Top 3 Guarantees For Razorback Football This Season

well Razorback fans in the words of Charles Barkley the top three guarantees I have for Razer back football this upcoming [Music] season you are locked on Razorbacks your daily podcast on the Arkansas Razorbacks part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday and welcome in to lock Razorbacks podcast I am your host John neighbors I am also the host of the John Neighbors show which you can catch every weekday afternoon starting at 4: on natty State Sports and natat sports.com today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn these days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business that's why LinkedIn jobs helps you find the right people for your team faster and for free so post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon College terms and conditions do apply hope everybody's having a wonderful Tuesday and as it is continuing on here in the month of June uh you nothing too crazy happening in Razorback land which may not be the worst thing ever for it to be pretty slow but it is a Tuesday after all and I I love how I say like I do this but the thing is is I don't actually do it with the consistency because there are some things that happen on a Tuesday that needs to be talked about rather than top list a top Tuesday so maybe I should just do like H you know ever so often when there's not much going on I'll do a top Tuesday and that's what this is going to to be as my top three guarantees that I have for Raz football this upcoming season now uh let me be clear on this it's not ranked it's not like oh this is 321 uh it's no no particular order it's just these are the three guarantees that uh I am willing to bet money on because that would be really the way to do it uh if I was to go to you know fandle and place a bet then it would be these things this is what I would put money on before the season even started if they had a you know way to bet on some of these things so that's what we'll go through so again no particular order uh three different things that will'll break down to discuss and I'll give you reasons as to why I believe it and uh I'm sure it'll go right right right so we'll start with the first reason and the first guarantee I should say the first guarantee that I have for the Razorback football team in the 2024 2025 season cuz hopefully it goes that long will that is that Arkansas will have a top seven offense in the SEC now I am aware that there are now 16 teams and so if you wanted to have a top half offense it would need to be top eight well I say that they're I'm I'm I'm pushing another limit I'm pushing another they're not even going to be eighth they're going to be at least top seven so shut up anyways I believe Arkansas overall is going to have a top seven offense in the SEC next year now what am I basing that off of I think we all know what Bobby patrino the Bobby patrino offense I think is really going to work I think it's going to look fun I think it's going to look good I think it's going to be enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing you're not going to have some major issues going on uh I know I just I just think overall it's going to be nice it's going to be nice and so with what Arkansas has been trying to do in the spring ball you're going to see a lot of new faces but you're also going to have some familiar faces and that's what makes this such a perfect combination is that you're going to have guys that are new that you wanted to be new you needed some fresh blood and needed some new guys at these particular positions and you're also going to have some of the players that you wanted to keep and wanted to keep from last year's team and so it it's a perfect combination in the adding of the patrino angle it's really has the potential to set fire in the best of ways because the thing about Bobby Pino's offens is and some people get this misconstrued a lot but it's cliche maybe to say you want an an offense that is balanced you want to run the ball when you want to run the ball and you want to pass the ball when you run to pass the ball and blah blah blah and patrino by and large has been known for having great quarterback play uh big armed guys that can throw the ball over the field throw for 3,000 yards and everything that's what they've been known for but people in a lot of cases forget that even at Arkansas Bobby patrino had a very solid and balanced rushing attack uh you think about in 20 I guess it was 2008 his first year Michael Smith ran for over a, yards that year the next year you had uh a lot of fresh running backs and some guys that like you had Michael Smith returned but you also had guy like Brer green who had transferred in you had a uh freshman Nile Davis a freshman Ronnie Wingo that were on the team as well and so it was kind of by committee but still pretty effective and then in 2010 Nile Davis ran for over 1400 yards you know and then the next year it sucked because Nile Davis got hurt before the season even started and Dennis Johnson was great he was an awesome running back but uh there was just really a you know a struggle to try to recapture some of that magic and that ability that Nile Davis had then the next year of course Patrina was no longer there I would have loved to have seen what he could have done with Nile Davis and Dennis Johnson and Ronnie Wingo all healthy back there and uh and Jonathan Williams as a true freshman but still the point is is that everybody remembers the big passing game and it yes it was a huge part of it but the rushing attack was also very balanced and I think that that's going to be a key for Arkansas this year year is that they are going to have the pieces the skill sets the skill position guys to be able to not only have a great passing game but also a great rushing attack taen green is you know I think he's going to be a top seven quarterback in the SEC numbers wise I think he's going to be electric I think he's going to be able to do things not only with his arm but with his legs and his dual threat ability is going to be a something to be reckoned with uh as the season goes on this year and also throwing into the mix that you are returning the majority of your wide receivers from a year ago and your tight ends and one of your tight ends is the name Luke has who I think everybody's excited about I think you could even make the argument he's the best overall player on the team maybe at least top two top three and Ela Jackson's definitely there in the mix but he has all the potential in the world and hopefully he's healthy ready to go and then same thing with Ty Washington he's really good so he got two Bonafide