The Arkansas defense is often overlooked in matchups as teams tend to focus on their offense. They gave up an average of nearly 23 points per game this season, but that number is exaggerated by the 65 point mark that Auburn put on the Razorbacks. Take out the Auburn game and the average is down to about 19 per game, which is respectable considering the numbers their offense puts up.
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| Arkansas' defense has improved since losses to Alabama and Auburn |
Rush Defense: Rush defense is not the strength of the Arkansas defense. The Razorbacks finished 10th in the SEC, giving up 157 yards per game. That number gets even worse when you take out the home games, rising to 177 yards per game. In Arkansas’ two losses this year, to Alabama and Auburn, they gave up 278.5 yards per game and 8 rushing touchdowns.
This could be a major issue for the Razorbacks. Ohio State loves to run the ball and control the clock while Arkansas will want to get the ball back to its high-powered offense. If the Buckeye defense can shut down the Arkansas pass game, the Razorback defense could tire quickly if Ohio State pounds them with the running game.
What the Razorbacks lacked in stopping the run, they made up for it by being opportunistic. They recovered 14 fumbles throughout the season, all of them in victories.
Expect the Buckeyes to come out running and look to take advantage of the play-action pass after establishing the ground game.
