How to Watch: Arkansas Football versus Western Carolina

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— The Arkansas Razorbacks are in Little Rock this week at War Memorial Stadium for the season opener against the Western Carolina Catamounts. Fans can look forward to the many returning players, especially KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders. After a good spring and fall camp we are ready to ‘Turn that Damn Jukebox on’.

Opponent: Western Carolina Catamounts

Date: Saturday, September 2nd, 2023

Time: 12 p.m.

Place: War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, Arkansas

TV/Streaming: SECN+/ESPN+

Line: Arkansas -34.5 (BetSaracen)

Series: First Matchup

Arkansas

Sam Pittman enters his 4th season as the Head Hog with a team that could be his most successful yet. There are new coordinators on both the offense and the defense. Dan Enos returns to the Hill as the offensive coordinator for the first time since 2017 where he worked with Sam for the Razorbacks. Travis Williams is the new Defensive coordinator making his Power 5 debut, however, he was a linebacker for Auburn in the early 2000s making him no stranger to the atmosphere.

During Pittman’s weekly radio show, he and his players both expressed their readiness to start hitting somebody else.

Western Carolina

The Catamounts are an FCS team located in the small town of Cullowhee, North Carolina. Kerwin Ball is the Head Coach for Western Carolina and his record in 2 seasons is just below 500. For those wondering what in the world a Catamount is, a quick google shows it to be a medium to large wild cat.

Storylines

The Depth Chart is the first thing to watch as soon as the team hits the field this week. Other than KJ and Rocket most of the receivers haven’t started for an SEC team.

The advantage of getting Little Rock out of the way early this year could be huge. In recent memory the Hogs would be playing slower or down to the level of a mid-major opponent then have to walk into Tuscaloosa and pick up the pace and get their doors blown off. Not this year. Make everyone happy with a War Memorial game and move on.

The Catamounts have never beaten an FBS team — 0-61 record dating back to the early 1970s. That includes an 0-20 mark all-time against SEC teams.