Arkansas will light them up. Worry not.
I am not worried about Arkansas lighting AU up...that is going to happen.
The question is...will Arkansas be more than a speedbump on defense?
This game could be very high scoring...but then, Arkansas pretty much shut down the Malzahn offense from Tulsa last season, and it was probably better than the AU offense. The Tulsa offense under Gus is a perfect example of what his offense does against lesser teams. When it runs into a better opponent, it tends to die - as was the case with UT. Had UT been able to generate ANY offense in the first half, they would have won going away. The problem was, a defense can handle only so many three and outs from their own offense when playing a no-huddle spread team.
Arkansas won't go 3 & out every series for the entire first half.
How bad was UT? Here is what their offense did in the first half:
First Quarter:
4 & out (missed fg)
3 & out
1 + fumble (lost)
3 & out
3 & out
UT had the ball < 4.5 minutes in the quarter.
Second Quarter:
4 & out
5 & out
At 1:30 left in the first half, UT had a 7 play drive for a TD.
UT had the ball for 5:06 in the second quarter.
For the half, UT held the ball just 9.5 minutes - AU had the ball over 20, and ran a ridiculous 55 plays.
For the game, AU had the ball for 10 minutes longer than UT, and was no huddle the entire time.
I firmly believe that had UT come into the game determined to run the ball down AU's throat, they would have stood a much better shot of winning the game.
3rd Q:
3 & out
4 & out
7 play drive
4th:
7 play drive
18 play drive
Arkansas has a vastly better offense than UT. It is so much better that it really cannot even be compared. Arkansas also has quite a bit of speed on defense, and Todd took a beating against UT. Arkansas may have a better DL than UT, but the secondary has underperformed greatly (in spite of being very talented).
I am not sold on Ted Roof as DC. Petrino will light him up...again it goes back to the hog defense...how will they handle the misdirection?