Arkansas Razorbacks football fans have eagerly awaited the start of the 2025 college football season to assess what kind of team Sam Pittman and his staff have assembled. Well, the wait is over! The Hogs are ready to battle the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium today. Although most are predicting a blowout in favor of Arkansas, the game will offer the Hogs' coaching staff an opportunity to see how its team performs against someone other than itself.
To say the Razorbacks have a decisive edge against Alabama A&M is, of course, an understatement. This decisive edge results from the historical underfunding that historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) like the Bulldogs continue to confront. Therefore, while the Hogs will demolish the Bulldogs on the field, don't think for a moment that this blowout results from any inherent inadequacies of the predominantly Black people who attend this HBCU and other HBCUs. The intentional underfunding of these institutions will be the most vital reason for the ugly final score.
While that history and the attendant inequities it exposes are depressing, to say the least, Bulldogs Nation might find some comfort in the fact that the team has a 1% chance of defeating Arkansas, according to ESPN Analytics. The Bulldogs' coaches and players have more belief in themselves than ESPN Analytics does, however. One can expect them to give the Hogs as much of a fight as possible.
Before Arkansas and Alabama A&M clash, take a moment to engage with three keys to the game that will lead to a dominating victory for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas Razorbacks football vs. Alabama A&M: 3 Keys to the Game
Razorbacks' defensive line must impress
Last season, Arkansas failed to generate consistent pressure from its defensive line. As a result, the Hogs' defensive coordinator, Travis Williams, was often forced to send pressure from beyond the defensive line, which made Arkansas vulnerable in the passing game. The best examples of this vulnerability occurred in games against LSU and Ole Miss. Razorback Nation hopes it never witnesses such a poor defensive performance again. In that game, receivers easily ran down the field past the Hogs' defenders.
While the secondary should have performed much better last season, much of its poor performance stems mainly from a lack of support from the defensive line. It's unfair to place all the blame on the secondary for several horrendous showings against the pass when the defensive line gave the team virtually nothing. Therefore, the Razorbacks need redshirt senior Cameron Ball to open this season demonstrating that he's the clear leader of the defensive line, generating consistent pressure on the quarterback, and making frequent hits on the quarterback and running backs.
Arkansas must be physical
If the Arkansas Razorbacks want to be the most surprising team in the SEC, winning at least two to three games that most don't expect them to win, they must evince SEC-level physicality. The authentic SEC offensive and defensive lines thoroughly outclass the significantly overmatched Bulldogs. The real proof of the disparities between the two teams should be most conspicuous when observing these lines.
Alabama A&M should struggle to establish a balanced offensive attack, as it aims to do, because Arkansas' physicality should constantly infiltrate the Bulldogs' run and pass protection. However, if the Hogs' defensive line isn't capable of dominating the Bulldogs' offensive line, the team will certainly not make a bowl game.
Similarly, the newly improved offensive line, with more depth than it has had in recent memory, should be equally or more impressive than the defensive line. With the Hogs' massive and athletic offensive line, it should consistently smash the Bulldogs, allowing the rushing attack to excite the home crowd throughout the game.
Hogs must run the ball successfully
Speaking of the Razorbacks' rushing attack, their opponents must experience physicality from the running backs. The running back who must lead the running back room in physicality is Braylen Russell. At 238 pounds, Russell needs to use that large frame to bruise bodies today and against each opponent. Such a physical running game can help Arkansas' defense by sustaining drives and keeping the defense off the field.
Although most who aren't true students of Bobby Petrino's offensive schemes may think they center the passing game, Petrino, who is the best offensive mind in college football history, places the run at the forefront of them. When he has a decent offensive line, he can produce a running game as explosive as the passing game.
Final Thoughts
While the previously mentioned three keys to the game are less crucial for the Arkansas Razorbacks in today's contest against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs, the Hogs need to execute these keys to give themselves momentum heading into the more challenging opponents they will face soon. Pittman shouldn't be so conservative in managing his players' playing time that the final score doesn't reflect the true dominance it should against such an inferior team.
Ultimately, the Razorbacks need to come away from the game healthy because their brutal schedule necessitates the availability of all their players.