solid tight ends and when we talked about the running back I should have brought this up but yeah you lost some pieces but I think jindan Jackson's going to be a beast the Dude Looks the part he looks mean I think he's going to have everything that it takes and everything that he needs to get it going I'm impressed by him I think Rashad deignan coming back is huge and I even like brillan Russell the true freshman you know I'm not saying he's going to go out there and carry the work Lo but he is a great third option to have so all of that phenomenal right all of that is really good and sounds great but we all know it comes down to one thing and one thing only and that is the offensive line you can't do squat without a good offensive line we all know that Arkansas did not have a good offensive line play last year and it showed it was without question the biggest disappointment and the biggest reason why the offense struggled as much as it did had other problems don't get me wrong but the offensive line is where it starts and I truly believe that is going to be flipped this year I think with the hiring of Matos I think with the Hands-On approach Pitman has and also the additions that you've made are going to be substantial last year you only had really one offensive lineman that consistently graded out highly and that's Josh Braun well he's back and Josh is an awesome dude and I think he's going to be a break out year this year and they added pieces like Fernando Carona Big Time transfer Addison Nichols from Tennessee Big Time transfer uh Kean Blackstock another big time transfer and those guys alone are going to be able to really change some things and put Arkansas in a position to where again assuming all these guys stay healthy that's the key but you're going to see an offensive line that is vastly improved and is going to be able to protect it's going to be able to open up holes and it's just going to fit so much better I think everybody's going to be more so on the same page and the offense is just going to go as a collective unit so much better than we saw before and I'll even go out on a limb and say that I think jaquin and Jackson ends up being a thousand- yard rusher I do I think he has the makings for that I think he's good enough for that um you know a lot of time it's by committee but I think Arkansas's offense is going to be vastly improved and be one of the top offens is in the SEC at least to uh to start so we'll continue on talking about some of the guarantees I have for the college football season for AR here in just a second but first when you're hiring for a small business folks you want to find a quality professionals that are right for the role that's why you got checked out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help you find the right Professionals for your team faster and for free LinkedIn isn't just a job board LinkedIn helps you find and hire professionals that you can't find anywhere else even those who are actively searching for a new job but might be open to a perfect role in a given month over 70% of LinkedIn users don't visit other leading job sites so if you're not looking for LinkedIn you're looking at the wrong place on LinkedIn 86% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours so hire professionals like a professional on LinkedIn LinkedIn jobs knows that small businesses are wearing so many hats and may not have the time to have resources to hire and they're constantly finding new ways to make the process easier they even launched a new feature that helps you write job descriptions making the process easier and quicker so post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon col that's linkedin.com lockon col to post your job for free terms and conditions do [Music] apply you are locked on Razer backs your daily podcast on the Arkansas Razorback part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day all right so moving on into the next segment the I guess I won't say the other because they or two more but another guarantee that I have for the Razorback football team this upcoming football season is that they will win two two SEC home games now it's kind of crazy to think because they have four SEC games in fville this year it seems like it's such a rarity you know for a while there you were having the A&M game in Arlington whenever that was supposed to be your home game of yours and it is kind of asinine to think there was a time where it laid out perfectly where Arkansas had a year I guess it was a couple of times yeah where they had A&M in Arlington and Missouri in lck as their home games and they only had two games in fville sec home games so stupid glad they changed that but also glad that uh Arkansas is going to be having four games at home this year now I I am not naive or stupid enough to think and not remember from last year last year Arkansas at home was not good in fact they played better on the road than they did at home I don't know why like Arkansas didn't have a great record as it is and they still lost the games but Arkansas on the road took it to ol Miss took it to Bama took it to LSU and beat Florida like every SEC Road game they were in it or one and at home they follow that up with the game in Arlington doesn't count but then a seven to3 game against Mississippi State and then getting smashed by Auburn and smashed by Missouri weird so it's going to be quite a difference this year than what it was last year but these are the four home games you have four home games in the SEC in FA your first one is Tennessee October 5th then a by week then LSU at home then you have Old Miss then a bye and then Texas at home so your four SEC games folks are against really good opponents I think Texas you know we'll see how it goes with time at that game but there's no doubt that Texas is going to be a preseason favorite in a lot of polls they may be a team that's fighting for a playoff spot they played in it last year and they're going to be really good so I think that's your toughest home game without question and honestly after that I think Old Miss is going to be your next one then LSU then Tennessee but all four of them are very formidable but here's the thing I think you win two of those I do I think you win two of those I think and you know and this is probably going to contradict myself because of my predictions that I made just a week ago on my show but but I did some more studying I did some more thinking about and I reserved the right to change my mind and that's what I've done so anyways but I think Arkansas like playing Old Miss at home is always interesting like that night game is always close always close and Arkansas when they've