Arkansas’ Defensive Line Provides Sizeable Test for Cowboys’ Offensive Front

STILLWATER — South Dakota State’s starting defensive line had an average weight of about 266 pounds. The Razorbacks come to Boone Pickens on Saturday with a stout defensive line that averages about 33 pounds heavier per player.

That’s the difference between the FCS level and the SEC.

“When you’re playing a team in the SEC, you’re going to play girth,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “You’re going to run into guys that have a lot of guys with a lot of size and are physical in the box. They have a really good geographical location for producing bigger type bodies like that. That’s where I mentioned that we need to make good strides from last week to this week in order to block a completely different front than we did last week.”

Arkansas’ defensive line might be the most impressive part of its team as the Razorbacks head to Stillwater this weekend for a game against Oklahoma State at 11 a.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. OSU will match that group with an uber-experienced offensive line, a unit that will try to open lanes for Ollie Gordon and keep Alan Bowman upright. That battle in the trenches could be the matchup within the matchup that decides this game.

As good an FCS team as South Dakota State is, the Jackrabbits aren’t near as big on the defensive front. SDSU defensive tackles Jarod DePriest and Max Boloun are each listed at 285 pounds. Arkansas DTs Eric Gregory and Cameron Ball are listed at 320 and 324, respectively.

On top of that size in the middle, the Razorbacks D-line features a projected first round NFL Draft pick in defensive end Landon Jackson, who is listed at 6-foot-7, 280 pounds.

Jackson is the most prominent example of how highly touted this group is considered. Among those four starters from Arkansas’ season-opening 70-0 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, three were considered four-star prospects by at least one of the major recruiting services. All were considered top 500 recruits in their respective classes.

Jackson was a classmate of OSU linebacker Nick Martin while the two were high schoolers at Pleasant Grove in Texarkana, Texas. Jackson initially went to LSU out of high school over offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon and others. What a ridiculous defense the Pleasant Grove Hawks must’ve had that season.

“I know their nose guards are very heavy,” OSU left tackle Dalton Cooper said. “Their nose guards, D tackles, they’re 320, 330, so they’re gonna be heavier-set guys. These last guys we played, they were like 280, 275. Not gonna say they were like easy to block, but they definitely aren’t gonna be as challenging as these Arkansas guys.

“Then Landon Jackson, the D end, No. 40, he’s just a player. He’s projected first-round pick — whatever that is. We gotta treat them like we do every week. Just attack the day, don’t get too far ahead in our minds and just stay humble and grounded in what we do.”

So, that’s the Arkansas side of the tale of the tape. On OSU’s side, the Cowboys start five sixth-year seniors along the offensive line. On top of that, the Cowboys regularly worked in Arizona State transfer Isaia Glass on Saturday to give Cooper some breathers. The unit kept Bowman, OSU’s quarterback, clean as a Buc-ee’s bathroom on Saturday, as Bowman wasn’t sacked and was hurried only three times.

OSU’s offensive line did, though, have a bit of a harder time run blocking. The Cowboys ran for 3.8 yards per carry. Gordon, the reigning Doak Walker winner, still had his numbers, going for 126 yards and three touchdowns, but he still had to work for it. Gordon led the nation in broken tackles in Week 1, according to PFF.

If the Cowboys want to be the team many orange-clad supporters think they can be, a good performance from OSU’s offensive line against a stout Arkansas front four will go a long way in proving that the Pokes’ College Football Playoff aspirations are possible.

“Our double teams, our combo blocks, weren’t as solid as they could’ve been (against South Dakota State),” Cooper said. “Either we were falling off early or staying on too long and not picking up the backer flowing over. We just gotta be better with that. We know what we need to do, and that’s all we’re doing this week is to fix that so we can get ready for this Arkansas game.”