Double Coverage 2021-09-10 by The Daily Texan

T H E D A I LY TEXAN PRESENTS

Double Coverage VOL. 16 ISSUE 2 | Sept. 10, 2021

jack myer

/ the daily texan file

friday, september 10, 2021

overall STANDINGS 1. T-2.

Kaitlyn Harmon Christina Huang, Vicente Montalvo

T-4.

Myah Taylor, Matthew Boncosky, Blaine Young, Jenny DeVico

T-8.

TEXAN

Jenny DeVico

Blaine Young

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Ross Fisher

Ohio State

Iowa

Iowa State

Iowa

Iowa State

Iowa

Texas

Michigan

USC

Utah

BYU

Utah

BYU

Florida

USF

Florida

Texas A&M

Colorado

Texas A&M

Houston at Rice

Houston

Rice

Houston

Rice

Houston

Appalachian State at No. 22 Miami

Miami

Overall Record

7-3

9-1

5-5

7-3

6-4

8-2

6-4

8-2

7-3

Christina Hannah Vincente Huang Williford Montalvo

No. 12 Oregon at No. 3 Ohio State

Ohio State

No. 10 Iowa at No. 9 Iowa State

Iowa State

Iowa

Iowa State

Iowa

No. 15 Texas at Arkansas

Texas

Washington at Michigan

Michigan

Stanford at No. 14 USC

USC

No. 21 Utah at BYU

Utah

No. 13 Florida at USF

Florida

No. 5 Texas A&M vs. Colorado

T-10. Nathan Han, Angelina

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Nathan Matthew Han Boncosky

Kaitlyn Harmon

Williford

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EDITOR’S NOTE Texas put on a show last Saturday under Sarkisian’s new reign. On a big stage, Sarkisian proved to Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte that Herman’s $15 million buyout was not in vain. Sark called upon Hudson Card and the redshirt freshman delivered, doing so phenomenally. Texas is back, and while some may be screaming Sam Ehlinger’s famed slogan from the 2019 Allstate Sugar Bowl, Texas has even more to prove against an SEC team in a sellout game in Fayetteville.

Kaitlyn Harmon

DOUBLE COVERAGE Double Coverage Editor Kaitlyn Harmon Design Editor

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GAMEsTO WATCH By Ross Fisher

DOUBLE COVERAGE

@rossfisher23

No. 5 texas a&M vs. colorado SEPT. 11, 2:30 p.m. CT, FOX

The Aggies head to Colorado to take on the Buffaloes at the Denver Broncos’ Empower Field. Texas A&M is overwhelmingly favored over Colorado with an 88% win percentage prediction by ESPN’s Football Power Index. The Aggies took care of business in week one, beating Kent State 41-10 in their home opener, but redshirt freshman quarterback Haynes King threw three interceptions. Colorado also heads into week two 1–0 after beating Northern Colorado. While Colorado was one of the best teams in the Pac-12 last season, the Buffs will certainly have their hands full against head coach Jimbo Fisher’s No. 5 ranked A&M program.

No. 12 oregon vs. no. 3 ohio state SEPT. 11, 11 a.m. CT, FOX Last year’s national champion runner-up welcomes Oregon to town for a cross-conference matchup. These two college football powerhouses last met at the 2014 National Championship Game, when the Buckeyes dominated the Ducks 42-20. This season, Ohio State has its sights set on another playoff appearance, following last season’s national championship defeat to Alabama. The Buckeyes knocked off Minnesota with a 45-31 victory last weekend, off the back of four passing touchdowns from redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud. In week one, Stroud proved he is a sufficient replacement for NFL quarterback and former Buckeye Justin Fields. Oregon failed to impress in its 2021 season debut, narrowly winning 31-24 at home to Fresno State. A massive upset would take place if the Ducks escape Columbus with a win, but it should be a thrilling contest either way.

stanford vs. no. 14 usc SEPT. 11, 9:30 p.m. CT, FOX The Trojans are slated to play their second consecutive home game after beating San José State 30-7 in week one. Stanford lost out in its season opener matchup against Kansas State, losing 7-24. USC is heavily favored to beat the Cardinals on Saturday, as the two face off for the first time since 2019, when USC dominated then-ranked No. 23 Stanford 45-20.

