Hogs host Hilltoppers in final home game
FAYETTEVILLE Arkansas’ quarterbacking past and future collide this morning at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
As a graduate transfer, Charleston native Ty Storey was a Razorback from 2015-2018, including nine starts quarterbacking last year’s Razorbacks in Coach Chad Morris’ first Arkansas season. Now he quarterbacks the 5-4 Tyson Helton coached Western Kentucky Hilltoppers of Conference USA against the 2-7 Razorbacks of the SEC in today’s 11 a.m. nonconference game televised by the SEC Network.
Ben Hicks via SMU and
Nick Starkel via Texas
A&M, the graduate transfer quarterbacks Morris brought in after last season’s 2-10 prompting Storey transferring, have been benched. Between Hicks and Starkel starting every game, the Hogs at 2-7, 0-6 in the SEC with two SEC games left, wallow on pace to match last year’s SEC 0-8. They also wallow on overall pace to ditto the same old 2-10 story unless they top Storey and the Hilltoppers.
Time for a change. Especially with redshirt freshman John Stephen Jones throwing secondhalf touchdown passes the last two games. Jones relieved Starkel in the
51-10 loss to Alabama and relieved Hicks in the 54-24 loss to Mississippi State. And true freshman KJ Jefferson season-debuting with a spectacular scoring drive against Mississippi State he started with a 21-yard run and finished with a 5-yard touchdown, while also passing for a 32-yard gain in between.
So Jones starts and Jefferson will play, too, Morris said.
Fans formerly clamoring for the new grad transfers as 2018 quarterbacks Storey and Cole Kelley departed, en masse clamored for new quarterback blood.
Storey can sympathize with all four Arkansas quarterbacks. He’s lived the Arkansas ups and downs they live now.
As classy a homegrown quarterback to come down the Arkansas pike whether handling the spotlight of a heralded recruit, to relegated to the bench to starting for a struggling team and getting the bulk of the blame as quarterbacks inevitably do, Storey said and did all the right things then. He does it now coming home on the visiting team.
No rancor expressed, just mutual respect shown by him to Arkansas players and coaches and Arkansas players and coaches to him.
But a game to play and a battle of wills to win.
Not much doubt on the Hilltoppers’ will. Not only is it Storey time against the Hogs, but with a sixth win today the 5-4 Hilltoppers become bowl eligible. For a mid-major to net a bowl bid clinched beating an SEC school on SEC turf provides a major incentive.
“It’s an added bonus that it’s an SEC opponent and playing a Power 5 school,” Helton said. “And if you can go down there and get a win, it says a lot about your program. It would be great to go down there and get a good win.”
Oddsmakers wouldn’t be be surprised to see it. Las Vegas lines generally favor Arkansas by a mere point.
Helton of course talks Arkansas up like coaches do regarding opponents. But he’s got to sense Arkansas blood in the water. North Texas of Conference USA routed last year’s Razorbacks, 44-17 in Fayetteville.
San Jose State of the Mountain West upset these current Hogs 31-24 in Fayetteville and led 24-7 at half.
San Jose State receiver
Tre Walker embarrassed Arkansas’ pass defense catching 12 passes for 161 yards.
North Texas could get Lucky with skill. Though WKU’S Storey quarterbacked four-game winning streak snapped these last two Saturdays in losses to Marshall and Florida Atlantic, Storey and senior receiver Lucky Jackson teamed for 16 receptions for 164 yards against Marshall and nine catches for 194 yards against Florida Atlantic. Given Arkansas’ struggle to stop the run, Mississippi State gained
469 on the ground of its 640 yards total offense last week, the Hogs face some SEC talent on this Conference USA team.
Arkansas’ injury riddled offensive line will find SEC talent on the Hilltoppers’ Conference USA defensive line.
“Defensively, they give up less than 20 points a game,” Morris said. “They are very sound in what they do defensively. Deangelo Malone (WKU’S defensive end) is ninth in the country in sacks. And so we’re to going to have to play well.”
Morris relies on the new with his new quarterbacks and the old with 17 seniors dressing for their last Reynolds Razorback Stadium lighting a fire in the season’s Fayetteville farewell.
“It’s about pride and responding the right way,” Morris said.