Football | 9/16/2016 12:55:00 PM

It seems like ages ago now, but man was that a crazy season opener Texas State played in and won against Ohio.  The numbers from the game tell the story:
 
39 points scored in the 4th quarter.  17 points scored in the final 51 seconds.  10 lead changes with six of those coming in the 4th quarter and three overtimes.  1,176 yards of offense between the two Bobcats.  It finally ended with a sack, Texas State's only sack of the game, following a botched snap on Ohio's two point conversion attempt to tie the game.
 
Insanity.
 
Notably for the Bobcats, it was their 60th season opening win in program history (now: 60-33-2) and the 56 points scored is a record for Texas State in a season opening road game.  Even if you took away the three overtimes, the 38 points in regulation would've tied for the 2nd most ever in a season opening road game.  Unfortunately, highlights from the other game, a 38-31 win at Wichita State in 1984, aren't available.  But the highlights from the Week 1 win at Ohio are. 
 
That game featured a lot of incredible plays for the Bobcats, and according to you, the fans, the best of the bunch was "receiver throwback" which saw Tyler Jones throw a backwards pass to receiver L.G. Williams with Williams throwing the ball back to a wide open Jones for a walk-in touchdown, giving Texas State the lead in the third overtime.  And yes, "receiver throwback" is the best name I could come up with, maybe I should open another poll and let you guys decide on that too.
 
In the radio call of that play, as Jones crossed the goal line, I said "rock on Tyler Jones!"  Well, there's a story behind that.  In Jones' visit with us at Sun Belt Media Day, Bill Culhane noted that he had heard Jones was a fan of rock n' roll music.  The senior quarterback confirmed that and said that his dad had introduced him to the genre when he was young and has been a fan of rock music ever since.  Being a rock fan myself (it's the only music I listen to), I decided to incorporate "rock on" to any touchdowns scored by Jones this season. 
 
Hopefully Jones and his teammates can "rock on" some more this Saturday in Fayetteville.  Here's five things you should know about Texas State's opponent: the 24th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks.
 
1) The Razorbacks just played in a wild game of their own…and won
 
With the Bobcats on a bye last week, you bet I took the "day off" to spend as much time watching college football as humanly possible.  That of course included Arkansas' game at TCU last Saturday night, and it was like déjà vu watching that game unfold.
 
You saw the breakdown of Texas State's game at Ohio above.  Compare that to this breakdown of Arkansas-TCU from last Saturday:
 

• Arkansas led 20-7 going into the 4th quarter
• TCU scored 21 unanswered points to go up 28-20
• Arkansas drove 58 yards in 1:02 for a touchdown to cut the lead to 28-26
• The Razorbacks successfully ran a trick play on the 2-point conversion on a pass….to the QB
• TCU returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards and got into position for a GW 28-yard FG
• That FG was blocked by Arkansas' Dan Skipper, 6'10" offensive lineman
• Touchdowns were traded in the 1st overtime
• After giving up a FG to TCU in the 2nd OT, Arkansas won the game on a QB run
• The Razorbacks had exactly ONE rushing TD scored by a QB last season

 
College football is so great.
 
These two teams come into Saturday riding some crazy emotions given their last games.  Arkansas also won a thriller in its season opener, coming from behind to beat Louisiana Tech 21-20 in QB Austin Allen's first career start.  
 
It's important to note just how well the Razorbacks have been playing in these down-to-the-wire ball games because they were losing those kind of games at the beginning of Head Coach Bret Bielema's tenure, which started in 2013.  Coach Bielema's Arkansas teams lost their first nine games that were decided by eight points or less, including three overtime losses.  Since then, the Razorbacks are 5-1 in such games, a stretch that started during the middle of last season.  The Hogs have won 8 of their last 9 overall, the only loss coming to Dak Prescott and Mississippi State in a 51-50 shootout in Fayetteville last year.
 
2) The Razorbacks Are Ball Hogs
 
Gotta love word play.  Anyways, Arkansas' game plan is to grind teams into submission by wearing opponents down with a massive offensive line and punishing running backs.  The Razorbacks' starting offensive line averages out at 6'6", 311 pounds and the top two running backs on the depth chart, Rawleigh Williams III and Kody Walker tip the scales at 226 and 240 pounds respectively. 
 
Through their first two games, Arkansas is averaging nearly 35 minutes in time of possession, a figure that leads the SEC and is good for 16th in the FBS.  This isn't some small, two-game sample size either.  Arkansas has led the SEC in time of possession in each of the last two seasons.  Dating back to his days at Wisconsin, Coach Bielema's teams have a .736 winning percentage with they have the advantage in T.O.P. and those Badger and Razorback teams have done that by not only running the football themselves, but by keeping their opponents from running the ball successfully.  Bielema's teams have outrushed the opposition in 99 out of 132 games, 75% of the time.  The Badgers/Razorbacks have won 80 of those 99 games, 81%.
 
