Gameday Extra

10.15.2022 KEYS TO VICTORY MATT JONES & SCOTTIE BORDELON WHOLEHOGSPORTS.COM Home-Field Advantage BYU's LaVell Edwards Stadium has the seventh- highest elevation of any stadium in the Football Bowl Subdivision at 4,649 feet above sea level. How much difference that makes is up for interpretation. Arkansas linebacker Bumper Pool has played at altitude before, as a freshman when the Razorbacks lost 34- 27 at Colorado State in 2018. The Rams' Canvas Stadium is located at an elevation of 5,003 feet. Pool said he does not remember altitude having an effect on the Razorbacks that night. "I really felt pretty good the whole game. I don't remember anyone kind of saying, 'Oh, I can't breathe,' or anything like that. I felt pretty good, and I thought the team felt good as well. "I think sometimes you can kind of get some stuff like that in your head, and you kind of play it up too much." Lance Harter, the legendary Arkansas women's track and field coach, cut his teeth coaching in Colorado and has taken athletes to altitude many times throughout his long career. He said altitude is less likely to affect football players than athletes in some other sports because football players have a chance to rest in between snaps. "You actually get a chance to recover to some degree," Harter said. Could there be a time when football players are affected by altitude? "If BYU made your defensive secondary cover long pass patterns right in a row with fresh receivers, yeah, you'd really start feeling it," Harter said. "You know, once you get into debt, it's hard to get out of unless you just get rest." Arkansas soccer coach Colby Hale has taken his team to Provo twice, including earlier this year when the Razorbacks tied the reigning national runner-up Cougars. "They say hydration and sleep are the two most important things when you go to altitude," Hale said, "and so we just…drank water and slept a little bit extra." Harter agreed about hydration. "You will develop cramps earlier because you don't sweat," Harter said. "That super-dry air at altitude just sucks moisture off. You feel like, 'Woo, I'm not sweating,' and then unbeknownst to you, all of a sudden you're dehydrated." The altitude isn't the only thing that potentially works against the visiting team in Provo. It helps that BYU is a solid team with an involved home crowd. Under seventh-year coach Kalani Sitake, the Cougars have beaten six Power 5 teams on their home field, including Mississippi State from the SEC. Other Power 5 teams to fall in Provo during that time include Southern Cal, Utah, Arizona State, Virginia and Baylor. Four of those teams were ranked at the time, including then-No. 9 Baylor earlier this season when BYU won 26-20 in double overtime. "We talked to our colleagues at Baylor, who played there earlier this year, and they said they had to go to a silent snap count the entire game," Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said. "It's going to be a challenge for us, but I think it's a challenge that we're up to." Arkansas recently installed a new sound system at its indoor football center to help prepare for the noise it will face on the road. "If you drive by campus between 2:30 and 4:30, you'll be wondering what all this noise is. It sounds like a game is going on," Yurachek said. "It's coming out of our indoor facility, because we're preparing for a very hostile environment at BYU." BYU is pulling out all the stops for the rare visit from an SEC team. It has sold out of tickets for this week's Homecoming game and asked its fans to wear all white. The football team will wear white jerseys with custom blue helmets. QB HEALTH It has been proven time and time again — including last week by Arkansas at Mississippi State — quarterback is the most important position on the field. Both teams came into the week with questions about their starting quarterback, but it appears both starters will play. Arkansas' KJ Jefferson did not play last week after he missed practice time while dealing with an unspecified injury, and BYU's Jaren Hall has battled a shoulder injury. The Rzorbacks look like a different team with Jefferson at the helm. His overall capabilities are unmatched by any other quarterback on the Arkansas roster. He is also an unquestioned team leader. A week off should have Jefferson plenty motivated. It also allowed him time to rest after a grueling five-week stretch when he rarely came off the field and carried the ball 81 times. Hall has downplayed this week an apparent shoulder injury during BYU's 28- 20 loss to Notre Dame last week. He completed 9 of 17 passes for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns, and was intercepted on the Cougars' first offensive snap. Both starting quarterbacks are ranked high nationally in passing efficiency — Jefferson 19th and Hall 25th. Jefferson has a 165.1 rating and has completed 80 of 121 passes for 1,096 yards and 9 touchdowns. He has been intercepted once. Hall has a 160.7 efficiency and has completed 129 of 188 for 1,558 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has been intercepted twice. PERIMETER PLAYMAKERS Playmaking ability at wide receiver was something of a concern for the Razorbacks entering fall camp. But after positive reviews rolled in in August from Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, his coordinators and numerous players, the narrative shifted a bit. The thought entering Week 1 was that the Razorbacks were more than fine at the position. Jadon Haselwood was looked at as a potential leader of the group, and Matt Landers received more praise than perhaps any player on either side of the ball. Warren Thompson and Ketron Jackson had solid preseasons, too. Of late, consistency has lacked in the passing game and production for some has slowed since the season's opening weeks. With the return of Jefferson, can Arkansas get back on track through the air? The Razorbacks need more from Landers than his three catches for 50 yards during the losing streak. He did not have a reception at Mississippi State, ending a personal 10-game stretch with at least one catch. Thompson, who did not play against Alabama in Week 5, also did not have a reception last weekend. Jackson had one catch for 21 yards. Haselwood, who tallied the first 100-yard receiving game of his career, carried the load, and Bryce Stephens totaled 59 yards, 54 of which came on a touchdown catch from Malik Hornsby. "We didn't play particularly well at wide receiver in some positions," Pittman said. "We've got to figure out who, possibly, our third receiver is and things of that nature. And that could be Bryce or even Jaedon Wilson, somebody like that. "I think we've got the talent. We've just got to give more effort and play harder." Tight end Trey Knox is a key piece in the passing game, as well, but he has largely been quiet of late. He caught 6 passes for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns in Week 1, but has 6 grabs for 77 yards in the last 5 games. At this point, it appears Haselwood, battling an ailing shoulder, is Arkansas' top receiver. He has 10 more catches than Landers, who is second on the team, and is averaging a team-high 4.5 receptions per game. "He's a great player, and HOGS MUST OVERCOME BYU'S HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE See KEYS, Page 4 LaVell Edwards Stadium is located at 4,649 feet above sea level. Rick Bowmer/AP Arkansas at BYU 3 Alabama at 6 Tennessee 16 Mississippi State at 22 Kentucky LSU at Florida 8 Oklahoma State at 13 TCU 19 Kansas at Oklahoma 10 Penn State at 5 Michigan Arkansas Alabama Kentucky Florida Oklahoma State Oklahoma Michigan BYU Tennessee Mississippi State Florida Oklahoma State Oklahoma Michigan Arkansas Alabama Mississippi State Florida Oklahoma State Oklahoma Penn State Arkansas Tennessee Mississippi State Florida TCU Kansas Michigan BYU Alabama Mississippi State Florida TCU Oklahoma Michigan Arkansas Tennessee Mississippi State Florida Oklahoma State Oklahoma Michigan Arkansas Alabama Mississippi State Florida Oklahoma State Oklahoma Michigan Arkansas Alabama Mississippi State LSU Oklahoma State Oklahoma Michigan GAMES PREDICTIONS Matt Jones 4-3 Scottie Bordelon 5-2 Tom Murphy 6-1 Ethan Westerman 5-2 Paul Boyd 4-3 Andrew Joseph 5-2 Rick Fires 3-4 Chip Souza 5-2 OVERALL LAST WEEK 32-10 27-15 33-9 31-11 30-12 32-10 31-11 25-17

• Cover