Texas vs. Arkansas football preview

Longhorns look to top Arkansas in non-conference matchup

Before Texas and Arkansas got postponed due to the possible effects of Hurricane Ike, this game looked like a marquis match up.

Texas has held up there part of the bargain, blowing out their other two non-conference home opponents with identical 52-10 scores in wins over Rice University and Florida Atlantic at home. The Longhorns’ close game was a 42-13 win on the road against UT-El Paso. The longhorns come in ranked seventh in the nation, and could certainly build some more momentum headed into a tough conference schedule with a road game against Colorado, and their annual meeting with Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout.

The Razorbacks may be hovering over .500 for the last time this season as they enter the game in Austin against their former Southwest conference rival. Arkansas opened the year by squeaking past FCS opponent Western Illinois at home 28-24. Their second game wasn’t much better, as they only managed to defeat a weak Louisiana-Monroe team 28-27, which fell to 1-3 with a lost last week at Tulane.

The Razorbacks showed their true colors last week, when they opened SEC play against then 9 th ranked (now 8th) Alabama, and were pasted to the turf by the Crimson Tide 49-14.

"Even in the two wins that we had, we had places where we were beating ourselves," Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino told ESPN. "We've got a lot to learn, a long way to go."

About all the Razorbacks currently have on their side is recent history. They’ve won three of their last four games in Austin, and have won two of the last three meetings overall. However, they did drop the last contest with the Longhorns 22-20 in 2004. The Longhorns were ranked 7 th in the nation at the time of that game, just as they are now.

The real question is how is the Arkansas defense which gave up 49 points and 402 yards of total offense at home to Alabama last week, a team that’s ranked lower than Texas. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy is really coming into his own in his junior year, with 11 touchdown passes on the year as opposed to just one interception. In fact, McCoy is only 54 rushing yards behind the Razorbacks leading rusher junior Michael Smith, and McCoy has done it in 16 fewer attempts.

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Arkansas is averaging nearly 100 yards fewer per game in total offense than Texas, against similar opponents. Having an FCS team scheduled at home averages out with having played Alabama to an extent. The Longhorns are ranked 8 th in offensive yards per game, while the Crimson Tide are ranked 57 th.

The Longhorns will most likely stampede over the Arkansas defense, who allowed 328 rushing yards last week to Alabama. With this being the case, we can expect to see a lot of draw plays and play action passes, keeping the Razorbacks defenders off balance all game long.

On offense, the Razorbacks will need to establish the run early. Last week, they threw four interceptions while just completing 24 passes. That’s an average of one interception per six completions, which means the Razorbacks are in trouble if they fall far behind and half to rely on the pass.

Of all FBS schools, only Washington State, Army, Rutgers, and Hawaii rank worse than Arkansas in turnover differential. The Longhorns differential is even on the year, ranking near the middle of the pack, so Arkansas won’t be able to count on getting the football back that way either.

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The special teams for both schools are of a similar rank when it comes to returning both punts and kickoffs. Razorbacks freshman running back Dennis Johnson managed to break off one kickoff return for 41 yards against Alabama, and perhaps their only hope against Texas will be to get big special teams plays in big spots like this one.

The Longhorns will try and put the Razorbacks away early, in a similar fashion to what the Tide did to them last week. Alabama junior defensive back Javier Arenas ended an Arkansas drive with under a minute to play in the first quarter by returning an interception 63 yards for a touchdown. The Razorbacks drove down the field for a TD on their ensuing drive, but gave it right back on the next drive making it 28-7. Another backbreaking play was the 74 yard interception return for a touchdown by junior DB Justin Woodall with 6:15 remaining in the first half, completely putting the game out of reach.

If the Razorbacks are to survive in Austin, they must avoid allowing huge momentum swings like these. But in all likelihood, the Longhorns high powered offense will simply be too much for them.

By Ryan Turner
Big 12 Fans Guest Writer

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