3 reasons Arkansas football could make surprise playoff push in 2022

Arkansas football finished the 2021 season with nine wins and had some contenders on the ropes. The 2022 Razorbacks may push for a playoff spot.

Sam Pittman has brought Arkansas football back from the dead and now the Razorbacks are heading into the 2022 season as a potential SEC title contender.

Three years ago, this seemed like a place that Arkansas wouldn’t be for decades, but Pittman has done an impressive job and now that he’s recruiting at a high level and coming off a nine-win season, it’s not crazy to think that the Razorbacks could push for a playoff spot.

Here’s why I believe Arkansas could make a surprise playoff push in 2022.

3. Favorable schedule

It’s tough to say that a schedule with Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Alabama, BYU, LSU, and Ole Miss is considered favorable, but when you play in the SEC and all of those tough conference games are at home or at neutral sites — the non-conference matchup with BYU is the only road bout in that group — then, yes, it is fairly favorable.

Arkansas begins the season against a Cincinnati team that has to start a new quarterback and won’t be quite as good as last year’s playoff team. They then host a tough South Carolina team which should be a nice win and then two games later, the Razorbacks will face Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium with a chance to pick up a huge top-10 win.

Alabama on Oct. 1 in Fayetteville is the toughest matchup on the schedule, but even with a loss there, the Razorbacks could be in firm control of their own destiny.

With all of the toughest battles at home or at a neutral site, Arkansas could realistically go 11-1.