No. 10 iowa vs. no. 9 iowa state SEPT. 10, 3:30 p.m. CT, ABC While these two programs might not play in the same conference, make no mistake, this intrastate rivalry is a perennial must-see. The Hawkeyes will arrive in Ames with a quiet confidence, having knocked off No. 17 Indiana 34-6 last week with a strong defensive showing. Not only did the Iowa defense hold Indiana to field goals and zero touchdowns, but the Hawkeyes also made three interceptions, including two pick-sixes from senior defensive back Riley Moss. On the contrary, Iowa State did not impress in week one. The Cyclones grinded out a 16-10 win over Northern Iowa at home last Saturday, and the intensity will without a doubt be turned up a few notches as Iowa State welcomes its most bitter rivals inside its house. The last time these two Iowa football programs met in 2019, then-ranked No. 19 Iowa went to Ames and broke Cyclone hearts with an 18-17 victory. Expect another gritty showing from these two strong defensive units as the Cyclone faithful welcome their biggest rivals back to town and hope for their first win over Iowa since 2014.

No. 21 utah vs. byu SEPT. 11, 9:15 p.m. CT, ESPN The Utes head to LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, to take on BYU in the Holy War rivalry game. The favored Utes cruised through week one, beating Weber State 40-17 at home. Junior wide receiver Dalton Kincaid caught a pair of touchdowns in his season debut, while sophomore running back Tavion Thomas found the endzone twice on the ground. BYU held its own, beating Arizona 24-16 in Las Vegas, while sophomore quarterback Jaren Hall threw a few touchdowns. Hall looks to do the impossible task of filling last year’s now-NFL quarterback Zach Wilson’s shoes in Provo. Utah won the last Holy War in 2019, and BYU has not defeated Utah since 2009. The Cougars will look to change things this weekend at home.

friday, september 10, 2021

GAMEDAY By Christina Huang @stina_huang

No. 15 Texas will be taking its football talent to Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Saturday for a primetime matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Longhorns’ home opener last weekend marked a true return to normalcy for Texas Athletics, with KVUE reporting that most fans did not wear masks at the game. Saturday’s first road game against Arkansas will take place in another stadium filled to the brim as Arkansas Athletics report that all seats have been sold out. The game against Texas is also Arkansas’ first sellout since 2017

PROTOCOLS

against TCU. Fayetteville’s 40/29 News reported that Arkansas will not require fans to provide proof of vaccination, negative COVID-19 tests or wear face masks in order to enter Arkansas’ Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. However, fans must comply with a University of Arkansas policy that requires face masks in indoor areas when social distancing is not possible. For fans, this policy means that both Longhorns and Razorbacks will be required to wear face masks in restrooms, gift shops or any other indoor areas in the stadium like concession stands. Per the University of Arkansas’ Pat Walker Health Center, “Masks are

Hey,

Austin!

required indoors — regardless of vaccination status — when at least 6-feet of social distancing can’t be maintained.” Razorback Stadium will also have a COVID-19 vaccination site within its gates and a mobile vaccination site outside of the stadium, encouraging fans to get vaccinated. In August, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson addressed the possibility of Arkansas football games being superspreader events. “The players have done their job, with a high, high percent of vaccination,” Hutchinson said. “Let’s hope the fans reach the same high level of vaccination as they go to watch (the Razorbacks) perform on the athletic field.”

