Razorbacks have plenty to fix before long-awaited in-state Red Wolves matchup

When the dust settled on the Arkansas Razorbacks’ 52-7 win over the visiting Alabama A&M Bulldogs in Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, the early struggles against the 46-point underdogs may have been smoothed over by some observers. From their vantage point in Arkansas’ northeast corner however, the Arkansas State Red Wolves may see the opportunity of a lifetime coming into this Saturday’s week 2 long-awaited match up in Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium. 

Arkansas State won their season opener Saturday in Jonesboro 42-24 over Southeast Missouri. The Red Wolves may be licking their chops after going into week two after seeing their fellow FBS in-state brethren allow the FCS Bulldogs to march down the field for a score on their opening drive while applying pressure defensively to the Razorbacks rebuilt offensive line. 

“It's nice to get one apiece. We need to get more,” Razorback head coach Sam Pittman said. “You've got three different venues coming up in the next three weeks, starting in Little Rock with Arkansas State.”

Saturday’s 4 p.m. kickoff will mark the first time Arkansas’ two largest universities have competed against one another in football. Pittman said he expects his team to come out more focused coming into week two.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Pittman said. “So I think we've got a whole lot of kids in there that think we've got to get better here, you know, this next week. And playing Arkansas State, no disrespect to Alabama A&M and all, but it's easier to get up (next week). It's a state game. It's not a rivalry. We've never played it, but I think it will be easier for our guys to have a really good practice. We can coach them hard and all that.”

“We started off slow defensively. (We) certainly had some mental errors there that they had a good game plan coming in. We had some mental errors, some gap problems in the run, and then turned the tight end loose a couple times. We got it fixed after (Bulldog tight end Travaunta Abner) got open one more time on us. We got it fixed and then played pretty good defense the rest of the day offensively.”

Picking Up the Pace

Despite the slow start, Arkansas held Alabama A&M to 235 total yards (166 through the air and 69 rushing) while forcing two turnovers. Meanwhile the Razorback offense finished with 552 total yards and no turnovers. 

Pittman, now in his sixth season in Fayetteville and known as an offensive line specialist, also saw his offense pick up where it has the last two seasons with missed pass-blocking assignments up front. The Razorback offense rebounded nicely last season from a debacle two years ago under former offensive coordinator Dan Enos. With the return of former Razorback head coach Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator last season, Arkansas finished second in the Southeastern Conference in total offense and top five in both rushing (third) and passing (fifth). 

One area the Razorback offense continued to struggle in year one under Petrino was in pass protection. Arkansas finished 12th in the SEC in sacks allowed and 114th nationally. 

In the 2025 season opener, Razorback quarterback Taylen Green threw for six touchdowns and no interceptions but was sacked twice and pressured often against the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) Bulldogs. That sack total was matched by Arkansas’ pair from junior defensive end Quincy Rhodes and senior defensive back Shakur Smalls. 

“I was really pleased with (Green’s) game, and we just got to protect him,” Pittman said. “We got to continue to work. We knew they were going to blitz the heck out of us, and they did.

“But we've got to get better at protecting him as well. Just the second-team offense scored on the first-team defense on the first drive both times, and then they shut them down and then kind of had a similar deal here.”

New Look Receivers

Saturday’s season opener marked the first time Razorback fans got an opportunity to see an Arkansas receivers group which lost nearly all of its production from 2024. Senior transfer O’Mega Blake showed signs he can fill the shoes of Andrew Armstrong who led the SEC in receiving last year. Blake finished with seven receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown in the opener. The Razorbacks also got a solid effort from C.J. Brown. Brown caught a game-high two touchdowns on four catches for 49 yards.

Green and back up quarterback KJ Jackson completed passes to 11 different receivers with Raylen Sharpe, Andreas Paaske, Mike Washington and Jalen Brown also hauling in touchdowns. 

“Bobby has his reasoning for calling a play, whether it be because what he knows is going to come open, or he wants to specifically target a guy,” Pittman said. “But I was just happy that a bunch of guys got involved, you know, and it sure does make them want to practice more and more and harder to know they're going to get the football.”

