Arkansas Football: Ben Hicks struggles in win over Portland State

Arkansas football beat Portland State 20-13 in the season opener, but there are plenty of question marks surrounding the quarterback position.

Seven points is all that separated Arkansas football and Portland State in Week 1 in a game that was played in Fayetteville. If that seemed surprising, many Arkansas fans aren’t that shocked, especially with how last season went and with a new quarterback under center.

But there was some hope.

Ben Hicks was once a starter for Chad Morris at SMU and put up some impressive numbers and was named QB1 for Arkansas this season after transferring in. He beat out Texas A&M transfer Nick Starkel who many believed would be the better option.

Through one game and a 20-13 win, it’s still unclear who should be starting for the Razorbacks under center. In fact, Arkansas’ offense was disappointing, scoring just 20 points on Portland State in a seven-point win. That’s just unacceptable for an SEC team facing an FCS foe at home — unless you’re Tennessee (OK, so Georgia State may be a Sun Belt team, but you get the point).

Hicks finished the day 14-of-29 with 143 yards and no touchdowns. Yes, he had a sub-50 percent completion rate with less than 150 yards and no scores against an FCS foe that Arkansas should have manhandled, but didn’t.

Then Starkel entered the game and went 4-for-5 with 48 yards and a touchdown. Sure, that pick was disappointing, but he flashed more accuracy and the ability to move the ball down the field. He may just be the smarter option for Morris.

Arkansas is 1-0 and a win is a win, but Razorback faithful have to be slightly on edge with the ugly nature of it and the fact that there’s no answer to the quarterback battle.