As is customary, we ask five burning question regarding this matchup and take a look at the five keys to victory...
WHO: Arkansas Razorbacks (2-3, 0-2 SEC) at Kentucky Wildcats (2-3, 0-3 SEC)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m. (CDT)
WHERE: Kroger Field (61,000), Lexington (Ky.)
TV: SEC Network
STREAMING: Available via ESPN app or found HERE
RADIO: Razorback Sports Network from IMG (99.5 FM/1290 AM in Fayetteville), Sirius Channel 99, XM Channel 190. It is available online on TuneIn HERE
WEATHER: 55 degrees at kickoff (dropping into the 40s), no chance of rain
BETTING LINE: Kentucky is favored by 6.5 points
"They're a big defense. If you look at just pure number's wise they're big up front. I think they've got two 360-plus guys. They've got some big defensive ends and that's a lot up front. They've got some good linebackers. 56 [Kash Daniel] is a good player. He's a hell of a player. They've got some good guys in the secondary as well. We feel we've got a good plan for them and feel we can match up well." -Arkansas quarterback Nick Starkel
"We’re prepared for different scenarios. With where they’ve been this year with their quarterback situation and the injuries that they’ve had - obviously putting [Lynn Bowden] in there [at quarterback] is going to add a whole new dynamic. It’s going to pull one of their best weapons at wide receiver into a quarterback where he’s touching the ball every play. I anticipate him playing some quarterback. How much I don’t know. And I think [Sawyer Smith] is going to play as well and it be just a mix up, I really do. It’s whatever gets a hot hand, they probably are going to stay with it. And if not they’ll probably go back and forth. But we’re prepared. It’s about how we play. That’s what I focus on more than anything." -Arkansas coach Chad Morris
1. WHICH ARKANSAS TEAM WILL SHOW UP?
The last two games, fans have seen two different Razorback teams take the field. There's the team that was humiliated at home to Mountain West member San Jose State on Sept. 21, and there's the team that was driving down the field for the go-ahead touchdown on the final drive against No. 23 Texas A&M in Arlington. The version that faced San Jose State was not mentally prepared to step on the field, and the one that played in Arlington was sick of losing and had the right mindset but not enough to finish it off. There is every reason in the world for the Hogs to be jacked up for a genuine opportunity at a win on the road. Will they see a cellar dweller up next on the schedule when they go to team stretch, or will they see a team that can spank them if they don't have the right mindset?
We've seen glimpses of greatness at times from Starkel, though the key word is 'glimpses.' We've also seen a quarterback who stares down receivers when there's pressure and is developing a poor reputation at the goal line. He threw a pick early in the Portland State game that probably cost him action in the second half. Then when they went to him in the second half of Ole Miss, and he looked great simply throwing the ball but struggled managing the offense.
His best showing so far was probably the Colorado State game when he went 20 of 35 for 305 yards (57.1 percent) with three touchdown passes, but even then there was a lull in the middle. He threw five interception in the loss to SJSU and then was injured in the second quarter against Texas A&M on an interception at the goal line...even though he was off to a 12 of 16 start before that.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has been rather coy regarding his quarterback situation, but Smith is going to play Saturday. They'll mix in Bowden in their wildcat package, but the big question is how much will Arkansas see Bowden behind center? Arkansas needs to shut that down quickly. Smith was the third quarterback on the depth chart entering camp, but injuries have thrust him into the starting role. So far, Smith -- a junior transfer from Troy who was a backup there -- has not provided much inspiration for Kentucky fans, but he's capable moving the ball and executing their offense. Just don't ask him to do too much.
Against Florida, he connected on 23 of 35 passes (65.7 percent) for 267 yard and a pair of touchdowns...though he also threw three interceptions. He has completed less than 40 percent of his pass attempts in the last two games. That includes an 11 of 32 performance (34.4 percent) for 90 yards and an interception last time out in a 27-7 loss to South Carolina in Columbia before the bye week.
Like it or not Razorback fans, Arkansas is a young team, and young teams sometimes have to learn the hard way -- especially on the road. Arkansas was out of sync on offense in Oxford against Ole Miss in Week 2, but they were in the mix all the way into the fourth quarter. The Rebels turned it on at that time while the Hogs did not. That's what happens when you don't finish. Arkansas out-played Texas A&M in several categories two weeks ago in Arlington, but they didn't close out the fourth quarter. Nobody wants to be on the wrong side of a teaching moment, but gaining a better understanding of how to close out a game could really benefit them in this one if they carry those lessons with them to Lexington.
While Arkansas has been taught a lesson a time or two this season, one thing the haven't had an opportunity to test is their ability to put a game away. If Arkansas has a lead late with possession of the football, can they lean on their running game to put the game away? Will Arkansas have kept Rakeem Boyd rested enough so he has the juice to carry the load late? He's really the only consistently back who has shown the ability to get decent yardage after contact, and that's what it'll take. The closest thing they have to that experience was when they held a 24-31 lead over Texas A&M until the Aggies went ahead 28-24 on a touchdown pass from Kellen Mond to Quartney Davis with 12:21 to go in the fourth quarter, and that's not really even the same thing with that much time left.