gone up against Lin at home have beat him pretty soundly I think that's going to be their best chance and here's and here's a crazy thing too I actually like their chances of beating LSU more so than Tennessee more so than Texas and maybe even more so than Old Miss I think LSU might be Arkansas's best chance of winning an SEC home game because that game has been a three-point margin over the past four straight years you've been right there on the cusp you play him tough every time I mean Brian Kelly in the two years you've played him it's been a three-point game and in the first game that you played against Brian Kelly When Malik horns was starting your your your defense couldn't stop anything and you held that LSU team to 13 points like that's pretty good so I think that coming off of a by week especially after that Tennessee game you're going to be motivated you're going to be ready and I think that I think elu is the game that you have the best chance of winning and I'd say oh miss is the other one I mean I'll take any of the two like if he told me that arkans was going to win two SEC games no matter who it is then sign me up but I'm GNA put a guarantee on it right here I'm going to put money on Arkansas wins 22 sec home games I don't care who it's against hey it's against Texas because you're coming off a bye that one perfect I'll take that one too I'll take any of them but I think on those four games you're going to find a way to win two of them I mean hey if you win three of them that wouldn't be too bad right I mean I take it but that's my other guarantee Arkansas takes care of business wins two SEC home games and I guess if the question is is like who would be the two you'd like obviously you'll take any of them but like who would be the two you'd want to beat or who I would want to beat personally I think the two UT teams Tennessee and Texas Texas is obvious I definitely would want that one to be the one but Tennessee I think it's mainly just because you don't play him very often and you beat him pretty soundly last time you played in faal back in 2020 and there's just something nice and redeeming about it man I don't know the golden boots being back in favor would be nice I don't know D like let's just be honest it doesn't matter we'll take any of the two right right I'll get to my final guarantee here in just a second but folks got to tell you about FanDuel we know that summertime means baseball in the NBA finals and so much more and you can bet it all on FanDuel right now new customers get $200 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that's 200 bucks you can use to bet everything from the finals MVP to who's going to hit the home run out of the park so visit fanduel.com lockon and add a big win to your summer bucket list it's FanDuel America's number one sports book [Music] you are locked on Razorbacks your daily podcast on the Arkansas Razorbacks part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day all right so final segment here on locked on Razer back podcast and also my final guarantee guarantee for the Razorback football season now this could go hand inand in kind of the previous uh discussion about Arkansas and winning a game game at home against SEC foes and winning two of them so it may be kind of a lame way of ending it or at least be another guarantee but I still think it can go in different directions and the final guarantee is that Arkansas will upset a team in Wild fashion now I made sure to put that caveat in there at the end in Wild fashion because let's look at this if you look at Arkansas schedule how many games are they going to be the favorites in take out noncon even take out Oklahoma State how many games in the SEC do you think Arkansas will be the favorite in not at Auburn I don't think it'll be A&M Tennessee n elseu nah maybe Mississippi State maybe depending on how their season's gone Old Miss no Texas nope Missouri on the road probably not so what does that mean that means that in most cases it might be an upset no matter who they play in SEC play it might be an upset regardless but I'll even throw Oklahoma State in there because we'll see what Oklahoma State ends up being as far as preseason are they ranked whatnot so we can at least count that one but there's going to be a game that Arkansas wins that is absolutely Bonkers because if even think about last year Arkansas winning that Florida game on the road was pretty insane uh I know it doesn't really matter because you went one and seven your only win that you had but thinking about the chaos that ensued the back and forth the Forida kicker missing what seemed to be a pretty easy Chip Shot field goal to make it go to overtime some of the catches some of the plays I mean it was insane it was absolutely insane and so it could be something like that but I'm telling you there's going to be a game that's going to be like that and Arkansas is going to find a way to win it could be Texas A&M because that game's always stupid and so I could totally see it totally see it being where Arkansas's down at halftime and storms back in winds kind of like what they did in 2011 or maybe the Good Fortune actually goes Arkansas's way for a change instead of it always going towards Texas A&M know the Arkansas old Mis game is always just ridiculous so you know that could potentially be one Mississippi State also in's very weird at Al by I'm like what in the I never know what to think in that game but new coaches knew everything there too even the Oklahoma State game dude like that has potential that one does have potential with Gundy in still water at 11:00 a.m. on a Saturday in the beginning of September oh buddy you know that one could get off the rails but somehow someway Arkansas is going to play in a game like that and they're they're going to win it's going to be a crazy finish and a crazy ending but they're going to win and it's going to be an upset and it's going to be awesome that's my final guarantee I'll probably have more as we get closer but for right now those are my top three garantees put some money on them put them in the bank and uh don't hold them against me if they're wrong of course you'll yeah you'll forget about this by the Time season comes around right of course you will either way appreciate all of you listen listening in watching into the locked on rerb podcast be sure to like And subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Google Play you can also get after me on Twitter at John Neighbors show for any questions comments concerns that you may have we'll keep it going from there same podcast Time same podcast Channel tomorrow afternoon have a great night everybody we'll see you then