The Razorbacks are headed to Arlington for another exciting episode of the Southwest Classic. Last week saw the Hogs in a shootout against a very talented LSU team, and had it not been for some poor late-game management and some penalties, they may be sitting at 3-1 instead of 2-2. Despite that, the team is still headed into this matchup against Texas A&M with plenty of momentum.
Week 5 Expectations
Arkansas
In their game against LSU, the Hogs ground game was fairly weak again. However, Rashad Dubinion took over the majority of the running crew’s touches, turning 18 touches into 113 total yards. No other back saw more than 3 touches. Rocket Sanders has been back in the swing of things in practice this week, but there has been no confirmation that we will see him on the field against A&M. If not, it could be a lot more of Dubinion leading the way.
On the defensive side, the turnovers keep on coming. The defensive line continued to maintain pressure on QB Jayden Daniels, forcing him to throw a pick to former LSU Tiger Dwight McGlothern. The defensive front 7 will be important to keep an eye on against backup QB Max Johnson.
We also saw the first fake kick from the Hogs this season, last week. The fake capped off an impressive bounce-back performance from punter Max Fletcher, who struggled against BYU. Sam Pittman has voiced a considerable amount of confidence in the trio of special teams specialists: Cam Little, Max Fletcher, and Isaiah Sategna.
Texas A&M
The headline going into this week for A&M is the absence of Heisman candidate Conner Weigman. Weigman had completed nearly 70% of his passes for 979 yards and 8 touchdowns through the first 4 games of the year. He’ll watch the rest of the season from the sideline with an injured foot, putting Max Johnson in command of the offense.
Fortunately for the Aggies, their X-factor will always be Bobby Petrino. Petrino will be facing the Hogs for the first time since he visited Fayetteville with his Missouri State squad. He kept that matchup closer than the Hogs would’ve liked, that game ending 27-38. Despite a lack of press coverage on Petrino, he’ll be an integral part of this matchup.
On defense, A&M fields an impressive squad of defensive backs. While they won’t force an abundance of turnovers, they’ll get a hand on the ball. That will be an interesting competition to watch face off against Arkansas’ possession receivers.
Week 5 Dream Scenario
Hog’s freshman tight end continues emergence as a much-needed star
The most exciting part of the Hogs’ offense the last 2 weeks has been their newest offensive weapon, tight end Luke Hasz. Hasz totaled 5 receptions for 45 yards in the first two weeks of the season, but has followed that up with 10 receptions for 194 yards over the last two weeks.
His 6 receptions last week against LSU were tied for the most on the team with Andrew Armstrong, though he totaled 40 more yards and 2 touchdowns over Armstrong. It’s becoming more and more clear that Hasz is becoming a bigger part of this Enos-led offense, and his presence as a playmaker could make him the best weapon the Hogs’ air attack has had since Treylon Burks.
Despite not receiving SEC Freshman-of-the-week honors, Hasz was still the John Mackey Tight End of the week. If he can maintain this connection with KJ in Arlington, the Razorbacks will have a lot to be excited about for the rest of the year.
Week 5 Disaster Scenario
Another SEC backup pushes the Aggies past the Razorbacks
Like I said before, the biggest storyline this week is going to be Max Johnson. The backup QB has experience coming into these situations. Last year alone, Johnson came in against a highly ranked Hogs squad and posted 193 total yards and a touchdown.
While his numbers don’t jump off the page, he was able to keep his squad in long enough to pull out the win. He’s not the only SEC quarterback to come off the bench and torch the hogs, though. Since 2020, Arkansas has lost games to Stetson Bennett, TJ Finley, and Jalen Milroe, among others.
Max Johnson’s potential can’t be overlooked, but his presence in place of Weigman should offer the Razorbacks some room to get some pressure and force some turnovers. If not, the Hogs will be staring down the barrel of a 2-3 start.
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