It has been a disappointing start to year two for the Chad Morris and the Arkansas Razorbacks. A slim margin of victory over FCS Portland State and a loss to the Ole Miss Rebels on the road has Hog fans worried. They absolutely need to win this game against the Colorado State Rams for some optimism in Fayetteville.

Last season, Arkansas made the trip out to Fort Collins and fell 34-27 in the first game of a six-game losing streak that tanked the season. If the Razorbacks drop this game at home it is going to be a very long season for Razorback faithful.

On offense, the Razorbacks are turning to Nick Starkel at quarterback after Ben Hicks proved not to be the answer. Last week after taking over for Hicks, Starkel went 17-for-24 for 201 yards and a touchdown. Rakeem Boyd again will get the majority of the carries after taking 17 last week for 67 yards. At wide receiver the duo of Trey Knox and Michael Woods had nice games against Ole Miss and will be Starkel’s go to weapons.

The Rams defense had a nice week against FCS Western Illinois in a 38-13 win. The score was not indicative of how dominant the Rams were (and as a WIU student you should trust me.) They totaled seven sacks led by Ellison Hubbard who had 3.5 on his own. The Leathernecks had 215 yards of total offense. I guess what I’m trying to say, before I go on a tangent about Western, is that the Rams defense is coming off a strong game and should not be taken lightly by the Hogs even if they did give up a ton of points to Colorado.

On defense Arkansas will deal with quarterback Collin Hill who has had a strong start to the season. Through two games the junior has 738 yards seven touchdowns and two interceptions. The running game is led by Marvin Kinsey Jr. who is coming off an 89 yards game against WIU. When Hill goes back to pass he is looking for Dante Wright and his running back Kinsey Jr. Chad Morris will need to get a pass rush going after only totaling one sack against Matt Corral and Ole Miss. They did have six against Portland State and they will need to get back near that number to slow down this Rams offense.

Arkansas should win this game and they probably will. This game will be close however because Colorado State can put up points. They put up as many points on Colorado as Nebraska did! However, Starkel should be able to make enough plays to keep Razorback fans dream of a bowl game alive in a 31-28 win.

HOW TO WATCH

Time: 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT

TV: SEC Network

Watch Online: WatchESPN