COVID concerns cannot stop Texas-Arkansas full house Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman told reporters on Aug. 24 that 91% of the football team was vaccinated. As of Sept. 6, 42% of Arkansas residents are fully vaccinated, and Arkansas’ daily case average stands at 2,067 COVID-19 cases. “If you’re in a crowded situation, whether you’re vaccinated or not, it is the recommendation that you put on a mask,” Fayetteville health officer Dr. Marti Sharkey said to 40/29 News. Despite any coronavirus concerns, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian conveyed excitement for Saturday’s Arkansas matchup. “It’s a pretty cool game,” Sarkisian

said. “Old Southwest Conference foes to meet. We have great respect for Arkansas. This football team plays hard, plays physical, they’re tough. Seeing them in their opener … it’s a brand of football that they’re proud of.” On Aug. 4, United Airlines announced direct flights from Austin to Bentonville, Arkansas, and when the Longhorns kick off on Saturday, United is offering a direct flight for UT fans to make the trip to Fayetteville. Come Saturday, 80,000 fans will pack Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium with a great number of Longhorn hopefuls expected to be in attendance.

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DOUBLE COVERAGE

Seizing the opportunity

blaine young

By Nathan Han | @NathanHan13

/ the daily texan file

friday, september 10, 2021

Middle linebacker Luke Brockermeyer is living his Longhorn football dream. uke Brockermeyer waited patiently for three years for a chance to play at Texas. When the middle linebacker took his first start last Saturday, the lifelong Longhorns fan spent a moment to take it all in as he savored the crowd noise of 91,113 fans. Then, he got to work, digging in his heels to play the most snaps of any player on the Texas defense against Louisiana. Brockermeyer notched 10 tackles and anchored the middle of the defense in Texas’ 38-18 victory. “There’s definitely times where I didn’t know if this day would come,” Brockermeyer said. The now-junior linebacker turned down scholarship offers from other Division I programs, including Rice and Oregon State, to play at his dream school — Texas. He first joined the program as a preferred walk-on in 2018. Brockmeyer’s father, Blake, starred as a Texas All-American offensive tackle in 1994. His grandfather, Kay, also played as a Longhorn offensive tackle in 1959. Being a Texas football player is in the middle linebacker’s blood. But Brockermeyer’s path to the field wasn’t as smooth as the generations before him. He never saw the field in 2018 as a freshman. Brockermeyer contributed almost solely on special teams in two games the next year and five games in the 2020 pandemic season. Yet Brockermeyer, despite the lack of starting opportunities, never once considered transferring. “I always wanted to be here and wanted to stick it out, even though, at times, it wasn’t looking great,” Brockermeyer said. The Fort Worth product, who played for All Saints’ Episcopal High School, said he didn’t have a real position coming out of high school. Brockermeyer played tight end all the way up to his junior and senior years of high school, where he then transitioned to an edge rusher. Brockermeyer then came to the

Longhorns’ camp his freshman year as a linebacker, and he’s stuck there ever since. “I definitely wasn’t ready early in my career to be where I am now,” Brockermeyer said. “I hadn’t played linebacker a lot out of high school, and the more reps I got, the better I got, obviously. I watched a lot of football. I watched a lot of tape. And I like to think I have a high football IQ.” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian agrees with Brockermeyer’s self-analysis. He called his starting middle linebacker a “smart, hardnosed kid” with a “very high football IQ” and said the middle linebacker “recognizes and diagnoses things really well, so he communicates well with the guys on the field,” a key concept to the Texas defense. And Sarkisian, along with a depleted depth chart heading into the offseason, gave Brockermeyer the chance to compete for playing time. The newly-hired head coach said his staff wanted to give players a chance to prove themselves beyond what happened under previous coaching staffs. “It was 100% a clean slate, in my opinion,” Brockermeyer said. Juwan Mitchell, Texas’ star linebacker who started in 10 games during the 2020 season campaign, transferred out of Texas to Tennessee. The senior announced his entrance into the transfer portal on March 31, leaving a gaping hole open at the middle linebacker position. Texas sophomores David Gbenda and Jaylan Ford initially looked like the frontrunners to replace Mitchell’s absence, starting in the Orange-White game at linebacker. But Brockermeyer got his first shot to start in a couple of spring practices under Sark’s new reign, showing the coaches what he showed Longhorns fans on last Saturday’s season home opener — his ability to play fast and read the offense correctly as a middle linebacker. “After spring, I felt like it was my job to lose and (I) had a lot of confidence going into the (fall),” Brockermeyer said. “It’s just been a battle for

