Arkansas football: Realistic expectations for Razorbacks in 2023

The 2022 season was not all that kind to Arkansas football. The Razorbacks snuck into the postseason with a 6-6 regular-season record and then added a seventh win over Kansas in the Liberty Bowl.

Sam Pittman was expecting to compete in the SEC West but the third-year head coach took a step back and finished just 7-6 on the year. It was a disappointing result.

The Razorbacks do, however, bring back some key players to the 2023 squad with KJ Jefferson and Raheim Sanders both deciding to come back for another season. They also bring in a trio of talented receiver transfers who could all play starting snaps next year.

If I had to guess, I’d say that the 2023 team will be more complete and dangerous than the 2022 and even the 2021 teams.

So what are the realistic expectations for next year’s Razorbacks?

Realistic expectations for Arkansas football in 2023

Bringing back one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the country, an elite running back, and some key transfers, Arkansas should be one of the more improved teams in the nation.

With that being said, I do believe it’s safe to expect more than six regular-season wins from Pittman and the Razorbacks in 2023.

Looking at the schedule, the Razorbacks should cruise to a 3-0 start after beating Western Carolina, Kent State, and BYU rather handily. They’ll be tested on the road against LSU and drop that one to begin SEC play before going and beating Texas A&M the following week at AT&T Stadium. They’ll lose to Ole Miss and Alabama back-to-back to fall to 4-3 before ending the season with four wins in five games.

I think a realistic finish for this team is 8-4 with 9-3 possible, but the worst-case scenario would be 7-5. I don’t think, with their schedule, that the Razorbacks will be .500 again.