LITTLE ROCK- Razorbacks football season is here! The Hogs will host the Western Carolina Catamounts Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Kickoff has been moved up to 12 Noon.
Here are game notes as provided by the University of Arkansas:
WESTERN CAROLINA CATAMOUNTS (0-0, 0-0 SoCon)
STATS Perform FCS/FCS Coaches Poll: NR/NR
Head Coach: Kerwin Bell (Florida, ‘98)
Career Record: 103-54 (15th season)
Record at Western Carolina: 10-12 (3rd season)
ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
AP/Coaches: RV/RV
Head Coach: Sam Pittman (Pittsburg State, ‘86)
Career Record: 19-17 (4th season)
Record at Arkansas: Same
• Arkansas opens the 2023 campaign under fourth-year head coach Sam Pittman against Western Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 2, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on SEC Network+/ESPN+.
• The Razorbacks are 152-62-4 all-time, including a 1-0 mark in the Pittman era, at War Memorial Stadium, the program’s home venue in Central Arkansas since 1948.
• Entering 2023, Arkansas comes off its second consecutive bowl victory and its second consecutive winning season, a feat not accomplished by the program since 2015-16 when
the Hogs won 15 games with victories in the Texas Bowl and Liberty Bowl. From 2021-22, Arkansas has won 16 games with victories in the Outback Bowl and Liberty Bowl.
• Under Pittman, the Hogs have been invited to a bowl game in three consecutive seasons. Pittman is one of only four Arkansas coaches in program history to begin their tenures with three consecutive bowl berths, joining Lou Holtz (1977-79), Ken Hatfield (1984-86) and Houston Nutt (1998-2000).
• RB Raheim ‘Rocket’ Sanders is coming off one of the greatest seasons by an Arkansas running back in recent memory after rushing for 10 touchdowns and 1,443 yards –fourth-most in a single season in school history – in 2022. Sanders, the first Arkansas running back to earn preseason
first-team All-SEC recognition since 2012, is just the second Razorback to ever run for 1,400+ yards and return to school the following year, joining the legendary Darren McFadden,
who ran for a then school record 1,647 yards in 2006 before breaking his own record in 2007 with 1,830 yards.
• DB Hudson Clark and LB Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul Jr. are the Hogs’ leading returning tacklers, combining for 129 total stops and 12.0 tackles for loss in 2022. Paul also racked up four sacks, helping the Arkansas defense total 42 sacks on the year and break the program’s single-season sack record.
Note to Our Readers: The previous story was sourced directly and in its entirety from the University of Arkansas Office of Communications, Kyle Parkinson.
