With fall camp just a few weeks away for the Arkansas football team, HawgBeat will take a look at crucial “toss-up” games on the Razorbacks’ 2024 schedule.
Breakout Candidate: Cam Ball
These are matchups that — at least on paper — can go either way and will prove pivotal in the Hogs’ momentum and success throughout the year.
Arkansas football announces 2024 SEC Media Days attendees
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HawgBeat has already pondered over the toughest home and road games that head coach Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks will have to face over the coming months, but now it’s time to analyze tilts against Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Mississippi State.
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The Razorbacks and Cowboys haven’t met on the football field since 1980, when head coach Lou Holtz led Arkansas to a 33-20 victory over Oklahoma State in Little Rock. All-time, Arkansas leads the series 30-15-1 with the last five matchups going the Hogs’ way.
That trend will be tested in 2024, as the Cowboys are coming off a 10-4 overall 2023 season and return star running back Ollie Gordon II along with seventh-year quarterback Alan Bowman.
Both teams will likely be 1-0 heading into this Week 2 matchup after cupcake openers, and excitement should be high because a win for either program will kickstart momentum heading into conference play.
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Looking back at 2023, Arkansas had a similar opportunity against BYU at home. The Hogs dropped that one 38-31 which then led to a six-game losing streak. It’s safe to say that head coach Sam Pittman can’t afford for that to happen again.
Can offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino get the wrinkles ironed out with quarterback Taylen Green for a tough Big 12 road tilt? The answer to that question may go a long way in determining what kind of success Arkansas will have in 2024.
The Southwest Classic is set to end in 2024, but the Razorbacks and Aggies will battle it out one last time in this trophy game. Despite a nine-game winning streak from 2012-20 by Texas A&M, Arkansas still holds a 42-35-3 all-time advantage. The Aggies defeated the Hogs 34-22 in their 2023 faceoff.
New defensive-minded head coach Mike Elko will have to prepare for Petrino, who was Texas A&M’s playcaller under former head coach Jimbo Fisher last season. The storylines run deep in this matchup, and there’s no doubt it’ll be another nail-biting finish.
By this juncture, Texas A&M will have already played Notre Dame at home and Florida on the road, so the Aggies will be battle-tested. On the other hand, Arkansas will have met Oklahoma State and Auburn away from Fayetteville. Both programs will have tough “ex-SEC East” games the following week in Missouri (Texas A&M) and Tennessee (Arkansas) as well.
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Quarterback Conner Weigman returns for his third season in College Station after tossing eight touchdowns with 979 yards in 2023. The former top-50 prospect will lead a new-look offense with playmakers like running back Le’Veon Moss and receivers Noah Thomas and Moose Muhammad III.
The Hogs may be 2-2 heading into this game, and dropping below .500 before the brunt of your SEC schedule is a recipe for disaster. Travis Williams’ defensive unit will need its legs for this end-of-an-era battle.
Everyone unfortunate enough to watch last season’s 7-3 offensive-lite edition of Arkansas-Mississippi State is hoping to see some fireworks in Starkville this year.
The Bulldogs hired Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby to run the show and the last few matchups in Mississippi have been higher scoring one way or another, so fans likely won’t see only 10 total points scored in this one.
Pittman and new offensive line coach Eric Mateos will meet against former Arkansas assistant Cody Kennedy, who will be coaching up a front line to protect starting quarterback Blake Shapen (Baylor).
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Shapen didn’t put up gaudy numbers with the Bears, but he had a respectable 2,188-yard, 13-touchdown campaign with only three interceptions. Defensively, Mississippi State returns talented pass rusher De’Monte Russell and safety Corey Ellington, but that side will be different without former head coach Zach Arnett.
This is a game that Arkansas fans expect to win and it will probably be the easiest road matchup of the year. If the Hogs can’t get the Bulldogs in this 50-50 before facing the likes of Ole Miss, Texas and Missouri, it’ll be a rough November in Fayetteville.
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BONANZA, Ark. (KATV) — According to our partners at 40/29 News, autopsies show that Charity Beallis died by suicide, and her six-year-old twin children died by homicide.
Beallis and the children were found on December 3, 2025, in their home in Bonanza. All three had gunshot wounds.
Records show that Beallis and her husband were in the process of divorcing when the murders happened. 40/29 reports that Beallis’ son has asked that their divorce be considered final, while her husband, Randall Beallis, has asked the court to dismiss the divorce proceedings.
The news release listed the following evidence:
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— An examination of the transcripts of the deposition of Mrs. Beallis in the divorce/custody case and the final hearing on the case on 12-2-2025, reveal that she wished to be reconciled to her estranged husband, which did not happen. Mrs. Beallis, after being represented by four different attorneys, represented herself in the contested divorce/custody hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, Mrs. Beallis was ordered to begin joint custody of her children with her estranged husband.
–Mrs. Beallis’ estranged husband was a driver of a Tesla electric vehicle at that time. Tesla has compiled location data on Tesla vehicles, and according to the information provided by Tesla, Mrs. Beallis’ estranged husband’s vehicle was not near the residence in Bonanza on the night in question. Also, the estranged husband’s phones did not “ping” any of the cell towers proximately related to Ms. Beallis’ location.
–Information from the home security alarm company shows the alarm was deactivated by Mrs. Beallis by her phone (she had exclusive access to the security system) at around 10 pm on the night in question. Even though deactivated, the alarm company was able to provide information showing no doors or windows to the home were opened during that time. When law enforcement arrived after 9:30 am on 12-3-2025, there were no doors or windows open, and they had to use a key to enter the home. SCSO rigorously tested the functioning of each door and window and found them to be operating properly.
The court released an order on Wednesday stating that it does not have jurisdiction to rule on those motions regarding the divorce. Beallis’ body has been released to her son, while the children are with Randall Beallis.
Wally Hall is assistant managing sports editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, he is a member and past president of the Football Writers Association of America, member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, past president and current executive committee and board member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and voter for the Heisman Trophy. He has been awarded Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year 10 times and has been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and Arkansas Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.
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