FAYETTEVILLE – One week after losing yet another overtime heartbreaker to the Texas A&M Aggies, conditions are right for Arkansas to have a letdown against the New Mexico State Aggies this Saturday at 11 a.m.
On paper, most would expect the Hogs (1-2, 0-1) to take out some frustration and hand Doug Martin’s Aggies (2-2) a lopsided loss at Razorback Stadium.
However, it’s that same frustration on Arkansas’ sideline that gives Saturday’s game a chance to be a dogfight.
New Mexico State has a veteran squad with just enough offensive firepower to take advantage of a Razorback team that can’t possibly be feeling good about itself.
“I think they’re a very good offensive football team,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said. “I think they’ve done it consistently this season. I think they’re around 463 or 470 (yards) total offense as a team on the year. That’s a lot of yards. They’re scoring a lot of points per game, and once you turn the film on you understand exactly why they’re doing that.”
New Mexico State dropped its season opener at Arizona State by six points, 37-31. While the ASU Sun Devils aren’t a championship-caliber team, they did top No. 24 Oregon this past Saturday.
The Aggie offense is led by senior Tyler Rogers, who has completed 65.3-percent of his throws for 1,413 yards and 12 touchdowns against just four interceptions. He’s scored twice as a runner.
“They have a quarterback who’s a veteran player and can really spin it,” Rhoads said. “Any ball that they ask him to throw, he can make it. He can throw from the far hash to the far boundary and put it there on time. So they’ve got a quarterback that starts them and allows them to do what they do.”
Rogers’ favorite target is 6-foot-6 senior receiver Jaleel Scott, who paces the Aggies with 26 catches for 369 yards and four touchdowns.
“A 6-6, 220-pound receiver who leads them in receptions with 26, he’s a big target and it’s hard to defend a guy that big,” Rhoads said. “But they spread the ball around amongst all the other receivers, as well, so it’s not like you’re going to build your coverage around one guy…”
NMSU’s rushing attack is led by senior Larry Rose, a third-team AP All-America selection in 2015. Rose has 372 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns while adding 20 receptions for 150 yards and another score.
“They’ve got a really dynamic running back in number three,” Rhoads said. “He’s second on the team in receptions with 20. You lose him at time and he’s got exceptional foot speed, both quickness and overall speed. He’s a very productive player.”
Arkansas’ offense, which was improved but still not great against Texas A&M – especially in terms of protecting quarterback Austin Allen – will face an NMSU crew that averages seven tackles per loss and three sacks per game.
Aggie linebackers Dalton Herrington (42 tackles, 7.5 TFL) and Terrill Hanks (39 tackles) pace the front seven while defensive backs Ron LaForce and Shamad Lomax both have three picks apiece in the back end.
“They’re very, very multiple,” offensive coordinator Dan Enos said. “They blitz a lot, they blitz all over the place, they’re very well-coached. They play extremely hard, they create issues for you just based on just the multiplicity of what they do.”
The Razorbacks will be without a top offensive target as wide receiver Jared Cornelius injured his Achilles against Texas A&M. Cornelius, who has a redshirt year available, had surgery on Monday and will weigh his options of turning pro or returning to Arkansas for a fifth year in 2018.
Saturday’s game will be televised by the SEC Network.