FAYETTEVILLE -- Colorado State will enter Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday with one of the top offenses in the nation.
The Rams, with junior quarterback Collin Hill leading the way, rank seventh in the FBS with 385 passing yards per game and 13th in total offense with 545 yards per game.
The 6-4 Hill is sixth in the nation with 370 passing yards per game and 25th in passing efficiency with a rating of 173.9.
"He is an NFL quarterback," Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis said. "There's no question about that."
Hill has completed 56 of 79 passes (70.8%) for 741 yards, with 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
"They look, obviously, much improved from a year ago," Coach Chad Morris said. "These guys are definitely playing extremely well."
Colorado State freshman receiver and return man Dante Wright and junior tailback Marvin Kinsey Jr., are both in the top 20 in all-purpose yardage. Wright ranks eighth with 164.5 yards per game, while Kinsey is 19th at 145 yards per game.
"They're going to be more physical this year," Arkansas linebacker De'Jon Harris said. "They look better on film. More athletic. We know they're going to come out with their best A game and we've just got to come with ours."
Third-down talk
The Razorbacks were identical in their third-down conversions the first two weeks, going 5 of 15 against both Portland State and Ole Miss.
The 10-of-30 conversion rate (33.3%) is tied for 100th among FBS teams, and in the SEC only Vanderbilt (31%) has a worse rate.
Colorado State enters Saturday's game having converted half (13 of 26) of its third downs to tie for 29th nationally.
Blocking out
Cheyenne O'Grady's first action of the year last week included three catches for 46 yards and a couple of other missed opportunities, but his work in the run game was rusty.
"Honestly, I was really frustrated with how I blocked the last game," O'Grady said. "I thought I was very soft and wasn't using my hands like I thought I should. It was really sloppy fundamentals. This week I'm working on it every day, even in my off-time, working on shooting my hands to get them inside and not outside where I can get controlled by the defender."
Chad Morris said O'Grady looked like a guy playing in his first game of the year.
"I thought there were some things he did well," Morris said. "Obviously he made the great catch across the middle. But I also thought we weren't as physical in the run game as we want to be with him."
Takeaway trends
Colorado State has one takeaway on the season, defensive end Jan-Phillip Bombek's forced fumble and recovery last week. The Rams have six turnovers of their own, including four lost fumbles, giving them a minus 2.5 turnover margin. That rate ties for 126th in the nation with Purdue, ahead of only Hawaii, New Mexico State and Virginia Tech, who are at minus-3 per game.
"Protecting the ball would be No. 1," Colorado State Coach Mike Bobo said when asked what areas the Rams needed to improve the most. "We're awful in the turnover ratio."
The Razorbacks are closer to the other end of the spectrum with a plus-1.5 turnover margin. Arkansas has five takeaways, including two each from safeties Kamren Curl and Joe Foucha, and a plus-1.5 turnover margin per game to tie for 12th in the country. In the SEC, only Alabama and Mississippi State at plus-2.5 rank better.
CSU vs SEC
Colorado State is 3-13 against teams currently in the SEC. The Rams won 18-17 at LSU in 1992, beat Missouri 35-24 in the 1997 Holiday Bowl when the Tigers were in the Big 12, and beat Arkansas 34-27 last season in Fort Collins, Colo.
The Rams split two games against the SEC last season when they lost at Florida 48-10 the week after beating Arkansas.
'Mountain' climbing
The Razorbacks are entering a danger zone in their next two games, even if they're at home, by facing Mountain West opponents Colorado State and San Jose State.
The Mountain West leads all 10 FBS conferences with six victories (a 6-5 record) against Power 5 leagues through two weeks. The SEC is 5-3 against other Power 5 opponents.
The Razorbacks have a 14-2 record against current Mountain West teams, including 3-1 vs. Colorado State.
Taking hits
Arkansas quarterback Nick Starkel said the hits in an SEC game are little harder, and he likes it that way.
"That's part of the game," said Starkel, who transferred in from Texas A&M. "Shoot, if I carry out my run fake good enough they're going to hit me every time. If I didn't want to get hit I wouldn't play football."
Coach Chad Morris isn't as excited about his quarterback taking a hit as Starkel.
"I don't really like him getting hit," Morris said. "But I do think it's part of his job to carry those fakes out and try to pull someone with him."
Sports on 09/13/2019