Arkansas offense vs. Mississippi State defense: Key players to watch

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State would love to send Arkansas back to the Hog City with a loss, but the Bulldogs will have to deal with Arkansas’ talented offense.

Arkansas has the No. 23 offense among FBS teams, averaging 455.3 yards per game. However, they rank 61st in offense at 29.7 points per game.

On the other side of the ball, Mississippi State’s defense is giving up just under 450 yards per game (122nd in FBS) and 33.29 points per game (116th in FBS).

If the Bulldogs hope to slow down the Razorbacks’ offense, these three key players (or, in one case, their replacements) are key players to keep an eye on:

A team’s quarterback will always be an important factor in its success. Arkansas is one of those teams that relies on its quarterback more than others. Green is a dual-threat quarterback, and when he’s successful, the Razorbacks’ offense is effective. He has 1,742 passing yards, 316 rushing yards and 10 total touchdowns (six passing, four rushing).

The Razorbacks’ leading rusher has been ruled out for Saturday’s game and another running back is listed as questionable in Friday night’s updated Student-Athlete Availability Report. The Bulldogs didn’t have a repeat of the Arizona State game (where they gave up nearly 350 rushing yards).
Jackson has 104 carries for 592 yards and 10 touchdowns. He averages 5.7 yards per carry and his longest run of the season was 46 yards. If Jackson can’t play, that would be a huge blessing for Mississippi State.

One thing that makes Arkansas’ offense difficult to stop is that there are multiple scoring threats at receiver. Armstrong leads the team with 45 catches for 646 yards in six games. But he only has one receiving touchdown and so do five other Razorbacks. This makes it difficult to stop them. Armstrong is their best receiver and should be the focus of the Bulldogs’ defensive backs.

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