Arkansas Razorbacks at Oklahoma State Cowboys | College Football Week 2 | Game Preview 🏈

we are excited to kick off week two here on 247 Sports it is Arkansas at 17th ranked Oklahoma State super excited about this old school matchup and here to help us break down one of the biggest games of the weekend we've got Trey biddy from hog Sports and mlan Baxley from go pokes 247 and let's remind you of this matchup like I said it's been four decades since we've seen this team play it it's been since 1980 but before that we got it quite frequently Arkansas leading the alltime series 305 and one the Razer backs trying to flip the script having lost 10 straight road games against ranked opponents let's start with a highlight in this game that of course will be running back olly Gordon excited to see him out on the field so let's start with how does Oklahoma State let him cook and then I want to know how Arkansas will contain him so mlan start us off with a poke side of things yeah Oly Gordon he had another 100 yard game in uh against South Dakota State last Saturday and it was kind of a quieter game we're getting used to 150 200 yard games from Gordon but he uh you know just averag over 100 yards in that first game and he he did good against a pretty good uh South Dakota State defensive line uh made made his own holes and really just kind of worked for those extra yards it'll be a more difficult uh test on Saturday against a bigger and you know maybe more experienced Arkansas front but yeah the offensive line is cooking the O Goron doing what he does best and just kind of extending plays and doing more with his body uh than saw last year yeah well Arkansas's pretty athletic up front they've got a lot of starters back on the defensive line led by Landon Jackson Eric Gregory camp ball a pretty good defensive line and I really like their linebacker core what I was noticing in Fall Camp was they were trying to get more linebackers out on the field doing different formations and stuff so that tells you that they really like that group um olly Gordon's a fantastic back reminds me a little bit of Eddie George so he's going to be a tough tackle one thing he does is people bounce off of him and he doesn't do much so uh you're going to have to get a lot of players to Oly Gordon gang tackling you should be watching on your screen players just diving over the pile if they're not doing that if they're pulling up like oh he's got it then he'll break off a long run and slip a tackle so you've got to gang tackle him you've got to you know near shoulder uh near hip fundamentals uh just be very aggressive and very attacking uh to stop this guy certainly be a group effort for the Arkansas defense speaking of group effort the offensive line really for both of these teams will be key in this game so I want to know what the biggest concern for your team's offensive line is Trey how about Arkansas well they were part of the reason Arkansas gave up 49 sacks last year which led the SEC not the only reason but a big part of it and they brought in three key transfers kesan Blackstock at right tackle Fernando Carmona at left tackle and Addison Nichols at center now those are good players but the thing that would concerned me a little bit is they just kind of came in it's like okay these guys are starting and like where's the competition so I wonder about that that a little bit Patrick cudas has been out he only practiced two times in Fall Camp they moved am Maran Harris from tackle to to guard in his spot and you know Sam Pitman told me that Pat that amaran Harris isn't like the fifth best guy he's might maybe three or four or something like that so they feel pretty good about him but I wonder like if there's an injury or something then do they have do they move amaran back out to tackle if it's a tackle do they have an SEC quality guard so the depth a little bit is what would concern me with the offensive line but I have no doubt that they're a better group than they were last year it's just how much better we're going to we're going to find out a lot about it on Saturday and for Oklahoma State this is you know what the most experienced uh offensive line in college football you guys have played a lot of uh football both uh in still water and you know a couple transfers that have played elsewhere but they know what what to do they know what's going to happen with the guy on their left and right um and I think the big thing that they're going to be looking at on Saturday and as the season goes on is you know when teams stack the Box can they still create holes for olly Gordon can they still uh you know do what they need to do in the rushing game we saw on Saturday that South Dakota state did a pretty good job of loading the box and making life difficult for uh you know the runner whoever whether that was oie Gordon or one of the backups but um you know against in Arkansas you know SEC Big Boy defensive line you know how can they hold up for you know four quarters of uh you know creating running lanes for for Gordon all right guys sometimes I have well thought out eloquent questions but other times I just defer to The Experts you are our boots on the ground coverage you know what we should be talking about so I want to ask you what is the most critical matchup to watch in this game let's start with Arkansas Trey well for me I've always watched Oklahoma State and they love to throw that deep fade pass and like you get a guy like Oly Gordon going and then it's hard I think for a defense not just start creeping up and and trying to start stop the run when you do that they're going to throw deep on you so to me it's about being discipline especially with that with that throw because they do it so well going back as far as I can remember so to me like guys like Jaden Johnson and TJ meta the safeties Hudson Clark and then you know the corners who will be manned up sometimes uh just being really disciplined and and not getting beaten by that throw when a guy like Gordon is just being pounded at him uh just just stay in disciplined and and focused and knowing that that's coming because it is foren State I mean it's hard to just say the the whole defense of the matchup but I mean the defense is definitely on on you know the weakest length of of this team right now especially in that secondary uh you know how they hold up against uh you know Arkansas team that you know threw 400 yards it was you know Arkansas Pine Bluff you know not a you know super high caliber uh team but the secondary got beat last week for Aroma State against South Dakota state so how can they you know play against a you know SEC caliber team how can they play against you know guys that are faster and quicker than you know South Dakota state was so that's one thing that I'm kind of looking at you know it's gonna be an early test for this uh you know tested um you know pretty young you know still rebuilding secondary how can they hold up against against an SEC team all right we had to wait 44 years for this matchup and we got a little antsy here so we actually simulated this game 20 times on EA college football 25 and this one it was pretty even Oklahoma State finishing with 11 wins so I'm going to ask you for each team let's start with the team who won the fake game mlan what's the biggest key to pulling out a win in the real game yeah I think it's going to be that that toughness Factor you know this they're experienc they're talented Oklahoma State knows what they want to do they know what their goals are going to be and it's going to be you know in the trenches and really being able to run the ball well against a uh you know like I said an experienced and talented defensive front and really setting the tone there in the trenches and on the opposite side you know defensive line getting pressure on the you know tailing green you know notot letting them run all over them um and just kind of setting the tone in the trenches is going to be the key to Oklahoma State coming out with a win and you know starting the season two and0 I always think that penalties turn over special teams injuries they always play such a huge role in these games but those are obvious I would probably say you know maybe like U for Arkansas is it sounds ridiculous but like winning the game because they winning the game is the secret to winning the game because they would go on the road last year they went to Tuscaloosa and lost by three they went to Oxford and lost by seven they went to Baton Rouge and lost by three this is a team that won four games last year and they were competitive but they didn't know how to win and how to finish a game can this team can this team March down the field if they have to can the defense stop the other team if they have to um can they protect a lead by running the ball these are all things that they had problems with at the end of the season or at the end of games last year just completing the win Arkansas went one and five in one possession games last season I have no doubt that this will be close Arkansas was very good on the road last year but they weren't able to get over that hump and win the game at the end so the secret to winning the game for Arkansas is is winning in the end I mean you might think that that sounds a little ridiculous but any coach that's potentially watching this is like exactly exactly that's what we need to do is is complete that win and to as you said win the game we'll see who does on Saturday thank you both so much for breaking down this matchup keep it locked into hog sports for all things Arkansas football and go pokes 247 for everything you need to know about Oklahoma State the writers you just heard from and their entire crew they have you covered all season long oh [Music]