Coming off its first shutout in nearly six years, Travis Williams’ unit will have a much tougher test in the Arkansas vs Oklahoma State matchup Saturday.
The Cowboys have an explosive offense that will make the Razorbacks pay if they replicate one aspect of their 70-0 shellacking of UAPB.
According to Pro Football Focus, Arkansas missed 11 total tackles at War Memorial Stadium and earned an abysmal 43.9 tackling grade from the service. That mark ranks 124th out of 132 FBS teams that have played a game so far.
That’s been a “big emphasis” for the Razorbacks as they’ve prepared for their next game, head coach Sam Pittman said during his weekly press conference Monday afternoon.
“Our tackling is something that we needed to get better just from our Thursday night game,” Pittman said. “On Saturday we had a tacking circuit, so we’re trying to address that.”
While the Razorbacks may have gotten away with that kind of performance against one of the worst teams in the FCS, that won’t be the case in Week 2.
Oklahoma State has an explosive offense with multiple “dynamic” skill players who are difficult to tackle.
The most prolific of that group is running back Ollie Gordon II, who led the country with 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns last season. More than half of those yards came after contact.
In fact, Gordon forced 68 missed tackles, leading to an additional 1,056 yards, per PFF. That latter mark was tied for second in the country.
The star running back picked up where he left off in Oklahoma State’s opener against South Dakota State. According to PFF, he had an FBS-high 13 missed tackles forced on runs — a number that doesn’t even include his four forced missed tackles on four receptions. That led to him racking up 75 of his 104 rushing yards after contact.
“If they get him 2 or 3 yards, he’s going to get 6 or 7 or more,” Pittman said. “We’re going to have to tackle him one-on-one, but we’re going to have to get a lot of guys around the ball.”
The Razorbacks will also have to be able to tackle in space when Oklahoma State deploys its screen game, which it mostly kept under wraps last week against the Jackrabbits.
It also doesn’t help that the Cowboys are capable of beating you deep if you load the box and leave the defensive backs in one-on-one, press situations on the outside.
Needless to say, this Saturday’s matchup will be a major challenge for Arkansas’ second-year defensive coordinator and his new-look defense.
Other Sam Pittman Presser Tidbits
Here are a few other quotes, not verbatim, from Sam Pittman’s weekly press conference previewing the Arkansas vs Oklahoma State game…
- Opening statement about Oklahoma State: Have a ton of respect for Coach Gundy. Going into 20 years now at Oklahoma State and has done a phenomenal job. (They have) 17-18 returning starters and played really well Saturday. Offensively, they have a ton of skill. Really good at the skill spots, starting with the QB and Ollie Gordon is certainly as good as any RB in the country. At receiver, it starts with Presley. They have their entire offensive line coming back. They went to the Big 12 championship game last year and look to be headed north on that this year, as well. Defensively, they have some outstanding players, starting with Oliver and Martin. I really like their defensive line. They tackle extremely well, they play hard. Just a well-coached football team. Just a really solid football team.
- On the kicker spot: There’s still a battle there, but (Kyle) Ramsey will be the first one running out there.
- On Oklahoma State’s offense: We have to be ready for their fast-paced offense. They don’t run it all the time, but they opened the game with it last week. … If you press them, they’re going to test you. You’re going to get tested deep. They have so many things they can do. Their bubble game, screen game is a big part of what they do. They didn’t do it as much Saturday as I know they have in the past.
- On Rashod Dubinion’s spot on the depth chart: He has the opportunity to. I really like Hill as our 2 running back right now. R-Dub will have the opportunity to move up the chart when he gets healthy.
- On the difference between OSU’s Collin Oliver and Arkansas’ Landon Jackson: Oliver is smaller, quicker. They drop him into coverage and move him around in their odd package. They do more stuff with him than we do with Landon. The common thing they have is an ability to get after the QB.
- On Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman: Their offense fits him perfectly. They don’t run him quite as much. He’s sneaky, but what they’re asking him to do, he can do it well. Gets the ball out fast. It’s hard to get to him, hard to sack him. I think he probably knows their offense as good as the head coach does. He’s a really good player.
- On how Kyle Ramsey won the starting kicker job: We sat him for five days. He was hurt. We just weren’t kicking as well as we’d like to, but when he came back, he was pretty solid.
- On why long snapper Eli Stein left the team: Depth chart came out and he had lost half of his starting role. I just don’t feel like he wanted to just be one or the other, so he decided to leave the team.
- On playing at Boone Pickens Stadium: We went in there and got beat when I was at OU. Very loud. Very close. They are right on top of you. We can’t let their fans be a distraction to us on the sideline. We’ve talked about that. I think it’s the closest one in the country. Crowd noise will be a huge part of this week’s preparation. We started that Saturday.
- On Oklahoma State’s experienced offensive line: They have a really good coach. They play well together and they’re playing seven guys. You don’t see mistakes. They’re a very physical group. Movement doesn’t seem to bother them. I think they have a lot of confidence.
- On the use of technology last week: I think our coaches really enjoyed the iPads. Both the helmet communication and iPad went super well for us.
- On who impressed vs. UAPB after watching film: Stephen Dix played better even than I thought he might. I’m talking about in space, made some nice tackles out there.
- On the safeties: They’re going to have to make some tackles. They’re also going to have to defend the pass. TJ Metcalf is continuing to get better. I was pleased with our safeties, but if there’s a guy sticking out, it’s Metcalf.
- On his thoughts from Thursday’s game: There’s really not a lot you can put into the results of Thursday’s game because, no disrespect, we’re not going to play anyone like that the rest of the year. Only thing you can do is, did we play hard, smart and physical? We wanted to score every time and we wanted to shut them out. We didn’t have a lot of missed assignments. But they also didn’t pressure us Thursday. We’ll see pressures Saturday.
