FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Although the Razorbacks’ bats have been inconsistent all season, it’s the Arkansas beginning pitching that presents the most important query heading into the Stillwater Regional this weekend.
Weak outings from the beginning rotation has landed the Hogs within the midst of a four-game shedding streak. Razorback starters have surrendered 4.25 earned runs per 9 innings throughout that stretch — three of which got here towards Alabama, which averaged 5 runs per recreation in convention play previous to going through the Hogs.
The stats counsel Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn can’t afford to stay with the conventional rotation and hope issues iron out. He went that route in a double-elimination scenario on the SEC Event and it resulted in starters surrendering eight earned runs in an 0-2 efficiency in Hoover.
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The Razorbacks may play as much as 5 video games over 4 days in Stillwater, so the concept of getting three starters ought to be thrown out the window. Van Horn mentioned Monday that he hasn’t decided the Recreation 1 starter for Friday’s midday begin towards Grand Canyon.
“We haven’t talked about it but,” Van Horn mentioned. “However we’ll positively go along with who we expect is the most effective matchup to get Grand Canyon out. We have to have a look at some video on them and analysis their offense.”
If historical past repeats itself, senior righty Connor Noland will get the beginning towards the Antelopes. The as soon as dependable Noland has surrendered 5 runs and didn’t make it previous 5 innings in every of his final three begins. Previous to the previous three video games, Noland gave up greater than three earned runs simply as soon as in 12 begins.
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Arkansas pitcher Conner Noland works the rely towards Ole Miss. Regardless of pitching six scoreless inning, Noland gave up 4 runs throughout eight innings within the 4-2 loss.
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Grand Canyon thrives on hitting fastballs and Arkansas brings a steady of pitchers with nasty off-speed pitches able to go.
Noland is understood for his soiled curveball and ringing up batters at a excessive fee, however he has struggled to find his fastball not too long ago, not to mention his curveball.
This inconsistency creates the likelihood that right-hander Will McEntire will get the nod to start out towards GCU. McEntire began the opener towards Alabama within the remaining sequence of the common season and towards the Crimson Tide within the SEC Event opener. Over these two video games he pitched 6 ⅓ innings, gave up 5 earned runs and struck out eight batters.
McEntire works primarily with off-speed pitches and a fastball that ranges from the excessive 80s to low 90s. Although he has not put collectively a top quality begin since April 26 towards UCA, McEntire can set the Arkansas bullpen up properly with three or 4 innings of low-scoring ball. The important thing to this technique is for the Hogs to get out to a scorching begin offensively.
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Arkansas pitcher Will McEntire pitches three scoreless innings towards Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Razorbacks gained the sequence finale 6-0 in seven innings for a sweep.
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“It looks as if we’ve struggled a bit of bit getting off to a very good begin,” Van Horn mentioned. “We’ve been behind lots, making an attempt to battle again. And we did just a few instances down the stretch, however extra instances than not we didn’t catch them clearly.”
The common season is irrelevant now. Mississippi State’s run proved that completely final season.
The win or go house for good nature of match baseball does unusual issues to groups, and Van Horn is aware of higher than anybody the best way to win in June.
Arkansas is assured to play two video games in Stillwater, so it has to start out a second pitcher. Win or lose Friday, the Hogs will seemingly go pitcher-by-committee shifting ahead.
Freshman lefty Hagen Smith has teamed with righty Jaxon Wiggins to fill the Saturday and Sunday slots all through the season, however the pair might discover themselves a much-needed addition to the bullpen in Stillwater.
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Powerful relievers Evan Taylor and freshman phenom Brady Tygart current extra dependable choices to start out high-leverage video games.
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Brady Tygart tries to carry off Ole Miss within the remaining two innings with a 3-3 tie. Tygart held the Rebels scoreless within the remaining inning, making it doable for the Razorbacks to get the win with three runs within the backside of the ninth.
“I believe greater than something, we have to change our [mindset],” Van Horn mentioned. “It’s a brand new season and something can occur.”
