Ahead of Arkansas football's season-opener against UAPB on Aug. 29, coordinators Bobby Petrino and Travis Williams gave quick thoughts this week on the matchup and their approach in facing a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponent.
The Razorbacks haven't entered full game prep yet, but Williams did say that he and the staff have been watching the Golden Lions in preparation.
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"Very well coached," Williams said Wednesday. "I know the head coach (Alonzo Hampton) very well. He’s a really good guy. Offensive coordinator (Tony Hull) came from Grambling, I watched a lot of Grambling’s film. I watched them against LSU and different teams.
"They’re very well-coached and they do some things that you got to work for. You can’t just get caught off-guard. But, from what I’ve been watching — now, I’ve watched them during the summer and I’ve been peeking at them, but as far as the game plan, we haven’t got into that."
Petrino — an experienced head coach at the FBS and FCS level — has seen both sides of the coin and said games between the two divisions aren't "what we want in college football."
"What we always just tried to do was go in there and play our best and compete," Petrino said Tuesday. "Try to shorten the game a little bit if we could, when we were getting in there. I don’t really like the matchup. I’ve always felt like big conferences should just take money and give it to the FCS and everybody play a more competitive schedule."
A former linebackers coach at FCS program Northern Iowa, Williams gave insight on how UAPB may prepare for the Razorbacks and the mindset Arkansas needs to counter.
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"It's one of those deals where you got to understand that you're gonna get their best shot," Williams said. "I mean, it's their Super Bowl and you gotta respect all your opponents. I really think no matter what level it is, if you go in with respecting your opponents and you respect them by playing the hardest you can play. No matter if it's FCS, FBS, whatever it is, you respect them.
"You respect the game by playing as hard as you can play. So that's always the message where whether I'm on this side or if I'm on the FCS side. You go out there and you represent the name on your jersey on the front of your jersey and on the back of your jersey and respect the game by playing hard."
Arkansas will kick off the 2024 season Thursday, Aug. 29, against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
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