Kentucky Game Good for Fans to Show Their Support
Being a Razorback fan has been an interesting ride over the past year. Fans have experienced a Cotton Bowl victory, a motorcycle crash heard across the nation and a beginning to this football season that very few saw coming.
Arkansas did show signs of heart and resolve in last week’s victory over Auburn, which is a sign of encouragement.
The defense played a fantastic game and forced five turnovers and recorded eight sacks in their 24-7 victory.
The offense was very methodical with leading rusher Dennis Johnson scoring two rushing touchdowns.
Most importantly, the team held onto the football and had a positive turnover margin, which they had failed to do all year up to this point.
Tyler Wilson was also very important in the win. He was 20-27 with 216 yards, no interceptions, but also no touchdowns.
No interceptions is the key part for this offense. If the offense can eat up time on the clock and hold on to the football, it will go a long way into helping out the very young defense the Hogs are fielding due to roster limitations.
So, what should we expect the rest of the season from this team? Will we see a very energetic and engaged team that we saw Saturday, or the team that showed up during the embarrassing four-game losing streak?
I have to give the coaching staff credit as a whole for keeping the team together and keeping them playing hard despite the record on paper.
With Kentucky coming to Fayetteville this weekend, it is a good opportunity for the fan base to rally behind this group of resilient players.
They could have easily laid down and lost to Auburn last week, but they made a statement that said they weren’t ready to give up on the season just yet.
Fans can come to the game this weekend and show they haven’t given up on the team either. I know the big question looms of who the next coach will be, but that will all work itself out, so more focus should be on making a bowl this season.
Kentucky comes into the game struggling with a 1-5, 0-3 Southeastern Conference record. Head coach Joker Phillips has been speculated to be on the hot seat, due to an inability to recruit top talent and subsequent losing seasons.
Let’s face it though, Kentucky will always be primarily known for its ability to be a dominant basketball program each and every year. Arkansas needs to take advantage of a depleted Wildcat team and jumpstart their way into a possible midseason run.
With all the talent on this Arkansas roster, they have the ability to string together a few wins here. If the defense can sustain better play, the offense has the ability to score points – if they just execute their game plan.
If the team can rally off of the confidence they built after last week’s win, I look for Arkansas to make a run over the next 3-4 games in hopes of making a bowl game this year.
Zack Wheeler is a staff writer. His column appears every Tuesday. Follow the sports section on Twitter @UATravSports.
