Three bold predictions for Arkansas football’s 2024-25 season

Arkansas finishes top 5 passing, bottom half rushing defense

Arkansas’s defense is sorely underrated. It isn’t the best in the SEC, but after last season, some on social media think the defense was horrible. Yes, Arkansas gave up the fourth-most points in 2023 with 29.3 opponent points per game (OPPG), but they finished seventh in opponent yards per game (OYPG). To illustrate how big of a difference that is, here's an example. Between second place in OYPG and seventh, there was only a 40.8-yard difference, but between 11th in OPPG and second was a 9.6-point difference. If you want to know why the defense gave up so many points, rewatch the BYU game.

You could argue until Arkansas wins a national championship about how good last year’s defense was, but the one thing you can’t argue about is the strides coach Marcus Woodson made with the secondary. In one season, Arkansas went from 129th in the country in pass defense to 28th. All but Orlando “Snaxx” Johnson, Dwight McGlothern, and Al Walcott return. Plus, Arkansas added a couple of key pieces like Doneiko Slaughter and Miguel Mitchell. Reaching top-5 in the pass defense is possible with that secondary.

On the other hand, Arkansas's lack of depth at linebacker is concerning, although transfers Stephen Dix, Larry Worth III, and Anthony Switzer have reportedly shined this summer. The LBs play a big part in stopping the run, and with the way defensive coordinator Travis Williams loves to blitz, gap discipline matters a lot. When players get tired, that discipline starts to fade. So, the question is, is the depth good enough to keep them from slipping up in the fourth quarter? Right now, I don’t think so. That’s why they’ll be in the bottom half of the SEC in run defense.