Arkansas Football: Las Vegas releases early point spreads for 4 games on Razorbacks schedule

Arkansas surprised a lot of people last season and heading into the 2022 season, is considered a dark horse inside the SEC. Head coach Sam Pittman has done an excellent reviving what seemed to be a program destined to remain in the seller of the SEC West and now has Razorback fans thinking about contending on a national stage.

In order to fully reach that level, some big-time wins are going to have to happen this season. Las Vegas has released early point spreads on Arkansas’ schedule, with three of them being SEC opponents. One will be their premier nonconference game of the year, with Cincinnati coming to town.

You can check out the four games here.

• Cincinnati (+7) at Arkansas
• Arkansas (+6.5) vs. Texas A&M (Arlington, TX)
• Alabama (-17) at Arkansas
• LSU (+2.5) at Arkansas

More on Arkansas, early point spreads

While there might only be four early point spreads for Arkansas, they are some of the most important games on the schedule. Two College Football Playoff teams from a year ago will be in Fayetteville, beginning with Cincinnati.

For now, this is a Power Five vs. Group of Five matchup but in a couple of years’ time, Cincinnati will be a Big 12 team. Head coach Luke Fickell brought his team to a semifinal, being the first to do so at their respective level. The Bearcats will look a lot different than last season but will not be afraid of an intimidating SEC environment come Week 1.

While there might be bigger rivals on the schedule, Alabama is going to produce the most hype out of any home game this year. Arkansas was able to hang tight with the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa last year. Even though Las Vegas puts out a three-score spread in favor of head coach Nick Saban, the Razorbacks are going to come out guns blazing on Oct. 1. Arkansas has not won against Alabama since 2007.

However, Texas A&M might be the most critical matchup of them all. Similar to 2021, a win at AT&T Stadium could jumpstart some momentum and get the ball rolling once again for Pittman. Nothing is sweeter than an old-school Southwest Conference rivalry win, even if the SEC logo resides on player’s chest.