FAYETTEVILLE – After getting back on the right track with a win over Colorado State last Saturday, Chad Morris and the Arkansas Razorbacks are set for what should be another enjoyable weekend on the Hill.
The last time the Hogs won back-to-back football games was in 2017 under then-head coach Bret Bielema, whose team came from behind to win at Ole Miss, and then barely escaped disaster a week later against Coastal Carolina.
Both games were decided by one point.
This week, the Razorbacks are riding high after a 21-point win over the Rams and looking to ride momentum against a San Jose State team that struggled with Northern Colorado in its opener before losing to Tulsa last week.
While it’s certainly not a marquee matchup, it’s exactly the type of game the Hogs need to continue moving in the right direction behind new starting quarterback Nick Starkel, who is already among the SEC’s leaders in chunk-yardage passing plays despite not starting the first two games of the season.
The Razorbacks enter Saturday’s game as heavy favorites against the Spartans, who have won just four of their last 27 games.
“I’m more focused on the Arkansas Razorbacks and how we prepare regardless of who we play. That doesn’t change,” head coach Chad Morris said on Monday. “The message that we’re going to give to our football team doesn’t change. We’ve to continue to get better, and we’ve got a lot of ball left this season to play.”
Assuming the Hogs take care of business against SJSU to reach 3-1 on the year, it will set the stage for a highly-anticipated matchup with Texas A&M in Arlington (Texas) on September 28.
While the Aggies have taken the last seven games in the series, four have been decided by one possession with three of the meetings going to overtime.
There will also be plenty of headlines next week, as Starkel and starting running back Rakeem Boyd both began their careers at Texas A&M before landing in Fayetteville.
For now, though, the Razorbacks must make sure they’re not caught looking ahead.
“They’ve got some athletes outside, they like throwing the football,” Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis said. “They’ve got two quarterbacks they’re going to play. Their starter, he runs the offense and reads the secondary really well. He’s good in the RPO game and making the right decisions. They have a true freshman that comes in and he’s an athlete. He can throw the football, but he’s really more of a runner.
“With the two quarterbacks and their differences, we’re going to prepare for both of them.”
On the recruiting front, Arkansas’ matchup against San Jose State wasn’t expected to be a well-attended one initially, but it appears the staff will have a fair amount of talent on the Hill.
The headliner is Royse City (Texas) 2021 four-star wide receiver Ketron Jackson, who is ranked No. 153 nationally and owns offers from the likes of Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Texas A&M and many others, including Arkansas.
The Hogs were among Jackson’s first offers as they extended one on Valentine’s Day this year.
Among the other notables are 2021 safety Lyrik Rawls of Marshall (Texas) and 2021 wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant of Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus High.
Rawls, 6-0, 170, is a teammate of current 2020 Arkansas commitment Savion Williams, and received his offer from the Hogs on July 17. Missouri, Texas Tech and others are also found on his offer list.
Sturdivant, 6-2, 183, owns other offers from Florida State, Iowa, Illinois and several others, and was offered by the Razorbacks this past May.