Arkansas is heading into one of the toughest stretches it could ask for, and Saturday night at Utah looks less like a breather and more like another grind waiting to happen.
The Razorbacks, fresh off what was described as an unimpressive win, now have a schedule looming that is packed with heavyweight opponents. According to this week’s AP Poll, Arkansas will see seven teams ranked in the top 25 and four in the top 10.
That backdrop makes the trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City feel even heavier, with kickoff set for 9:15 p.m. CST.
Utah is not the kind of place where an opponent gets to ease into anything. The Utes play a physical, old-school brand of football that tends to wear teams down as the game goes on. On Arkansas’ official podcast, Quinn Grovey and Matt Zimmerman spoke with Utah’s voice, Bill Riley, and he made clear that the punishment can linger long after the final whistle.
"The coaches in the Pac-12 used to have this running joke: 'It wasn't the week that you played Utah that got you,'" Riley said. "That was tough. Sometimes, it was that next week because you were so physically beat up."
That is exactly the kind of problem Arkansas does not need with Georgia waiting next. The Razorbacks host the Bulldogs at 11 a.m. on Sept. 19 in Fayetteville, giving them a late road game against one physical team and then an early kickoff against another. The timing alone adds another layer of difficulty.
"It's an 8:15 game," Riley said. "And I know that you guys in Arkansas have been complaining about this kickoff for about six months now.
Would you get over it? Like Kyle Whittingham said, 'You'll just play it when they tell you to go play it.
So go play it.'"
Riley also pointed to the way Utah can overwhelm opponents at the line of scrimmage, with multiple bodies crowding the backfield.
"Sometimes you're gonna see three and four guys in that backfield," Riley said. "And it kind of reminds you of the old option days where you load that thing up or you have the quarterback and the three backs."
At the center of that attack is senior quarterback Devon Dampier, who is 11-2 as Utah’s starter. Listed at 5-feet-11-inches and 210 pounds, Dampier gives the Utes a dual-threat option that powers their run game and cuts down on mistakes.
"He's built like a running back who plays quarterback," Riley said. "Elusive, and what they love most about him is he's a leader.
He is the unquestioned leader of this football team. There aren't very many negative plays with Utah's offense because of Dampier."
Grovey said he expects to get back at 5 a.m. Sunday morning after the Utah game, which only adds to the sense that Arkansas is walking into a rough night and maybe a rougher next week.
Utah’s crowd should bring plenty of energy too. Riley said the fans are welcoming before kickoff, but that changes once the game starts.
"The fans will be nice to you," Riley said. "They're not going to be mean.
It's not like you're going to Baton Rouge or Starkville or something like that. They're going to be nice and welcome you here.
But once that game's kicked off, the niceties go away, and Utah is going to try and get a win. And 97 straight sellouts, so it'll be a great crowd."
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Fans will need to settle in for a long night, because kickoff is scheduled for approximately 9:25 p.m. CT, one of the latest starts the program has ever played. The matchup also carries a fresh feel beyond the rankings, since Arkansas and Utah have never met before, which only adds to the intrigue of a late-night test the Razorbacks cannot afford to treat like an ordinary nonconference game. [Read more 🡒]