FAYETTEVILLE -- The kickoff is growing nearer for Arkansas and Arkansas State as they meet for the first time ever on the football field.
Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks are big favorites for Saturday's game, but some may be missing what this game means for Arkansas State. Pittman is very aware of what to expect from Saturday's opponent.
"Well, first of all, Coach (Butch) Jones has done a wonderful job at Arkansas State," Pittman said. "Steady. Getting better each and every year. Won a lot of games here recently. Six or seven out of their last nine or 10. Won their bowl game last year. They have a lot of speed. Well-coached. Very concerning quarterback. A really good player. Running back, their skill is outstanding.
"Defensively, their d-line is extremely well-coached. Plays hard. It’ll be a big challenge. They know when to go and play big schools. They played Michigan in a very, very close game last season, so we have high respect for their program and their coach. Looking forward to going over to Little Rock and playing the first game ever between Arkansas State and the University of Arkansas."
Michigan pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Arkansas State 28-18 last fall. Pittman is very aware of Jaylen Raynor who is Arkansas State's quarterback.
"A very talented quarterback," Pittman said. "A guy that, he maybe could have sacked Saturday four or five times and never got sacked. He got out of it. It wasn’t one guy he made miss, it was several. And then he would make a play off of that. So Raynor, he’s a really good quarterback. They’ve got speed. They like to get the ball on the edge, whether it be throwing or running. They have a little option package as well. They have a lot of speed with (Corey) Rucker. He’s a really good player. I like their wideouts. I like their tight ends, both of them. So, they’re explosive. Got a good running back. They’re explosive on offense."
Raynor was 26 of 32 passing for 345 yards and three touchdowns in the opener. He also rushed for 17 yards on four attempts. Rucker caught two passes for 59 yards. Arkansas safety Caleb Wooden is also very aware of Raynor.
"Dynamic," Wooden said. "Anytime you play against a quarterback like that, you know, you gotta have disciplined rush lanes, gotta have disciplined eyes because he can make you pay every time."
Safety Larry Worth was part of the team last year that defeated UAPB 70-0 in War Memorial Stadium. He reflected back on the atmosphere.
"Oh, man," Worth said. "The environment was very loud. You could definitely tell, you could see how much the state was behind us in that game, you know, being up the road, and it was just a great atmosphere as well."
Wooden also talked about the team working on quarterback escapes this week since Raynor showed outstanding skills avoiding sacks against Southeast Missouri.
"Honestly, when it comes to quarterbacks like that, you just got to be disciplined and that starts with us," Wooden said. "You’ve got to have discipline rush lanes up front, and on the back end we’ve got to plaster when he starts to scramble and routes start turn into backyard football, so you just got to be discipline, and that’s what it comes down to when we play this game."
The Hogs worked on Arkansas State some in preseason. Pittman was asked what changed after Week 1?
"In different segments of practice, we worked on them for about five days," Pittman said. "In different segments, not the complete, entire practice, but we certainly know it’s a big game and we want to be ready for it and felt like we needed to do that. Similarities are very strong. They have changed a little bit, or added a little bit, but from what we thought we would see from film study, obviously they’ve got some new people coaching, there are a lot of similarities in what we thought we were going to see."
Pittman is very aware of where the pressure falls concerning this game.
"I think certainly we’re the ones with the pressure on us," Pittman said. "I wouldn’t think that they would have it. That’s the reason, I’m assuming, it’s the first time we’ve ever played. Because most of the time it would be our decision whether to play that game or not. Certainly we have high respect for their program. I don’t think there’s a ton of Arkansas kids, to be totally honest, on their team nor on ours. So I think the rivalry goes from it’s the first game and the fans. But we certainly understand the importance of the game. It’s closer to Jonesboro to Little Rock is than we are.
"I hope it’s packed and it’s exciting and it’s the state playing each other. It think we’ve only played another in-state team maybe three times. Maybe 1934, I think we played, and ’43 maybe. But I think those have all been since I’ve been the head coach. But certainly Arkansas State’s a different story and certainly a lot better football team, with all due respect, than the other guys we’ve played in the state. I’m excited about it. I’m excited to get this game, as it’s the first time we’ve ever played, and I’m glad I’m going to be part of the history of that."
Pittman feels there's very good motivation for the Hogs when it comes to playing Arkansas State.
"I think we'd be foolish not to understand the magnitude of the first time in the history of both programs that we're playing, and it's in the state," Pittman said. "I mean, you can go play Maine if you've never played Maine, and it's not going to have the same effect as Arkansas-Arkansas State. But at the same time, we have to get better. Our team has to get better. We did some really good things and we've got things to work on, so I think we'll be more concerned about the things we didn't do well, how we can get that fixed, and then we'll have to, at some point, address what this game means to the state of Arkansas, the importance."
Pittman also was asked why he agreed to play this game since it's obvious Arkansas has pressure on it to win?
"Well, I was asked. And to be honest with you, I was asked my first year here," Pittman said. "And it was, you know, ‘We'd like for you to play Arkansas State in 2025 in Little Rock.’ And to be honest with you, I had just gotten the job here, and hell, I would’ve played anybody. I was the head coach at Arkansas, and knew it was six years away, and I'm like, ‘Well, if I'm still here, you know, it’ll be OK.’
"But no, I mean, those are things — most scheduling things are so far in advance, and you don't really know who [you’re getting]. If you're scheduling this team at this time, they may be — especially now in the NIL era, revenue sharing era — they may have changed totally. But I was asked, and I said, ‘Absolutely, that'd be good.’ And, to be honest with you, I thought that it would be…a lot of decisions you make are for the state of Arkansas. You want to make the [fans happy]. You do. And I know we let them down at times, and I know at times we make them happy. But I thought it would be good for the state if that happened. So, that's kind of why I said, OK."
Arkansas and Arkansas State will kickoff at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ and the SECNetwork+.
PREDICTION: Arkansas 35 - Arkansas State 31
