Three reasons why Arkansas and LSU each can win on Saturday night
There’s not a lot of optimism that the Arkansas Razorbacks can go into Baton Rouge and pull off an upset over the No. 12 LSU Tigers this Saturday.
It’s certainly going to be an uphill challenge for the Hogs after a mistake-ridden performance in the 38-31 loss to BYU. Arkansas is coming off their worst performance of the season, by far, but it’s made even more difficult by the fact that LSU just played their best game of the season against Mississippi State.
Add in the fact that it’s a night game in Tiger Stadium and it might be extremely hard to find reasons to believe that Arkansas can win this weekend.
However, it may not be as far fetched as it seems at first glance. Let’s take a look at three reasons why Arkansas can bring the “Golden Boot” back to Fayetteville and three reasons why LSU will spoil those upset hopes.
Arkansas wins: History of the "Battle for the Golden Boot"
The “Battle for the Golden Boot” has a pretty rich history of producing instant classics. The “Miracle on Markham” in 2002, the 2007 triple-overtime upset in Baton Rouge, “Miracle on Markham II” in 2008, etc. are just a few examples of great games between the Hogs and Tigers.
Though the bad blood may not be there like it used to, the game has developed a reputation for being one where you can usually throw the records out the window. So, while Arkansas may be the heavy underdog this year, that doesn’t always matter in this game.
Arkansas wins: Defense continues strong start
BYU scored 38 points against the Hogs last weekend, but you can’t completely blame that on the defense. They held the Cougars to only 281 of total offense and were able to get timely stops to give the offense chances towards the end.
The defense enters Saturday’s matchup ranked No. 11 in the country in yards per game (257.3), No. 7 in sacks (12.0) and No. 3 in tackles for loss (30.0). They’ll face an LSU offense that averages 537.0 yards per game and 45.7 points. It’s a tall task but if the defense is up to the challenge, Arkansas has a shot to win.
Arkansas wins: Offense finally clicks
After back-to-back weeks of the offense struggling, could this be the game that it all comes together? I wouldn’t go that far. However, any chance Arkansas has this week is predicated on their offensive line holding up long enough to let plays develop.
It’s hard to fairly judge Dan Enos’ new offensive scheme through three games – though early returns don’t seem great – because of the awful play up front. KJ Jefferson spent much of Saturday night running for his life, which made it difficult to get into a rhythm through the air.
If the Hogs are victorious Saturday night, it’ll because the offense finally starts to figure things out and plays much better.
LSU wins: Stellar play continues
After getting embarrassed by a very solid Florida State team in Week 1, the Tigers look to have bounced back completely this past weekend against Mississippi State. Sure, the Bulldogs aren’t the best in the SEC, but LSU played extremely well in their 41-14 win in Starkville.
LSU is a very experienced team that added quite a few quality transfers in the offseason. Their Week 1 stumble could be explained as those guys needing time to gel together. What we saw from LSU in Week 3 is more of what we should expect going forward. If that holds true, the Tigers should have any issues dispatching the Hogs.
LSU wins: Mistakes sink Hogs again
The most obvious issue from Arkansas’ loss to BYU last weekend was the penalties and mistakes. 14 penalties for 125 yards and countless other bad decisions or missed assignments. It’s hard to win against any team with that many mistakes, much less against one of the best in the SEC.
Arkansas will have had a little over six days to get those mistakes cleaned up before kickoff in Baton Rouge. That’s not a lot of time at all. Factor in the crowd noise and LSU’s level of play and it’s easy to see the Hogs getting burned by mistakes for a second straight weekend.
LSU wins: Raucous environment
Night games in Baton Rouge are just different. Tiger Stadium holds 102,321 fans, which creates a loud, intimidating and hostile environment for any opposing team. When the sun goes down, that environment gets even louder, more intimidating and hostile.
Out of the 18 trips that Arkansas football has made to Baton Rouge – dating back to 1901 – the Hogs have only won four times (1993, 2007, 2015 and 2021). Even though the Razorbacks have won the most recent matchup in Tiger Stadium, history is on LSU’s side.
It’s an incredibly tough place to play and Arkansas football will experience that firsthand on Saturday night.
