Does Arkansas win big or can Kent State pull the upset? Three reasons why each could happen
Arkansas has started 2-0 in the past two seasons under Sam Pittman, and are heavily favored to do it again Saturday against Kent State.
The Golden Flashes were demolished 56-6 by Gus Malzahn and UCF to start the season. Things won’t get any easier for them in Fayetteville, either.
On paper, it should be the Hogs’ final tune-up game before playing Power 5 opponents for their next eight games. Arkansas has a couple of things to straighten out from Week 1 and will be without their bell-cow running back, Rocket Sanders.
Could that make a Kent State upset more likely? Eh. Probably not. This is college football, though, and Arkansas lost their most recent matchup with a team from the MAC.
Let’s play devil’s advocate and look at three ways Arkansas AND Kent State each could come away with the victory on Saturday.
Arkansas wins: Defense continues hot start
The Arkansas defense looked extremely good in Week 1 and will be licking their chops against Kent State this week. The Golden Flashes have are extremely inexperienced across the offensive roster.
All five starters on the offensive line made their first start last week against UCF. Their quarterback, Michael Alaimo, is in his first year starting and a ton of new receivers as targets in the passing game. This is a recipe for the Arkansas defensive line and secondary to feast for a second straight week.
Arkansas wins: Passing game shines
The new-look passing attack under Dan Enos was major positive in Week 1. It took just two passing plays for Arkansas to score on their first drive of the season, and KJ Jefferson finished 18-23 for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns. Kent State gave up 56 points to UCF last week, so the Hogs should have a great chance to match or improve upon their point total from last week.
Arkansas wins: Talent and depth
As is always the case in these matchups, the Razorbacks have quite the advantage when it comes to talent-level and depth chart. While games aren’t played on paper, it’s hard to see any area of the field where Kent State holds the edge over Arkansas. The Flashes are an extremely young team with an extremely young coaching staff, and the Hogs shouldn’t have any issues putting them away early.
Kent State wins: Aggressive passing game
As I mentioned previously, Kent State is an extremely young team. But what they lack in experience, they make up for with their aggressive game plan. The Flashes like to take deep shots and first-year offensive coordinator Matt Johnson is someone who isn’t scared to take risks. While that only resulted in 6 points against UCF, it could amount to more if Arkansas’ secondary isn’t prepared.
Kent State wins: Hogs looking to next week
Arkansas will have their first matchup versus a Power 5 opponent next week when BYU comes to Fayetteville. With the Hogs being heavy favorites to win in a landslide over Kent State this week, focus becomes a question. If Arkansas isn’t focused on the task at hand and is looking ahead to next week, this game could be much closer than expected.
Kent State wins: Arkansas vs. Toledo in 2015
The last time Arkansas faced a team from the MAC was in 2015. It’s a game that Hog fans probably remember well as the Toledo Rockets came into War Memorial Stadium and beat Arkansas 16-12.
That loss derailed a lot of the momentum that Bret Bielema and the program had built up until then, and it could be considered a turning point in his tenure. If Kent State is able to replicate that kind of upset on Saturday, it will likely do the same exact thing for the momentum that Pittman has built in the locker room and on the recruiting trail.
