Week 2 Preview: Arkansas State at Arkansas

After a blowout victory in the season opener, the Arkansas State Red Wolves will take their 1-0 record to Fayetteville to face the Arkansas Razorbacks in the first ever meeting between the schools on the gridiron.

The Red Wolves are coming off a 42-24 thrashing of Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) in front of their home crowd and extend their winning streak to five against the Redhawks, Arkansas State will now head southwest and look to make a statement against the Razorbacks.

Arkansas State

Junior starting quarterback Jaylen Raynor started the 2025 campaign strong in the air, throwing for 345 yards with three touchdowns and moved into the sixth place on the all-time passing yards list at Arkansas State. The Red Wolves offense scored six total touchdowns with ten different receivers getting at least one reception, four of which tallying at least 40 yards and headlined by wide receiver Chauncy Cobb who reeled in five catches for 85 yards.

Additionally, the Arkansas State backfield went for a combined 147 yards on the day with three running backs each notching a touchdown.

On defense, Cody Sigler and Drew Collins each recorded a sack and kept SEMO quiet on the ground by holding running back Brandon Epton Jr. to only 61 rushing yards and a touchdown– and only 92 rushing yards for the entire backfield.

Freshman linebacker Nigel Nelson lead the defense with ten tackles and senior defensive end Demarcus Hendricks recovered the only SEMO turnover of the game. Junior safety Bradon Greil lead the secondary with seven tackles, a sack assist, and one pass defended.

While the defense controlled the ground they were a little shaky in defending the air attack, allowing SEMO quarterback Jax Leatherwood to complete 26-of-36 passes and throw for 272 yards with three touchdowns. The Red Wolves defense also allowed the Redhawks to convert 75% of their fourth down tries.

Despite Arkansas State looking dominant most of the game, fifth-year coach Butch Jones said that there were still things to work out.

“I thought we played winning football at times and at times it was sporadic,” Jones said during the postgame press conference. “You know we talk about playing to a standard…we’re trying to give individuals reps and you gotta value the football.”

Jones also added that he was happy with the way his team responded after a slow start, outgaining the Redhawks by 174 yards in the second quarter.

Arkansas

The Razorbacks won their fifth-straight season opener at home against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs, cruising to a 52-7 win, moving Arkansas win streak vs FCS opponents to 16-1 only losing once since 1992 when they lost 10-3 against the Citadel. Despite Alabama A&M keeping it close in the first quarter and holding the Arkansas to only 10 points, the Razorbacks would score 45 unanswered points to seal the fate of the Bulldogs.

Senior quarterback Taylen Green dominated the Bulldogs in the air by going 24-for-31 for 322 passing yards and six touchdowns, boasting 10.4 yards on average. Senior wide receiver O’Mega Blake was a top target, tallying seven receptions and 121 yards with a touchdown while sophomore wide receiver CJ Brown hauled in four catches for 49 yards and two touchdowns.

The Razorbacks ground game pummeled the Bulldogs despite not scoring a touchdown, running for 194 yards as a unit and headlined by senior running back Mike Washington Jr. who had nine carries and 79 rushing yards.

Defensively, the Razorbacks were a buzzsaw lead by senior linebacker Shakur Smalls who tallied four tackles, one sack, one pass defended and a forced fumble. As a whole, the Arkansas defense allowed 235 total yards (166 passing yards and 69 rushing yards), generated six sacks and forced two turnovers. The defense also only allowed Alabama A&M to convert one of its 12 third downs– and only allowed twelve first downs total.

Arkansas fifth-year head coach Sam Pittman was pleased with how his team performed after a slow start.

“We had some mental errors, some gap problems in the run…we got it fixed and played pretty good defense the rest of the day,” Pittman said in reference to the first quarter. “Offensively, we threw seven touchdown passes.”

Pittman also complemented Taylen Green for avoiding pressure and praised the team for being turnover free.

Arkansas State at Arkansas

Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 6 at 5:00 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN+

Radio: 107.9 KFIN locally

Click here for information on tickets. Arkansas State fans can also contact the ticket office at (870)-972-2781 or email the ticket office at tickets@astate.edu.