Arkansas Football Opponent Preview: BYU Cougars

The Arkansas Razorbacks (2-0) will face off against BYU (2-0) for just the second time ever on Saturday. Their first meeting came last season when the Hogs traveled to Utah and won in a 52-35 shootout.

KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders each had monster games. Jefferson finished 29-40 passing for 367 yards and 5 touchdowns. Sanders had a career day in limited touches, going for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 15 carries. Arkansas finished with 644 yards of total offense, while BYU finished with 471 yards of their own.

Much like Arkansas, though, BYU has a bunch of new faces on the roster. The Cougars added over 25 transfers over the offseason. Most notably, they added quarterback Kedon Slovis (Pittsburgh) to replace Jaren Hall, who left for the NFL. They also fired their strength and conditioning coach after battling injury issues all year. Sound familiar?

Despite the new faces and the program’s jump from an Independent to the Big 12, BYU is undefeated on the year and matches up really well with the Razorbacks. In fact, the two teams are basically mirror images of each other in most aspects of the game.

Let’s take a closer look at how the two teams stack up on paper in this week’s opponent preview.

BYU Season Stats

Record: 2-0 (Wins: Sam Houston State 14-0, Southern Utah 41-16)

Total Offense: 325.5 YPG (#110 in FBS)

Scoring Offense: 27.5 PPG (#77 in FBS)

Passing Offense: 246.5 YPG (#60 in FBS)

Rushing Offense: 79.0 YPG (#118 in FBS)

Total Defense: 265.5 YPG (#26 in FBS)

Scoring Defense: 8.0 PPG (#10 in FBS)

Passing Defense: 204.5 YPG (#62 in FBS)

Rushing Defense: 61.0 YPG (#10 in FBS)

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

• QB – Kedon Slovis: The Pitt transfer was once viewed as a potential first-round NFL draft pick. His struggles at USC and mediocre 2022 season changed that, but he’s still very talented and fits well with Kalani Sitake’s BYU team. He enters Saturday 42-65 passing for 493 yards and 4 touchdowns and 1 interception on the year. BYU has struggled to establish the run in their first two games, but Slovis leads the team in rushing touchdowns (3) despite not being a dual-threat.
• TE – Isaac Rex: Two years ago, Rex broke his ankle in a game against USC. He struggled to find a groove last season, but looks to be returning to form this season. Last week he had a career performance for the Cougars in their win over Southern Utah. Rex caught 4 passes for 112 yards, including a 65-yarder. Look for him and Slovis to attempt to build on that connection this weekend.
• WR – Kody Epps: One of BYU’s top receivers from last season, Epps is expected to make his return against the Hogs on Saturday. Epps has missed BYU’s first two games of the season due to an injury in fall camp. He finished with 39 receptions, 459 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns last year before suffering a season-ending injury against Liberty. Out of his 2022 total, 9 catches, 125 yards and 1 touchdown came against the Hogs.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

• LB – Max Tooley: After being hampered in 2022 due to injury, Tooley is back to full health this season and it shows. He’s currently second on the team in tackles (14) and a team-leading 9 of those tackles are solo. Sam Pittman is very aware of Tooley’s game heading into Saturday as well. “I love Max Tooley,” Pittman said on Monday. “I think he’s a hard playing son of a gun and seems like a leader on their team.”
• LB – Ben Bywater: The junior standout has burst onto the scene this season for BYU. He leads the team with 16 tackles and has recorded 1.5 tackles for loss. Alongside Tooley and transfer AJ Vongphachanh, the Cougars have an extremely impressive linebacking corps.
• DE – Tyler Batty: The 6-5, 273-pound veteran edge rusher has had a monster start to his 2022 season. Batty has recorded 8 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and the Cougars’ only sack of the season. In their win over Sam Houston State in Week 1, Batty had 7 of the team’s 15 quarterback hurries. The Arkansas offensive line could have their hands full with Batty and the BYU defensive front on Saturday.

IN THE TRENCHES

On Monday, Sam Pittman mentioned his concerns with the movement of BYU’s D-line. The Razorback O-line’s problems have been discussed ad nauseum, but BYU presents an even bigger challenge. The Hogs have to be very disciplined and physical up front to keep Tyler Batty, Blake Mengelson (DE), Caden Haws (DT), Jackson Cravens (DT) and the rest of the Cougars away from KJ Jefferson. This week should gives a really good look at how glaring the issues in the running game actually are.

On the flip side, the Arkansas D-line matches up extremely well with BYU’s O-line. While the Cougars are just one of seven FBS teams to have not allowed a sack so far this year, they haven’t faced a defensive front like Arkansas’. Like the Hogs, BYU has struggled to establish the running game and head coach Kalani Sitake seemed to suggest it’s the fault of the big guys up front. It could be the perfect storm for the Hogs’ aggressive defense to have a huge game.

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned earlier, it’s pretty shocking how much BYU and Arkansas mirror each other. Both teams enter Saturday’s game with impressive defenses, experienced quarterbacks and question marks on the offensive line – particularly in the running game.

This game will probably be the exact opposite of what the two teams experienced last season. Instead of a high-scoring, offensive showcase, expect more of an ugly, gritty defensive battle. With both defenses being so evenly matched, it’s going to come down to the better offense. Arkansas fans should feel confident with KJ Jefferson under center, but it still won’t be a walk in the park. One thing is for certain – we’ll have a much clearer picture of this Razorback team after Saturday than we have the last two weeks.