that starting Mike spot. And I’m glad it worked out.” That confidence clearly paid off as Brockermeyer earned the starting role.

“

I always wanted to be here and wanted to stick it out, even though at times, it wasn’t looking great.” LUKE BROCKERMEYER junior linebacker

“He’s a tremendous leader on defense as far as being a Mike linebacker and making the calls and getting people lined up and making the checks,” Sarkisian said. “I think

that’s where his football IQ comes into play, but also his confidence comes into play, because he’s got to be vocal in that spot to make those things happen. And I think that’s a credit to him.” When Brockermeyer stepped onto the field Saturday, it didn’t take him long to become acclimated to playing in front of the near100% capacity crowd at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, a stadium he had sat in many times before. He was all over the place covering the field, in the best way a middle linebacker can be — a menace for the opposing offense. Brockermeyer combined for an early sack with senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and made a nice play for a tackle for loss yards toward the end of the first half. Overshown, his partner-in-crime at the weak inside linebacker position, said Brockermeyer played 54 snaps against Louisiana, the most on the team.

“Watching film, you could definitely tell that at the beginning, he was a little shaken up,” Overshown said. “But as the game went along, I looked to the side of me. He looked comfortable, making checks, making calls like we were in practice. You can tell he got more and more relaxed and more confident.” Brockermeyer’s first start came three years after he stepped onto the Forty Acres. Since that day three years ago, the program awarded Brockermeyer a scholarship in Texas bye week in September 2019, and the middle linebacker has undoubtedly come a long way. Teammates caught Brockermeyer off guard and surprised him in a team meeting with the news that he was now a scholarship athlete for Texas football. The junior said both the scholarship and his first start have made the wait worth it. “It’s definitely been a long time coming,” Brockermeyer said. “At the end of the day, I’m glad that I stayed.”

jack myer

/ the daily texan file

Senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown lines up during Texas’ game against Louisiana Sept. 4, Overshown said he likes Brockermeyer’s play.

KNOCKOUT

DOUBLE COVERAGE

KAITLYN’S

By Kaitlyn Harmon

@kait_harmon

As the Longhorns face Arkansas, the Texas football program will get a glimpse of the SEC days to come. aturdays will look different for the Longhorns come 2025, when both Texas and Oklahoma bid farewell to the Big 12 and become proud new members of the Southeastern Conference. The road to the Longhorns football program one day becoming a perennial SEC contender, however, will be a long one. The last time the Longhorns and an SEC program met, Texas lost. Under former head coach Tom Herman and the blistering Texas heat, the Longhorns lost out to a national championship LSU team Sept. 7, 2019. In arguably one of the Tigers toughest matchups of the season, the Longhorns surrendered 38-45 to a team that went on a 15–0 streak. In SEC play, the Longhorns are 191–91–9, and they look to improve that record with one win this weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas over the Razorbacks. Lucky for Texas, head coach Steve Sarkisian has been around the SEC block a few times. If the former Alabama offensive coordinator sticks around to bring Texas into the 16-team SEC era, the Longhorns could confidently usher in a new wave of conference football with a man that has coached underneath arguably one of the best head coaches ever: Nick Saban. “I’ve got a great deal of trust and faith in our leadership here at the University of Texas,” Sarkisian said