Watch the full press conference here:
Arkansas Football Injury Report
Here’s the latest on several players who are dealing with injuries ahead of the Arkansas vs Oklahoma State game…
- WR Andrew Armstrong (hamstring): DNP vs. UAPB… Pittman said he is still “questionable” for the Arkansas vs Oklahoma State game
- OL Patrick Kutas (back): DNP vs. UAPB… Pittman said he is “doubtful” for the Arkansas vs Oklahoma State game
- DB Miguel Mitchell (undisclosed): DNP vs. UAPB… Not clear if it’s injury related or not… Pittman said he’s “out for right now”
- RB Rashod Dubinion (undisclosed): Had been banged up and limited in practice leading up to the opener… Still played vs. UAPB, but was the fourth running back in the game… Believed to be dealing with a knee injury
- DB Jaden Allen (knee): Pittman said the freshman had “cartilage repair” done on his knee and that he’s not expected to play this season.
- LB Justin Logan (shoulder): After being limited and wearing a green non-contact jersey during the spring, Pittman said he probably won’t play this season.
- OL Zuri Madison (ACL): Missed the spring and will miss the 2024 season with a torn ACL suffered in a scooter accident.
Arkansas vs Oklahoma State Depth Chart
Here is the official depth chart for the Arkansas vs Oklahoma State game, from the UA’s game notes…
Offense
| POS | First | Second | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Taylen Green | Malachi Singleton | KJ Jackson Blake Boda |
| RB | Ja’Quinden Jackson | Rodney Hill | Braylen Russell Rashod Dubinion Tyrell Reed |
| TE | Luke Hasz | Ty Washington | Var’keyes Gumms Andreas Paaske |
| WR-Z | Tyrone Broden | Jordan Anthony -OR- CJ Brown | Davion Dozier |
| WR-X | Andrew Armstrong | Monte Harrison | Jaedon Wilson |
| WR-W | Isaiah Sategna | Isaac TeSlaa | Khafre Brown |
| LT | Fernando Carmona Jr. | E’Marion Harris | |
| LG | Patrick Kutas -OR- E’Marion Harris | ||
| C | Addison Nichols | Amaury Wiggins | |
| RG | Joshua Braun | Ty’Kieast Crawford | |
| RT | Keyshawn Blackstock | Joe More |
Changes from last week:
- Both of the “or” listings at running back are gone, with Jackson now listed as the sole starter. The co-starter last week was Dubinion, but he was the fourth running back to get into the game and is now listed third on the depth chart. Hill and Russell was listed with an “or” as the third-team back, but Hill is now second with Russell third.
- At tight end, Washington and Gumms flipped. Washington, who caught a touchdown pass against UAPB, is now third, with Gumms fourth.
- It’s worth noting that Armstrong was also listed as a starter last week even though he was held out because of his hamstring injury. In his absence, TeSlaa moved into the starting lineup, despite being listed as the backup behind Sategna.
- There is still an “or” between Kutas and Harris at left guard, but Harris got the nod last week with Kutas still out with a back injury.
Defense
| POS | First | Second | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE | Landon Jackson | Quincy Rhodes Jr. | |
| DT | Cam Ball | Keivie Rose | Danny Saili |
| DT | Eric Gregory | Ian Geffrard | |
| DE | Nico Davillier -OR- Anton Juncaj | ||
| LB | Brad Spence | Stephen Dix Jr. | Alex Sanford |
| LB | Xavian Sorey Jr. | Anthony Switzer -OR- Bradley Shaw | |
| NB | Doneiko Slaughter | Tevis Metcalf | |
| CB | Marquise Robinson -OR- Jaheim Singletary -OR- Kee’yon Stewart | ||
| S | Hudson Clark -OR- TJ Metcalf | Ahkhari Johnson | |
| S | Jayden Johnson | Larry Worth III | |
| CB | Jaylon Braxton | Selman Bridges |
Changes from last week:
- There are no changes to the defensive depth chart.
- However, at the three “or” spots, Davillier, Robinson and Metcalf earned the starts vs. UAPB.
Special Teams
| POS | First | Second |
|---|---|---|
| K | Kyle Ramsey | Matthew Shipley |
| P | Devin Bale | Sam Dubwig |
| KO | Devin Bale | |
| LS | Ashton Ngo Max Schmidly | |
| H | Devin Bale | Sam Dubwig |
| KR | Isaiah Sategna | Rodney Hill |
| PR | Isaiah Sategna | Bryce Stephens |
Changes from last week:
- There is no longer an “or” at kicker. Ramsey, who handled all 10 PATs last week, is listed as the starter.
- There had also been an “or” at long snapper, but Eli Stein had already left the team. Ngo got the nod and is now backed up by walk-on Max Schmidly.
- Jaylon Braxton had been listed as the backup punt returner, but that is now Stephens. That’s not particularly surprising as he nearly had a punt return for a touchdown last week, only for the long return to be wiped out by a penalty. (Sategna had a punt return touchdown erased by penalty, too.)
How to Watch Arkansas vs Oklahoma State
Date: Saturday, Sept. 7
Location: Boone Pickens Stadium (Stillwater, Okla.)
Kickoff time (TV): 11 a.m. CT (ABC/ESPN+)
Commentators: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), Taylor McGregor (sideline reporter)
ESPN FPI: Oklahoma State has a 55.9% chance to win.
Odds/Betting Line: Oklahoma State, -7.5 | O/U 59.5 (BetSaracen)
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