5 Keys for Razorbacks to defeat Louisiana Tech

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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas will celebrate Senior Day against Louisiana Tech on Saturday and hopes to leave the field at conclusion of the game bowl eligible.

Arkansas (5-5, 3-4) still has a road game at Missouri next Saturday. The Hogs haven’t won in Columbia since the Tigers joined the SEC so their best path to a sixth win should on Saturday against Louisiana Tech (4-6). Sam Pittman said on Monday the key to this game is how Arkansas plays more than anything the opponent does.

“But I think the big thing there is this game is more about us and how we play,” Pittman said. “You know we have to play hard. We have to challenge ourselves. You know, we’ve gotten in the past where we’ve done well at times and we’ve done not well at times against teams that aren’t in our league as far as names that are on the side of our helmet. We have to get better. I think they thing that I’ll talk about is getting better. Certainly we have two games left, not just one. So we have to continue to try to improve. Then our consistency has to be there. So we need to put two games defensively where we’re flying to the football back to back. Then offensively we’ve got to take care of the football better. We have to throw and catch it better. We’ve got to protect it better. There’s a lot of things that we’ve got to get better at, especially to win this game.”

Here’s the five keys for Arkansas to get a win.

Protect the Ball, Eliminate Turnovers

This isn’t a coincidence. The Hogs have won the turnover battle five times this season and each time they walked off the field with a win. They have lost the turnover battle five times and each game was a loss. So yes this is the major key each week. It will be next week against Missouri too. Louisiana Tech isn’t a team that forces a lot of turnovers so the Hogs if they are focused then turning it over shouldn’t be a major issue.

Protect Taylen Green’

The offensive line hasn’t done a good job protecting Taylen Green this season. Some of his turnovers are a result of being hit when throwing. The pick-6 against Oklahoma State was a result of him being hit just as he threw. Tech just has 18 sacks this season. By comparison the Razorbacks have 21. Ole Miss, who beat Arkansas 63-31 on Nov. 2 has an amazing 46 sacks. Texas has 27 sacks. Compared to Ole Miss and Texas protecting Green should be much easier this game. Obviously, Tech doesn’t have the SEC talent that Ole Miss and Texas have.

Take Control of Game Early

The longer Tech hangs around on Saturday the greater chance they win the game. A loss for the Hogs would be devastating. It’s very important the Hogs come out focused and play with energy from the opening kickoff. Several SEC teams are wrapping up the non-conference portion of their schedule this week and all of them are basically in same situation. They need to take control of game early, try to avoid getting key players injured since next week has some huge games. It’s even more important for Arkansas to do that. The last thing they need at this point is go to Missouri needing a sixth win. Most of the games in Columbia have been close with the Tigers figuring out a way to win. Missouri blasted the one team that Chad Morris took there 38-0 on a very cold Black Friday in 2018. So jump on Tech early and often then don’t foot off gas for the entire 60 minutes.

Create Turnovers

Tech’s quarterback Evan Bullock has only thrown two interceptions in 200 passing attempts. So creating turnovers won’t be easy for an Arkansas team that has struggled getting them most of the season. They have fumbled 19 times losing 11 of them. The quarterbacks not named Bullock have thrown five interceptions. TJ Metcalf leads the Razorbacks with three interceptions.

Get Points Each Time in Scoring Position

Arkansas has piled up a lot of yardage many games, but it hasn’t always resulted in points. The Hogs have missed makeable field goals, fumbled or thrown interceptions when in position to score. Turned the ball over on downs when unsuccessful fourth down plays. They simply need to score each chance they get. Yes seven points is the goal, but three is better than nothing. Wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa talked about this subject Tuesday night.

“Yeah, we’ve struggled a little bit in the red zone or when we get kind of past the 50,” TeSlaa said. “So I’d say maintaining drives is a big thing. But just really locking into the details offensively and just playing one play at a time. When you play like that big plays will happen and you’ll be able to drive down the field.”

Prediction: Arkansas 31 – Louisiana Tech 14