Five biggest questions ahead of Arkansas' season opener against Cincinnati

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Just two days remain until No. 19 Arkansas kicks off the 2022 season against No. 23 Cincinnati at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Last season, the Hogs finished 9-4 with a resounding win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl. Following the season, Arkansas lost a lot of pieces on both sides of the ball, so here are five of the biggest questions about the Razorbacks ahead of Saturday's kickoff:

For every team across college football, the beginning of the season brings with it some growing pains. Offenses might start slow as they adjust to playing an actual opponent, and first-game jitters can hamper teams with penalties.

Arkansas felt that all too well in the first game of last season against Rice, committing 13 penalties for 117 yards, with most of those penalties being false starts. In the third quarter of that game, they found themselves down 17-7, too.

While Arkansas was able to overcome and win that game soundly, it will not be as easy against Cincinnati. Last season, the Bearcats capitalized on other teams mistakes, both in turnovers (29 forced) and in penalties. The Hogs will need to clean up that part of the game to stay competitive on Saturday.

Gone are all three starters along the defensive line from last season in John Ridgeway III, Tre Williams and Markell Utsey.

First-year defensive line coach Deke Adams has another class of transfers to work with in Landon Jackson (LSU), Terry Hampton (Arkansas State) and Jordan Domineck (Georgia Tech).

Last season, Arkansas ranked second-to-last, just ahead of Vanderbilt, for sacks in the SEC with 30 over 13 games. Cincinnati hasn't announced a starting quarterback for Saturday's contest, but both options are inexperienced against big-time SEC programs.

Getting to the quarterback early and often will be important to getting off the field.

With Burks now in the NFL playing for the Titans, a gaping hole was in the wide receiver room. Last season, Burks hauled in 66 catches for 1104 yards and 11 touchdowns, and was KJ Jefferson's main target throughout the season.

Over the offseason, head coach Sam Pittman brought in transfers Jadon Haselwood (Oklahoma) and Matt Landers (Toledo) to help fill the void.

Pittman has been complimentary of the receiver group, saying they are farther along than what he expected them to be, but until it gets to live competition, a huge question mark still looms.

Following the end of the 2021 season, Johnson underwent surgery to repair his ACL. He was somewhat active toward the end of fall camp, but will likley not play in the game on Saturday.

Last season, Johnson was a workhorse for the strongest rushing attack in the SEC, rushing for 575 yards and seven touchdowns on just 97 carries.

Pittman said Raheim Sanders is likely to get the majority of carries through the season, but missing one of your three main backs in Johnson, who at 6-1, 235 pounds can be a short-yardage back, leaves a hole in the backfield.

Pittman will need Sanders and AJ Green to pick up the slack to establish the run game.

Arkansas is not the only team coming into Saturday's matchup with question marks. Cincinnati also lost a lot of production with nine picks in the NFL Draft, and perhaps the biggest question mark is at the quarterback position.

Desmond Ridder, who was with the program since 2017, is now in the NFL, leaving Fickell with two options under center, Ben Bryant and Evan Prater. Both backed up Ridder during his time in Cincinnati, but Bryant transferred to Eastern Michigan at the end of the 2020 season, where he threw for 3,121 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Bryant is a more-polished passer than Prater is, but Prater has more athletic ability than Bryant. Prater was a 5.8 four-star recruit coming out of high school, and backed up Ridder last season. He has only thrown 11 passes in live competition.

Pittman said earlier this week they are prepped for both quarterbacks, regardless of which one trots out on Saturday.

Arkansas is set to kick off the season against Cincinnati at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game will air on ESPN.