The Hogs will face off towards Grand Canyon at midday CST on the SEC Community and Fubo. Oklahoma State and Missouri State sq. off at 6 p.m. CST on ESPN+.
The losers of will meet at midday Saturday in an elimination recreation, earlier than the winners play at 6 p.m.
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The Texas Tech Red Raiders take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Liberty Bowl, and both squads could have an entirely different look compared to the regular season. For Tech, the Red Raiders lost their offensive coordinator but should be a tad more stable in terms of roster outlook compared to the Razorbacks. Arkansas is down to six scholarship offensive linemen and will be missing two key starters in this bowl game. Furthermore, both squads have had players leave for the transfer portal, but the Razorbacks losses were significantly more impactful such as WR Andrew Armstrong heading to the NFL. Furthermore, Arkansas will be without two of its better defensive players: safety TJ Metcalf and EDGE rusher Landon Jackson.
Texas Tech’s biggest loss could be star RB Tahj Brooks, but he has participated in every bowl game practice leading up to the game despite not making an official decision with less than 24 hours to go before kickoff. Stability is key in modern-day bowl game matchups, and while neither side has much, the Red Raiders have a clear edge in that department. With all things considered, I’ll take Texas Tech on the moneyline.
Texas Tech ML (-120) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number up to -140.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Jaylen Raynor passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns to go with a rushing score, and Zak Wallace had 99 yards rushing and a TD to help Arkansas State beat Bowling Green 38-31 on Thursday night in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Wallace scored on a 14-yard run with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter for a 38-24 lead. He carried the ball on the last six plays of the drive, gaining 59 yards on the eight-play, 68-yard march. It was his 11th rushing touchdown of the season, nine coming in the last six games.
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Rahkeem Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to give Bowling Green a short field. Five plays later, Smith made a 23-yard catch in the end zone to get within 38-31.
Hunter Summers easily recovered the onside kick and Wallace powered through the middle of the defense for a 19-yard gain to seal it.
Corey Rucker added 107 yards receiving and two touchdowns for Arkansas State (8-5), which won a bowl game for the first time since 2019 — the same year it last won eight games in a season.
Rucker caught a long pass from Raynor and raced for a 79-yard touchdown for a 24-14 lead with 4:13 left in the first half. Following a fumble recovery by Noah Collins, Raynor found Rucker for a 6-yard TD to make it 31-21 early in the third.
Connor Bazelak threw for 390 yards and three touchdowns for Bowling Green (7-6). Harold Fannin Jr. had 17 catches for a career-high 213 yards and a touchdown.
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Fannin reached 125-plus yards with a touchdown for the sixth time this season, which leads the FBS.
Bowling Green’s special teams struggled. Zach Long missed his third field goal attempt of the game (one was blocked) with 10:19 left. The Falcons allowed Courtney Jackson to return a punt for a 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and BGSU also had a fake punt come up short of a first down in the second half.
Record Holder
Fannin made a catch midway through the first quarter to become the single-season record holder for receiving yards by a tight end in the FBS. He entered needing just 11 yards to surpass Jace Amaro’s record of 1,352 in 2013 at Texas Tech. Fannin finished the season with 1,555 yards.
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Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee
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0 Starts for Texas Tech QB Will Hammond, who will open under center for the Red Raiders against Arkansas after No. 1 QB Behren Morton had shoulder surgery. Morton threw for 3,335 yards and 27 TDs in 2024. Hammond has completed 15-of-23 passes for 191 yards with one TD and no interceptions this season. Hammond won’t have 1,000-yard receiver Josh Kelly to throw to on Friday. The wide receiver has opted out of the game.
1 Previous appearance in the Liberty Bowl for Texas Tech, which defeated Mississippi State 34-7 on Dec. 28, 2021. That kicked off the Red Raiders’ current three-game bowl winning streak that has boosted Texas Tech’s bowl record for 17-23-1.