If you'll recall, Ohio's front seven was really, really good in the season opener but it should come as little surprise that Arkansas' is even better.  The Razorbacks feature two huge interior defensive linemen in Taiwain Johnson (6'2"/284) and Jeremiah Ledbetter (6'3"/280) and strong senior leadership in DE Deatrich Wise Jr (14.5 career sacks) and MLB Brooks Ellis (Preseason 2nd Team All-SEC).  This unit has helped keep a streak going for Arkansas' defense that has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 21 straight games.  The last to do it was Georgia's Nick Chubb in October of 2014.
 
3) Arkansas' Austin Allen Has Looked Good In His First Two Starts
 
Once the 2015 season concluded for Arkansas, a season that saw the Razorbacks win the Liberty Bowl over Kansas State, the Razorbacks were left with the question of how to replace Brandon Allen at quarterback.  Allen had been a three-year starter for Coach Bielema and capped off his Razorback career with 30 touchdown passes and over 3,400 yards passing as a senior, leading Arkansas to 45 points or more in six of the Razorbacks' 13 games.  He was later taken in the 6th round of the NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars and is currently a back-up behind Blake Bortles and Chad Henne. 
 
Allen's younger brother, Austin, backed up his big brother in each of the past two seasons and played sparingly, attempting just 19 passes between his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons.  Although he had the family connection (and not just with his brother, Allen's father Bobby is the Razorbacks' Director of High School and NFL relations) and grew up in Fayetteville, the starting job wasn't guaranteed to be his.
 
Allen had to beat out highly touted recruit Ty Storey during spring football.  Storey was a 2-time Gatorade High School Player of the Year in Arkansas and had one of the greatest high school careers in the history of the state, throwing for over 12,000 yards and 154 touchdowns which rank 3rd and 2nd in Arkansas high school history.  After the 10th practice of the spring however, Allen had won over Coach Bielema and his staff, and won the job.
 
The decision has worked out well.  Through two games, Allen leads the SEC in completion percentage (64%) and was named as the SEC's Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against TCU.  Allen threw for 223 yards and 3 TDs in Ft. Worth, and, as referenced above, caught the game tying 2-point conversion in regulation and scored the game winning touchdown in overtime.  Allen looked shaky at times in Arkansas' opener against Louisiana Tech, but whatever jitters got the better of him against the Bulldogs certainly weren't on display last week. 
 
It helps getting protection from your offensive line.  Allen has only been sacked five times in Arkansas' first two games, and the Razorbacks have only allowed 41 sacks since Bielema arrived in 2013, the lowest figure in the SEC.
 
4) 3rd Down Will Be Critical
 
To be fair, this is true of any game.  But when David is trying to slay Goliath, the margin for error is razor thin.  If Texas State's offense is in more 3rd-and-8 situations than, say, 3rd-and-3, it's going to be hard for the Bobcats to stay on the field.  Against Ohio, Texas State was 2-for-11 in 3rd-and-8 or longer.  When the distance to gain was shorter, the Bobcats were 5-for-8 on 3rd down.  Huge difference.
There aren't a lot of cracks in the foundation of Arkansas' defense, but the Razorbacks have had troubles getting stops on 3rd down.  Arkansas' first two opponents have successfully converted on 3rd down 57% of the time, the 5th highest mark in the FBS.  TCU was 12 of 19 on 3rd down last week, with nine of the Horned Frogs' opportunities coming on 3rd-and-6 or closer.  They converted on seven of them. 
 
Bottom line: winning 1st and 2nd down is going to be a huge determining factor for Texas State, on both sides of the ball, on Saturday.
 
5) Arkansas Will Be On Red Alert
 
The Razorbacks enter Saturday's game as huge favorites, which is to be expected of a ranked SEC team playing at home in front of over 70,000 fans.  I doubt they take the Bobcats for granted however.
 
Some, perhaps even Arkansas, may have looked at their schedules before the season started and saw Texas State, a team that won three games a year ago, and would've been quick to pencil in a W next to the Bobcats' name.  But Texas State's win at Ohio has changed that perception, and they're no longer giving off the vibe of being an afterthought. 
 
Even though the Razorbacks are coming off of an emotional win over TCU and have a rivalry game looming next week against conference opponent Texas A&M in Arlington, I'm guessing they'll be plenty focused on the task at hand this Saturday.  Consider that the Sun Belt already has a win over the SEC this season with South Alabama taking down Mississippi State in Week 1.  One could argue that the Sun Belt should already have TWO wins over the SEC, with Appalachian State nearly knocking off Tennessee in Knoxville a couple of Thursdays ago, a game that came down to overtime.
 
Parity is far more prevalent in college football than ever before.  There have already been 10 wins by the "Group of 5" conferences over the "Power 5" in the first two weeks of the season.  The FCS has seven wins over FBS teams so far and nearly had two more last week, including one near upset of an SEC school as 9th ranked Georgia sweated out a 26-24 win over Nicholls State.
 
Factor in Arkansas' near defeat to the hands of Louisiana Tech at home two weeks ago, and the Razorbacks loss to Toledo in Little Rock last year, there's no question that the Hogs will be zeroed in on Texas State on Saturday. 
 
Those are five things you should know ahead of Saturday's game in Fayetteville.  Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and our live radio coverage starts at 6:00 p.m. and can be heard here.  Enjoy the game and Eat 'Em Up!