joshua guenther

about the SEC’s formal invitation to both Texas and Oklahoma. While Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte’s play to move the Longhorns into the SEC was unexpected, it comes with choppy waters ahead. For one, the SEC has produced the most NFL talent of all the Power Five conferences for the past 15 years. In the 2021 NFL Draft, the SEC boasted 65 drafted players, followed by the Big Ten with 44 players. The Big 12 capped off the 2021 NFL Draft with just 22 players, falling fifth to the ACC and the Pac-12. Mirroring the 2021 NFL Draft and the last 15 drafts dating back to 2006, almost 20% of active NFL rosters are filled by SEC players. The Big 12 makes up 8.1% of 53man rosters, the Big Ten 15.6%, the ACC 12.3% and the Pac-12 9.4%. Texas, whether under the leadership of Sarkisian or not, will

have to simply survive the first few seasons with an SEC membership. SEC defenses are built differently than Big 12 defenses, which have become infamous for allowing high-scoring games. Then, there’s the SEC’s recruiting edge. The 2022 Alabama recruiting class, for example, ranks second in the SEC. Saban and the Crimson Tide already have a quarter of four-star players and one five-star defensive player who have committed to the program. LSU’s 2022 recruiting class ranks third in the SEC, already having picked up defensive commits from three four-stars and two three-stars. Ranked first in the SEC and third nationally, Georgia’s 2022 recruiting class has swept up defensive players with one five-star and six four-stars. Texas’ 2022 recruiting class, while ranked sixth nationally, has signed eight defensive four-stars and a trio of three-stars.

This weekend, the Longhorns will face an Arkansas defense overwhelmingly made up of threestars with few four-stars sprinkled in. By 2025, Sarkisian and his staff will recruit differently and even more powerfully now with the SEC attached to the Longhorns’ namesake. The SEC is also home to some of college football’s winningest teams. In the last 21 years, only 11 different programs have been crowned national champions, and the SEC’s national championship trophy case is six times the Big 12’s trophy case of just two championships. The SEC is a behemoth Texas has never faced before. Still, the Longhorns joining the conference is a step in the right direction. “This is an important moment for the long-term future of the Southeastern Conference and our

/ the daily texan file

member universities,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in an official statement. “Oklahoma and Texas are outstanding academic institutions with strong athletics programs, which will add to the SEC’s national prominence. Their additions will further enhance the already rich academic, athletic and cultural legacies that have been cultivated throughout the years by our existing 14 members.” Come Saturday, Texas will get a little taste of SEC play for the first time since that hot Saturday night against the Tigers, and all eyes should be on Sarkisian for how his program matches up in SEC country. While Texas joining the SEC may come with growing pains in 2025, the Longhorns’ program can only develop into another SEC powerhouse whose name is tossed around the national championship ring in the years to come.

HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY

friday, september 10, 2021

By Hannah Williford

@HannahWillifor2

The Longhorns will experience a taste of the SEC when the Longhorns face off against Arkansas on Saturday, but 2025 — the year Texas and Oklahoma are scheduled to join the conference — will not be the first time the Longhorns and Razorbacks play one another in the same league. Until 1991, Texas and Arkansas were both part of the now-defunct Southwest Conference, where the two faced off regularly. During their time in the SWC, Texas won three national championships while Arkansas won one before each went their separate ways to the Big 12 and SEC, respectively. Since then, meetings of the two programs have been sparse and victories have been split. As of their last meeting in 2014, Texas has won two of the past four games.

