Arkansas football in position for sustainable rebuild in 2020

How will Arkansas football fare in 2020?

Arkansas will go into 2020 with a brand new mindset and determination to build a more successful team. It will take some time as the Razorbacks are projected to finish last in the SEC for a fourth consecutive season. With the all conferences still looking into whether conference games only or keep the non-conferences for the 2020 season, the schedule will be based on all 12 games.

Here is the breakdown of the schedule for the Razorbacks in 2020?

• Game 2: at Notre Dame (L) – The stout offensive line for the Fighting Irish will dominate against an inexperienced Razorbacks defensive line.
• Game 3: at Mississippi State (L) – Bulldogs will be able to have more success in the run game with Kylin Hill as they still develop the air raid offense with head coach Mike Leach.
• Game 4: vs. Texas A&M @ Arlington, TX (L) – The Aggies are going to asserting themselves to make a huge threat in the SEC West.
• Game 5: vs. Charleston Southern (W) – Arkansas will get back in the winning trend at home against a Buccaneers team that went 6-6 last season.
• Game 6: vs. Alabama (L) – The Razorbacks’ defense will not be able to handle the large amount of offensive skilled and linemen that Alabama possesses.
• Game 7: vs. LSU (L) – Coming off a loss to Alabama, the Razorbacks will then have to host the defending National Champions in the LSU Tigers.
• Game 8: vs. Tennessee (L) – With their fourth consecutive home game, the Razorbacks face a more talented and well-coached Volunteers team than in the past couple of seasons.
• Game 9: at Auburn (L) – The Razorbacks’ defense will have a difficult time, once again, of containing dual-threat quarterback Bo Nix in the air and on the ground.
• Game 10: vs. Ole Miss (L) – Much like the Razorbacks couldn’t contain Bo Nix, they will have a hard time against a more elusive dual-threat quarterback in John Rhys Plumlee.
• Game 12: vs. Missouri (Kansas City) (L) – The Tigers won’t be in much better shape than the Razorbacks but their 16th ranked scoring defense returns seven starters from last season.

Prediction: 1-8 (pending official schedule release)

With a program on a complete rebound from their past couple of seasons of low expectations, it will take some time to build a winning program again at Arkansas.

Their schedule for 2020 is brutal as they will play nine teams that either won .500 of their games or played in a postseason bowl game. There is hope for the Razorbacks as they hired a determined head coach in Sam Pittman and smart assistant coaches with great track records. Do not expect a huge turnaround so soon into their journey of rebuilding.

Hiring Kendal Briles was an excellent first move for the offense. It was even great for the team to get Florida Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks as a transfer. The offensive side of the ball is where the team could see the quickest improvement with the talent they already possess.

Their offensive line will be their determining factor of how well the offense transcends in their first season with Briles as offensive coordinator.

It will take more time for defensive coordinator Barry Odom to develop the defense into an overall unit that can stop opposing SEC offenses. The SEC is turning into a conference that is reliant on high-power offenses as each team will need to elevate their defenses. They have a defense that is developing some efficient star players in the linebacker corps with Bumper Pool.

Arkansas cannot get any worse on the defensive side of the ball last season but expect some major results in the first season alone.