By the Numbers: 27 days until Arkansas football
The Arkansas Razorbacks will take the field for the 2023 college football season in 27 days when Western Carolina visits War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Saturday, September 2 for a 3 p.m. CT kickoff.
Here at HawgBeat, we will count down the days until head coach Sam Pittman and his team run through the “A” for the first time.
With 27 days remaining, we will take a look at a current player, former player, some interesting scores, highlights and other miscellaneous things in Razorback history tied to the number 27.
Highlights:
Current Player: #27 Chris Paul Jr.
A native of Cordele, Georgia, Paul had a breakout season with the Razorbacks in 2022. Following a 2021 year in which he redshirted, Paul was named to the Freshman All-SEC team after totaling 62 tackles, eight tackles for loss and four sacks in 13 games.
Paul will likely be a starter at linebacker in 2023 and he could be the next great Georgia native linebacker to grace the field for the Razorbacks since Sam Olajubutu.
Former Player: #27 Alan Turner
From 2010-14, Turner recorded 172 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and four interceptions for the Razorbacks. His best game came in 2013, when the 6-foot safety made a career-high 16 tackles against Mississippi State.
2001: Arkansas 27 - Central Florida 20
In the first and only matchup between the Razorbacks and Golden Knights, Arkansas won 27-20. Quarterback Zak Clark completed nine passes for 129 yards and one touchdown while running back Fred Talley added 189 rushing yards on the ground along with two touchdowns.
Tied 10-10 at half, the Razorbacks scored two touchdowns to take a 24-10 lead. A 10-point UCF fourth quarter made things interesting, but Arkansas had just enough to ice the game.
1970: Ole Miss 27 - Arkansas 22
The 1970 Sugar Bowl took place between the Rebels and Razorbacks on New Year's Day. Arkansas entered the game with a 9-1 record and No. 3 ranking while Ole Miss sat at 7-3 and No. 13 overall.
Down 24-12 at half, Arkansas had a lot of work to do to get back into the game. After trading field goals in the third, Razorback fullback Bruce Maxwell caught a six-yard strike from quarterback Bill Montgomery to cut the lead to five. The rally would fall short, however, with Ole Miss winning the game 27-22.
Austin Allen's 27 combined touchdowns in 2016
Razorback quarterback Austin Allen was named to the Manning and Maxwell Award Watch Lists after scoring 27 total touchdowns during the 2016 season. Of those touchdowns, 25 came via through the air. Allen had four games with three touchdowns thrown, including an overtime thriller against TCU in Week 2 of the season.
Allen also had two rushing touchdowns, one of which came in the exact same TCU game. That touchdown won Arkansas the game in overtime. The other touchdown came in the Belk Bowl versus Virginia Tech.