GAME TO REMEMBER: To look at arguably the most defining matchup between Texas and Arkansas, the pages turn all the way back to 1964. The Razorbacks met the Longhorns in Austin on Oct. 17, 1964, where Texas, fresh off of a national championship season, endured a heartbreaking loss to Arkansas. At the time of the first snap, No. 1 Texas, led by legendary head coach Darrell Royal, enjoyed a 15-game winning streak. However,

liz moskowitz

No. 8 Arkansas had plans to end Texas’ perfect record. Both programs went headto-head in a defensive showdown, with zero points put up on the scoreboard in the first quarter. Nearing halftime, Arkansas defensive back Ken Hatfield received a Texas punt, returning it for a 81-yard touchdown return. As both the Razorbacks and Longhorns headed back to the field to finish out 30 more minutes of a football game, both teams continued in their offensive struggles. Neither squad scored points

in the third quarter. The Longhorns dug their heels into the ground to find some much-needed momentum, and then Texas charged the field with 46 yards on a singular drive. Longhorns wingback Phil Harris found his way into the endzone to tie

/ the daily texan file

the game at 7-7. But Arkansas didn’t take much time to strike back on a 5:22 drive, completing a 34-yard touchdown pass with less than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Texas, desperate for another drive to the house,

drove 70 yards down the field and put up another six with just over a minute left on the clock. With the score at 13-14, Texas had a decision to make: complete a 2-point conversion and secure a win, or settle for a tie — at a time before college football established overtime rules. The Longhorns attempted the 2-point conversion, but the effort fell short as Razorback defenders batted down quarterback Marvin Kristynik’s pass. Arkansas won by a hair, ending the Longhorns’ victory streak with a 14-13 final score. The 1964 October showdown became a turning point in Arkansas’ season — a season they were crowned, partially, as national champions. At the end of the regular season, the AP Poll declared the Alabama Crimson Tide as national champions. However, during bowl season, Texas toppled Alabama in the Orange Bowl. The Longhorns’ Orange Bowl win left Arkansas as the only team to defeat the team who beat Alabama, leading the Football Writers Association of America to declare the Razorbacks national champions.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: Dec. 29, 2014 University of Texas vs. University of Arkansas, AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl, 7-31

Sept. 11, 2004 University of Texas at University of Arkansas, Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, 22-20

Sept. 27, 2008

Sept. 13, 2003

University of Texas vs. University of Arkansas, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, 52-10

University of Texas at University of Arkansas, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, 28-38

NOTES ON THE

COACH

DOUBLE COVERAGE

Introducing Sam Pittman, the coach in charge of bringing Arkansas back to national prominence By Vincente Montalvo @VMont20

After Arkansas fired Chad Morris as the head football coach in 2019, speculation circled about who was going to take the reins to a program that hadn’t secured a winning season since 2016. The university decided to bring a familiar face back to Fayetteville, giving Sam Pittman the nod as his first collegiate head coaching position. Originally from Oklahoma, Pittman worked in multiple roles with the Razorbacks from 2013 to 2015. Pittman came in during the 2020 season and faced an allSEC schedule that ultimately saw Arkansas finish with a 3–7 record. While the 2020 season was a bumpy start for Pittman, the Razorbacks secured a win on Saturday against Rice and they look to continue that momentum against Texas. The Razorbacks’ new man in charge wasn’t entirely unsuccessful during his first year in Arkansas red. The Razorbacks struggled finishing out close games and out of the seven losses last season, three of them were within one possession of an Arkansas win. Pittman found his way into Division I college football rather quickly, spending less than 10 years in high school and community college athletics. Through-

out his combined 34 years of football coaching experience, Pittman has focused most of his career working around a threepoint stance and the immensely important offensive line. Having spent time with Oklahoma, Missouri and North Carolina, among other universities, Pittman’s coaching experience is extensive. While Pittman’s new title is prestigious, most

would recognize him from his time under Georgia head coach Kirby Smart from 2016 to 2018, where he coached the offensive line. During his tenure with Georgia, Pittman was an integral part of two SEC East Championships. Throughout his coaching career, Pittman has groomed seven NFL offensive linemen, all of which were selected in the first round of

the NFL Draft. Pittman has also developed a total of 17 players who have gone on to the professional level since 2013. Given Pittman’s coaching history, it is obvious that the Razorbacks’ strong suit should be the offensive line. With a full offseason under Pittman’s strength and conditioning curriculum, Arkansas has nothing but strong and menacing