2 Players in the nation had at least 2,800 passing yards and 500 rushing yards entering the bowl season – Arkansas QB Taylen Green and Washington State QB John Mateer. Green has completed 219-of-360 passes for 2,813 yards with 13 TDs and nine interceptions and run 141 times for 521 yards and seven TDs.
5 2-point conversions have been given up by Arkansas in 2024, tied for the most in the nation entering the bowl season. Texas Tech has scored four 2-point conversions this season.
7 Appearances in the Liberty Bowl for Arkansas when the Razorbacks take the field on Friday, the most in the game’s history (two ahead of Mississippi State). The Razorbacks have a 3-3 record in the Liberty Bowl after winning their past three appearances. Arkansas defeated East Carolina 20-17 in overtime on Jan. 2, 2010, Kansas State 45-23 on Jan. 2, 2016, and Kansas 55-53 in three overtimes on Dec. 28, 2022, and lost to Tennessee 14-13 on Dec. 20, 1971, Auburn 21-15 on Dec. 27, 1984, and Georgia 20-17 on Dec. 29, 1987. Overall, Arkansas has a 17-24-3 bowl record.
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8 Victories and three losses for Arkansas against opponents from the Big 12 and its predecessor conferences in bowls. In bowls against other conferences, the Razorbacks have a 9-21-3 record. Overall, Arkansas has a 34-14 record against Big 12 opponents since 1928, when the Big Six formed, including a 39-31 loss in two overtimes to Oklahoma State on Sept. 7.
10 Victories, 19 losses and two ties for Texas Tech against SEC opponents. The Red Raiders played their first game against an SEC opponent on Jan. 1, 1954, when Texas Tech scored a 35-13 victory over Auburn in the Gator Bowl. The Red Raiders have a 4-6-1 record in bowl against SEC opponents.
21 Victories and 11 losses for SEC teams in the Liberty Bowl. The 1965 Liberty Bowl was all-SEC, with Ole Miss beating Auburn 13-7. Big 12 teams have a 4-7 record in the Liberty Bowl. The SEC has a 4-4 record against the Big 12 and its predecessor conferences in the Liberty Bowl.
29 Victories for Arkansas and eight victories for Texas Tech in the Razorbacks-Red Raiders series, although Texas Tech won the most recent meeting 35-29 on Sept. 19, 2015, and has victories in three of the past four meetings. Thirty-two of the 37 meetings came when the teams were members of the Southwest Conference together from 1960 through 1991.
34.5 Points per game have been scored against the Texas Tech this season, the highest average yielded by any bowl participant this season. The Red Raiders led the Big 12 in scoring during the regular season with an average of 38.6 points per game.
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97 Third-down snaps were converted into first downs by Texas Texas in 2024, the most in the nation entering the bowl season. The Red Raiders have had 196 third-down snaps, tied for the second-most in the nation and have converted 49.5 percent into first downs, the sixth-best rate in the nation.
103 Yards and two TDs on 20 rushing attempts in 2024 for Rodney Hill, who is listed as the No. 1 running back on Arkansas’ depth chart for Friday’s game. Ja’Quinden Jackson led the Razorbacks with 790 yards and 15 TDs on 149 rushing attempts this season, but he has opted out of the game.
231 Plays from scrimmage gained at least 10 yards for Arkansas in 2024, the second-most in the nation entering the bowl season.
1,140 Receiving yards for Arkansas WR Andrew Armstrong, the most in the SEC this season. But Armstrong has opted out of the bowl, as has No. 2 receiver Isaiah Sategna, leaving WR Isaac TeSlaa as the Razorbacks’ leading receiver entering Friday’s game. TeSlaa has 438 yards and three TDs on 25 receptions in 2024.
1,505 Rushing yards for Texas Tech RB Tahj Brooks this season as he replaced Byron Hanspard as the Red Raiders’ career rushing leader in 2024. By running for at least 109 yards in each of his 11 games this season, Brooks lifted his career total to 4,557 rushing yards, the fourth-most in Big 12 history. Brooks is in Memphis with Texas Tech, but his participation in Friday’s game has not been confirmed by the team.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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