Arkansas drops in ESPN's Football Power Index after Week 1
Despite a dominant 56-13 victory over Western Carolina on Saturday, the Arkansas Razorbacks dropped in one of ESPN’s top predictive metrics for college football.
After starting the season as the No. 28 team in ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), the Razorbacks dropped all the way to No. 35 heading into Week 2.
Against the Catamounts, the Hogs got off to a quick start both offensively and defensively. The Razorback offense scored two touchdowns on its first two drives while the Arkansas defense forced three straight punts for Western Carolina.
Nevertheless, Sam Pittman’s squad now has a 6.4-5.6 projected win total with a 71.5% chance of obtaining six wins during the season. On top of that, Arkansas has just a 0.7% shot of winning the SEC West and a 0.2% chance of the entire SEC, according to the FPI.
After one week of football, Arkansas is the nation’s No. 40 most efficient team with a rating of 72.6, according to ESPN. This includes a 62.4 offensive rating (No. 46), 71.9 defensive rating (No. 47) and 58.2 special teams rating (No. 57).
Compared to the rest of the SEC, the Razorbacks come in at No. 11 in the FPI just above Missouri, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. The Hogs look better in the efficiency department, slotting in at No. 7 in the SEC above Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi State, Florida, LSU, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
It’s almost certainly too early to be drawing conclusions about Arkansas’ football team. The Hogs did what they were supposed to do against a team they were favored by 34.5 points against. Sure, the efficiency ratings are of some concern, but that was to be expected with two new coordinators and plenty of transfers littered on the starting depth chart.
Going into a Week 2 matchup against the Kent State Golden Flashes — a team that ranks No. 129 in the FPI and No. 119 in efficiency rating (24.3) — the Razorbacks have a great opportunity to increase some of those metrics before the tough part of their schedule begins.
Arkansas and Kent State are set for a 3 p.m. CT kickoff Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.