Michigan football gets its first chance to rebound from last week’s crushing rout by Texas as Arkansas State, led by former CMU coach Butch Jones, visits the Big House at noon Saturday.

Five Free Press sports writers make their picks between the Wolverines, who are favored by more than three touchdowns, and the Red Wolves.

Tony Garcia

Arkansas State is expected to compete for the Sun Belt this year and can throw the ball. Michigan gets the perfect opponent against which to fix its run game — the Red Wolves’ defense is No. 114 in the nation, allowing 199 yards per game. This is the week Michigan’s offense gets back to basics and Kalel Mullings goes over the 100-yard mark with two scores. The pick: U-M 30, Arkansas State 7.

SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES: Michigan vs. Arkansas State football prediction and scouting report

Carlos Monarrez

With a fat new contract in hand, head coach Sherrone Moore needs to prove he’s worth it with a resounding bounce-back game against the 2-0 Red Wolves. That shouldn’t be a problem, considering Arkansas State’s weak run defense. The Wolverines will have such an easy time they’ll be able to start planning for USC at halftime. The pick: U-M 38, Arkansas State 13.

Rainer Sabin

Arkansas State’s unblemished record should probably have a loss pinned to it after a controversial call at the end of its opener against Central Arkansas went in its favor. This isn’t a great team, and it shouldn’t pose much of a threat to Michigan. But the Wolverines, with a languishing offense and underperforming defense, are a bit of a mess at the moment.

The shellacking administered by Texas last weekend removed Michigan’s aura of invincibility, and it may take a while for the Wolverines to recover from the beatdown. It’s why this game could be uncomfortably close in the early stages before the reigning national champs assert their supremacy and pull away. The pick: U-M 33, Arkansas State 14.

Jeff Seidel

The Wolverines are gonna win this game, I have little doubt. But I’m so interested to see how Michigan looks against a team like this. Because it will put the Texas debacle into some perspective. Was Texas so dominant because it’s headed for an appearance in the national championship game? (Probably.) Or did Michigan look so bad because they lost so much talent? This game will give us a clue. The pick: U-M 31 Arkansas State 10.

Shawn Windsor

Hey, we have no idea who the Wolverines are. Is Fresno State really good? Will Texas be the national champs? I bet Michigan is somewhere between its first and second performances. Though that could be a scary place, too. The pick: U-M 27, Arkansas State 16.

Arkansas’ economy in the second quarter of 2024 continued to see substantial gains in non-farm employment and the construction sector, while manufacturing and hospitality faced employment declines.

According to The Compass Report for the second quarter of 2024 (April-June), Arkansas’ nonfarm employment showed robust growth, with the state gaining 10,000 jobs between April and June, bringing the total to 1,374,000 nonfarm jobs in June 2024, compared to 1,364,000 in June 2023.

Employment remained steady throughout the quarter, with 1,370,000 jobs in April and 1,369,000 in May. This consistent job market growth earned Arkansas an A+ rating for nonfarm employment expansion, with the state continuing to set employment records each quarter.

“Arkansas’ economy continues to add jobs, with growth in nonfarm payroll employment statewide and in all four regions. The economy remains in an expansion, not a recession but rising unemployment rates suggest labor force growth is outpacing jobs creation. Still, no region recorded an unemployment rate greater than 3.9 percent,” said economist Greg Kaza, executive director of the Arkansas Policy Foundation.

However, the unemployment rate in Arkansas rose once again during the second quarter of 2024, following the upward trend from the first quarter. In June 2024, the unemployment rate stood at 3.3%, compared to 2.6% in June 2023.

“The rise in unemployment persisted throughout the quarter, with the rate increasing to 3.4% in April and May 2024. Despite the state’s job growth, the higher unemployment rate indicated continued challenges in the labor market, earning a D grade for the change in the unemployment rate,” according to analysis from The Compass Report.

The Compass Report is a partnership between the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS) and Talk Business & Politics. First National Bank of Fort Smith is a sponsor of the statewide report. Kendall Ross, UAFS associate vice chancellor of Economic and Workforce Development, and Troy Rodriguez, a data analyst in the UAFS Center for Economic Development who helps compile, manage and review the data, are responsible for data collection and written analysis for the report.

Kaza also noted that the construction sector continues to be bright spot.

