Sneak peek: Arkansas
AUBURN | Year two of the Hugh Freeze era gets underway with five consecutive home game before spending the entire month of October on the road.
The schedule includes big home matchups against Oklahoma and Texas A&M, and road contests at Georgia and Alabama.
Today, we continue an early look at Auburn’s 2024 schedule with the opening conference game of the season.
WHO: Arkansas (4-8 last season, 1-7 SEC)
WHEN: Sept. 21, FLEX (afternoon or night)
WHERE: Jordan-Hare Stadium (88,043)
SERIES: Auburn leads 20-12-1
WHAT’S NEW: Head coach Sam Pittman survived after a tough season but had to bring in offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino to revamp an offense that finished 13th in the SEC in total yards. Pittman also brought in three other newcomers on offense in wide receivers coach Ronnie Fouch, running backs coach Kolby Smith and offensive line coach Eric Mateos.
The Razorbacks’ top transfer was quarterback Taylen Green, who worked with the first-team offense all spring. Last season at Boise State, he threw for 1,752 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 436 yards and nine more scores. Arkansas added a total of 22 transfers in a class ranked 17th by Rivals, and also signed the nation’s No. 34 recruiting class.
WHO TO WATCH, OFFENSE: Utah transfer Ja’Quinden Jackson is expected to step in as the starting running back. Last season, Jackson rushed for 797 yards and four touchdowns on 161 carries for the Utes. He’s a powerful runner, listed at 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds.
WHO TO WATCH, DEFENSE: Defensive end Landon Jackson returns as one of the top pass rushers in the SEC. As a junior last season, he had 44 tackles, 13.5 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks.
OUTLOOK: Auburn won 48-10 at Arkansas last season, but that was probably the Razorbacks’ worst performance of the season along with a 48-14 loss to Missouri at home two weeks later. And it was definitely Auburn’s best performance. Pittman barely made it to his fifth season as Head Hawg and enters this fall on a very hot seat, especially with Benedict Petrino, a former Arkansas head coach, already on his staff. What could go wrong?
The Razorbacks had their best defense in a decade under first-year DC Travis Williams last season and should be similarly solid in year two. Offensively, Petrino has had proven success with dual-threat quarterbacks but overall Arkansas has pretty average talent on that side of the ball. And it’s fair to question whether Petrino’s offensive acumen has become stale, much like it did for Jimbo ‘Buyout-boy’ Fisher at Texas A&M.
This is the SEC opener for both schools and each has a non-conference test two weeks before with the Razorbacks playing at Oklahoma State and AU hosting California. Auburn should be favored but there are no guarantees in the SEC.
MORE SNEAK PEEKS:
Aug. 31 ALABAMA A&M
Sept. 7 CALIFORNIA
Sept. 14 NEW MEXICO