Green agreed that the work the new receivers have put in over the summer and spring will continue to pay off throughout the upcoming season

“Honestly, I wasn't surprised. If you see how much work they put in, but at the same time, how fast they practice, especially O'mega and CJ,” he said. “O'mega would take a drag route, and we'll be on the 20-yard line, and take it 80 yards. And just the way that they work every single day, they could be tired, but you wouldn't know it. I'm not surprised, but I'm just glad and grateful to have a receiver room like this.”

Blake, who started his college career with SEC rival South Carolina before leading the nation in yards per catch last season at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, picked up where he left off by breaking tackles and racking up impressive yardage after the catch. Green complimented Blake on his ability to get open and confidence to make plays when called upon. 

Blake credits his production to hard work and wanting to live up to Petrino’s high standards. 

“It just goes back to us training and getting the extra reps out to practice, and just meeting and watching film. And like I said, just having (Green’s) back and knowing he’s got mine. It's just, he’s going to make certain things (happen), and I just feel I’ve got to make it correct, so we don't hear Coach Petrino's mouth at the end of the day. That's really all it is.”

Remembering their Pops

Brown had even more motivation coming into the season. He and star defensive tackle Cam Ball both lost their fathers in the offseason. 

“When CJ's father had first passed, it was just so crazy because I'm trying to give him words of encouragement,” said Ball, a preseason All-SEC candidate who announced his father’s passing in July during SEC Media Days. “And my father had passed probably like two months before him and it was as I was texting, I was just like, ‘Wow, man, like I never knew. I had to comfort somebody else in this situation.’

“I knew how he felt and I told him, ‘If you don't want to talk to me, that's okay. If you want to talk to me, that's okay, because I was in your same position. I still am and when he made those plays out there today, man, I just went up to him and gave him a hug. I talked to him in the locker room a minute ago and the first thing he said was, ‘That was for pops.’”

Ball was one of several Arkansas defenders to record a tackle for loss in the game. Brown said afterwards that the support he has gotten from teammates, coaches and family members keep him motivated going into the season. 

“Coach Pittman was there through every step of the way with my father,” Brown said. “He almost had to force me to go see my father, because I know my dad wanted me to be at practice, like always.

“If any of y'all knew my dad, he wanted me to be at practice. So Coach Pittman pulled me aside when it was all going on, and told me that I need to go, and they're going take me this afternoon… So that moment we shared. He just hugged me, and I told him I'm doing it for my pops, and he was like, ‘You are.’ 

Defensive Wake Up Call

After finishing at the bottom of the SEC and in the bottom quadrant nationally in pass defense a season ago, the Razorback pass defense has opponents salivating coming into 2025. The early struggles against Alabama A&M may whet those appetites even further, but Ball feels his cohorts may have learned their lesson.

"It could have been a better start," Ball said. "It kind of took for us to get punched in the mouth on that first drive to realize and wake up and see what was going on. But after that, we had to talk with each other, had to talk with our coaches and we came out and dominated the rest of the game."

Senior linebacker Xavian Sorey comes into 2025 with preseason All-SEC credentials as well, but only recorded one tackle last weekend. Sorey credited the slow defensive start to a lack of attention to detail.

"I would say just lack of attention, like from us," he said. "Like from us as a defense, lack of attention and you know what I mean? Maybe we were like too amped up and stuff and went out there and we've got a chill and just know it's football. We know it's the first game of the season."

For the second game of the season, the Razorback defense are sure to have Arkansas' State full undivided attention. Sorey said his unit hoopes to get off to a faster start in week two.

"I'll say like this next week we've got to know we got to open up the game hot and focused... those type things. And like some games were like that one job, it can be a game changer. So we can't have no bad drives — whether it's the first drive of the game or the last drive of the game.

"We've got to go out there and have great drives. s a defense, that's what we're looking to achieve, but it's still football and we've just got to do our job. That's it."