LSU Opponent Preview 2023: Arkansas

In 2022, LSU and Arkansas played in a tightly contested battle in Fayetteville where the Tigers left with the Golden Boot trophy and a 13-10 win. Now, Brian Kelly enters year two at LSU and has Arkansas as the second SEC game on its schedule and fourth game overall.

We’re continuing our preview series today with Arkansas, another long-time rival of the Tigers. With the baseball season behind us, we’re just weeks away from the SEC Media Days and excitement will continue to build.

Prior teams: Florida State, Mississippi State

Head coach: Sam Pittman (4th season)

Offensive coordinator: Dan Enos (1st season)

Defensive coordinator: Travis Williams (1st season)

Last year

Arkansas ended last season with a disappointing 7-6 season that included a 55-53 triple overtime win over Kansas in the Liberty Bowl to get over .500. It was a disappointing season for Razorback fans coming off of the high of a 9-4 season, the best year since 2011. Pittman’s team was simply unable to win the close games in 2022, starting with an inexplicable loss to Texas A&M 23-21 in Arlington, then following later in the season with a 21-19 loss to Liberty, 13-10 loss to LSU, and a 29-27 loss to Missouri. The bowl win over Kansas in triple OT was a fortunate outlier.

Still, wins over Ole Miss, South Carolina, Cincinnati, BYU, and Auburn showed a level of competence that instilled confidence in Pittman heading into year four. 

Offense

For the second straight season, KJ Jefferson was an elite quarterback, finishing the year with 2,636 yards, 24 touchdowns, and five interceptions while completing 68 percent of his passes. A big question entering the year was how Jefferson would perform without star receiver Treylon Burks, and the answer is all he needs is Kendal Briles. New receivers stepped up, while Raheim Sanders took the reins at running back and had an excellent year with 1,443 yards on 6.5 yards per carry.

Arkansas ranked 18th in pass EPA and 59th in rush EPA and also had one of the top centers in the country in Ricky Stromberg.

Defense

One of the worst defenses in the country in yards allowed per play, yards allowed per game, 3rd down percentage defenses in the country, the Razorbacks really struggled to get stops. Barry Odom’s defense ranked 93rd in defensive EPA per game and 112th against the run.

Some talented individuals including Drew Sanders, Bumper Pool, and Jalen Catalon weren’t enough to bring the rest of the unit up and they are now gone.

Offseason moves

Notable departures

Drafted: LB Drew Sanders (67th overall, 3rd round), C Ricky Stromberg (97th pick, 3rd round)

Transferred: S Jalen Catalon, WR Trey Knox, EDGE Jordan Domineck, S Anthony Brown, S Simeon Blair, DL Isaiah Nichols, IOL Marcus Henderson, S Myles Slusher, WR Ketron Jackson, CB Trent Gordon, WR Warren Thompson.

There were a lot of back-end players I didn’t list here that also transferred to other low-major programs. Catalon, Knox, Jackson, Domineck, Slusher, all played significant roles on last year’s team. None of these players are irreplaceable, but it’s a process to replace 29 players on your roster that chose to leave.

Big-time additions

2023 Freshmen: CB Jaylon Braxton, TE Shamar Easton, RB Isaiah Augustave, EDGE Quincy Rhodes

Transfers: CB Jaheim Singletary, QB Jacolby Criswell, WR Andrew Armstrong, CB Keeyon Stewart, DL Keivie Rose, TE Var’Keyes Gumms, LB Jaheim Thomas, CB Al Walcott, CB Lorando Johnson, DE John Morgan.

It’s a massive recruiting haul and there are more names I didn’t even include. The secondary is a complete rebuild with Singletary, Stewart, Johnson, and Walcott. Getting Armstrong and Gumms is big to give Jefferson more playmakers on the outside. Criswell will look to be the quarterback of the future once Jefferson leaves. It’s a really impressive transfer portal haul.

Going into 2023

Top Returners: QB KJ Jefferson, RB Raheim Sanders, CB Dwight McGlothern, OL Brady Latham.

This is a significant reason for Pittman. Was the 2021 season just a flash in the pan or was last year’s stretch of close losses the outlier? With new coordinators on both sides of the ball, there’s a ton of pressure on Pittman and his quarterback to will this team to a productive season amidst a ton of turnover.

The non-conference schedule is much easier this year with Kent State, BYU and FIU, so it’ll come down to being competitive in the SEC West again with Florida and Missouri as the two SEC East opponents. LSU and Alabama are likely the only top ten teams the Razorbacks face this year.

With four wins in the non-conference, I’d say eight wins is a manageable outlook for this season. As an outsider, I’d venture to say that eight wins feels like a floor to most Razorback fans.

Early LSU vs. Arkansas game outlook

Jefferson didn’t play against LSU last year, changing the dynamic of the game on offense, while Odom’s defense had an excellent game plan against Jayden Daniels in the frigid cold. Daniels hopes to be a more vertical passer this season to counter his struggles last year, and it’s hard to really gauge how good Arkansas will be in 2023. It has the making for another squad reliant on its offense, but LSU should have the defensive front to at least rush Jefferson a bit more.

Without Briles and his scheme that has given the Tigers’ fits at times, there’s optimism that LSU should be able to take care of business in Death Valley against Arkansas.