“Strong growth in the construction sector noted earlier this year continued in the quarter, with significant gains in the Fort Smith region, Northwest Arkansas and the central part of the state. Arkansas construction sector jobs have expanded 31 percent since the last recession ended in April 2020, the highest growth rate in the 12-state southeast region,” Kaza wrote in his analysis.

Following are other Arkansas economy analysis from The Compass Report.
• June 2024 gross sales and use tax collections reached $358.615 million, up from $347.776 million in June 2023. Similarly, May 2024 collections rose to $357.365 million compared to $314.722 million in May 2023. April also increased to $360.013 million, up from $353.149 million in April 2023.

• Building permit valuations for housing in Arkansas presented a mixed picture during the second quarter. In April 2024, permit valuations jumped to $264.37 million from $191.07 million in April 2023, signaling robust construction activity. May 2024 showed a slight decline, with valuations falling to $246.073 million, compared to $248.99 million in May 2023. The downward trend continued into June, with valuations reaching $267.57 million, down from $306.216 million in June 2023.

• Manufacturing employment continued its downward trend throughout Q2 2024. In June 2024, Arkansas had 162,000 manufacturing jobs, down from 165,300 in June 2023.

• Employment in construction increased to 67,100 jobs in June 2024, up from 63,500 in June 2023. The sector consistently grew across the quarter, with 67,900 jobs in April and 67,600 in May 2024.

• Hospitality employment declined to 128,000 jobs in June 2024, down from 131,500 in June 2023. The industry also saw job losses in April and May 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Link here for the full The Compass Report for the second quarter.

Related

The future of lithium production in the U.S. is gaining momentum in Arkansas, as companies like ExxonMobil, Albemarle, and Standard Lithium make significant investments in the state.

This comes at a time when global demand for lithium, driven by electric vehicles and energy-storage needs, continues to grow. In 2023, global lithium consumption reached 180,000 metric tons, up from 142,000 metric tons in 2022, according to the United States Geological Survey. But the U.S. produces less than 1% of the world’s supply.

While most of the world’s lithium still comes from countries like Australia, Chile and China, Arkansas could change that. 

The state is home to the Smackover Formation, a geological formation rich in lithium brine.

“Lithium resource quality is really what makes this a great region,” said Wesley Hamilton, CTO and vice president of research and technology at Albemarle, the world’s top lithium producer. “It comes down to two things: the concentration of lithium and the ability to extract it efficiently from the brine.”

Arkansas has long been a producer of bromine, which is extracted from the same brines now being tapped for lithium. The formation holds over 4 million metric tons of lithium, which is enough to power millions of EVs and devices, according to Galvanic Energy. That has attracted a rush of interest from companies looking to capitalize on the formation’s potential.

Exxon Mobil, for example, acquired 120,000 acres in the Smackover Formation in 2023 and aims to start producing battery-grade lithium by 2027. The company said it will produce enough lithium to supply the manufacturing more than 1 million EVs per year by 2030. Standard Lithium, which has operated in Arkansas since 2020, is also expanding its Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) facility in El Dorado, thanks to a $100 million investment from Koch Strategic Platforms. DLE is touted as a more eco-friendly extraction method, using advanced filters to reduce energy and water usage.

However, the road ahead isn’t without challenges.

DLE technology, while promising, has yet to be proven on a large scale, and lithium prices have dropped sharply from over $80,000 per metric ton in 2022 to around $10,600 today. That’s due to oversupply, slower-than-expected EV growth and new battery technologies, according to Benchmark.

“Lithium prices are falling precipitously, and many standalone lithium companies are not generating the revenues they need,” said Shon Hiatt, director of the Business of Energy Transition Initiative at the University of Southern California. “That volatility is a big challenge for companies trying to scale up.”

Additionally, China controls 80% of global battery cell production, according to the Atlantic Council, raising concerns about U.S. supply chain risks.

Still, companies like Albemarle and Standard Lithium told CNBC they remain optimistic about Arkansas’ potential to become a key player in the global lithium market.

“The United States has to step up,” said Robert Mintak, CEO of Standard Lithium. “We’ve targeted the Smackover formation in Arkansas because we believe it’s the best resource to develop.”

Watch the video to learn more about how Arkansas is positioning itself at the forefront of U.S. lithium production and what it means for the future of the energy market.