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22 NWA College Football Preview 2019 Sunday, August 25, 2019 Hogs projected to make it to Independence Bowl AUG. 31 ARKANSAS 48, PORTLAND STATE 13 FAYETTEVILLE — The ground game runs wild as Rakeem Boyd rushes for 119 yards, while Devwah Whaley and Chase Hayden each score a touchdown. Grayson Gunter catches five passes for 74 yards and a score, while Trey Knox and Deon Stewart also catch touchdown passes. Ben Hicks fires the scoring pass to Knox for the first points of the season, while Nick Starkel comes on to notch the other two scoring passes. Kam Curl scoops a fumble forced by De'Jon Har- ris and cashes it in for a second-half touchdown. Greg Brooks and Hayden Henry also account for takeaways. The Razorbacks pile up 505 yards and force three turnovers. "Now that's popping the clutch in that left lane and putting the hammer down!" Arkansas Coach Chad Morris declares. SEPT. 7 OLE MISS 30, ARKANSAS 27 OXFORD, Miss. — Matt Corral follows blockers for a 2-yard score with five seconds remaining as the Rebels rebound for their second win in a row in the series, and their first at home against the Razorbacks since 2013. Rakeem Boyd powers for 123 yards and scores twice, while Chase Harrell catches a 19-yard touchdown pass and Connor Limpert makes field goals from 44 and 47 yards. SEPT. 14 ARKANSAS 33, COLORADO STATE 20 FAYETTEVILLE — The Razorbacks avenge last year's second-half collapse in Fort Collins, Colo., spearheaded by Devwah Whaley's 134 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Mike Woods catches a 70-yard touchdown pass from Nick Starkel, and Jordan Jones scores on a 44-yard catch and run. The defense makes an impact on Montaric Brown's interception return for a touchdown, while McTelvin Agim, Bumper Pool and Gabe Richardson also notch takeaways. SEPT. 21 ARKANSAS 44, SAN JOSE STATE 10 FAYETTEVILLE — The Razorbacks rack up 557 yards and recover two fumbles for touchdowns while improving to two games over .500 for the first time since ending the 2016 regular season at 7-5. Tackle Colton Jackson lives a lineman's dream when he falls on an offensive fumble in the end zone in the second quarter, then Joe Foucha scoops and scores after T.J. Smith's strip sack for a defensive touchdown. Ben Hicks and Nick Starkel combine for three touchdown passes to Deon Stewart, Treylon Burks and Devwah Whaley, and KJ Jefferson scores on a quarterback sneak at the end of his first series. SEPT. 28 NO. 18 TEXAS A&M 29, ARKANSAS 27 ARLINGTON, Texas — The Aggies extend their winning streak in the series to eight games by making a 40-yard field goal as time expires. The comeback spoils two big individual achieve- ments: Quarterback Nick Starkel's 285 pass- ing yards and 3 touchdowns, and Cheyenne O'Grady's 110 receiving yards and a touchdown for the Razorbacks. Texas-born tailbacks Rakeem Boyd and Devwah Whaley score the Hogs' other touchdowns. OCT. 12 KENTUCKY 28, ARKANSAS 21 LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Wildcats break a late tie with a 70-yard touchdown drive, then tackle Jordan Jones at the end of a breakaway hook-and-lateral play at the 10-yard line as time expires in the first meeting between the teams in Lexington since 2008. Rakeem Boyd and Chase Hayden have short touchdown runs for Arkansas, and De'Vion Warren catches a 12-yard touchdown pass after Deon Stewart's 55-yard punt return. OCT. 19 NO. 13 AUBURN 31, ARKANSAS 20 FAYETTEVILLE — Joey Gatewood rushes for two touchdowns and throws for two more as the Tigers extend their winning streak to four games in the series. Dorian Gerald notches a pair of sacks for Ar- kansas, which amasses 340 yards and allows 375 to the Tigers. Fort Smith native Gus Malzahn improves to 6-1 as a head coach vs. Arkansas, and 2-0 vs. his buddy Chad Morris. A R K A N S A S F O R E C A S T FAYETTEVILLE — The crystal ball saw a 7-5 reg- ular season for the Arkansas Razorbacks and a loss to Louisville and Bobby Petrino in the Independence Bowl in 2018. The crystal ball went haywire. But the picture is clear now. It sees a return to more accurate predictions this time around. The ball was right on these games: victories over Eastern Illinois and Tulsa, and losses to Auburn, Texas A&M, Alabama, Mississippi State and Missouri. The ball was wrong by envisioning wins over Colorado State, North Texas, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and LSU. So the ball went 7-5 straight up, which won't win you money in Vegas (or wherever gambling is legal) but was a sight better than the Razorbacks' 2-10 debut under Coach Chad Morris. The most accurate visions were a predicted 24-21 loss to Texas A&M (actual score: 24-17) and the pick of a 36-35 victory over Ole Miss (actually a 37-33 loss). The Forecast really dropped the ball on a handful of games, including predictions of a four-point win at Colorado State, a 10-point win over North Texas, a 13-point win over Vanderbilt, and a one-point win over LSU. But the real stinkers came at the end. What was projected as a 37-33 loss at Mississippi State became the nightmare reality of a 52-6 loss, and a 33-28 projection at Missouri was a 38-0 rout in reality. So we've created some fanciful scenarios and con- cocted some quotes as we look ahead to the 2018 sea- son. The reckoning, based on this prediction for a 6-7 season, will come one year from now. TOM MURPHY ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/BEN GOFF Arkansas running back Rakeem Boyd rushes for a 69-yard touchdown against Ole Miss on Oct. 13 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. v Continued on next page