individuals on both sides of the ball. Instead of executing upon a modern air raid offense, Pittman has settled for a versatile offense that is highlighted by the run pass option. The Arkansas offense, led by redshirt sophomore quarterback KJ Jefferson, will look to swiftly move down the field and attempt to trick defenses into committing to players, creating open run pockets on the field. With the entire coaching staff and team having a whole year of direction under Pittman, all eyes are on the new head coach in Fayetteville to see how big of a jump the program takes in year two under his leadership. Pittman is going to rely heavily upon coordinators Kendal Briles and Barry Odom. With an innovative, electrifying offense under Briles and an experienced defense under Odom, Pittman has assembled a staff that has the pieces to make Arkansas football successful sooner rather than later. On Saturday night in Fayetteville, look to see how Pittman’s offensive line holds the Longhorn defense. If the Razorbacks protect the pocket and close the holes in the Texas running game, the Longhorns could face a long and quiet flight back to Austin, and Coach Pittman would be celebrating his biggest head coaching victory yet.

friday, september 10, 2021

NOTES FROM THE OPPONENT By Matthew Boncosky @mboncosky

The Daily Texan spoke with Mason Choate, sports editor of The Arkansas Traveler, ahead of the Longhorns’ trip to Arkansas on Saturday. With this being the latest chance to renew an old Southwest Conference rivalry between Arkansas and Texas, what emotions are brewing on campus?

So, we don’t really understand the Texas hate, but we want to … It’s definitely going to be the number one rivalry on the schedule no matter what. It’ll no longer be LSU, Missouri, Texas A&M, Ole Miss … it’ll be Arkansas-Texas. That’s the game we’ll circle every year.

The Daily Texan:

This is probably the biggest game for Arkansas football in a long time … It’s going to be packed. It’ll be the first sellout since they finished the renovation on Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, so I really think that it will probably break the attendance record in that stadium all time.

What about the trio of linebackers in Bumper Pool, Grant Morgan and safety Jalen Catalon that makes the middle of the Arkansas defense so challenging to attack? DT:

Mason Choate:

What do Arkansas students and fans think of Texas joining the SEC and the chance for both programs to play one another on a more regular basis? DT:

To be honest, for me, growing up the big rival for Arkansas was always LSU, and that’s the case for every student right now. MC:

Grant Morgan was number one and Bumper Pool was number two in tackles in the SEC (last year). They are really good at finding their way to the football. Neither one of them are just crazy, athletic guys who are going to drop back in man coverage and stick with their guy, but you’re not going to be able to get much past them … (Catalon) has a nose for the football better than anything I’ve seen from a Razorback. He’s the definition of a ball-hawking safety, and you will hear his name called a lot on Saturday. MC:

Arkansas is led under center by redshirt sophomore KJ DT:

What to expect in SEC Country

Jefferson. What style of play and skills does he bring to the table? We haven’t seen a whole lot of him as a starting quarterback for Arkansas aside from last year against Missouri and then against Rice, and from those two games, what I can take away is (that) he has the arm strength to get the job done ... Accuracy is what he needs to work on. It honestly just wasn’t good against Rice. He was missing guys on slants and throwing the ball two feet above their head, which, I think it was just jitters but we’ll see if it was either that or his accuracy just isn’t there. As far as running the ball, he’s like a tight end, wide receiver combo playing quarterback. MC:

What would a win against Texas mean to head coach Sam Pittman’s program? DT:

This fanbase has been talking about the Texas game since it was scheduled. Everybody looked past Rice. Nobody’s looking past Texas. I think if Arkansas beats Texas, then that confirms to you, at least for the time being, that Sam Pittman was the right hire and that this football team is not the mediMC:

ocre football team that people keep labeling them as … This is a football team that, if they truly believe they can win a game, they will do so.

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