Texas football doesn’t have much time to lick its wounds after last week’s disheartening 35-10 loss to Georgia.
Arkansas, once a blood rival, travels south for its first conference game in Austin since 1990. The Razorbacks would love nothing more than to drive a stake through the heart of any lingering College Football Playoff hopes for Texas. Sure, they replaced head coach Sam Pittman with Bobby Petrino midseason and won’t even qualify for a bowl game, but the sight of anything burnt orange should provide plenty of motivation.
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And the Hogs have been close to pulling off a string of upsets against ranked foes; all six of their SEC losses have come by single digits, and they fell to No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 20 Tennessee by a combined 12 points.
Texas Longhorns linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith (26) lines up before the snap during the game against San José State at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
In comparison, the Longhorns and coach Steve Sarkisian still have plenty at stake after landing at No. 17 in Tuesday’s CFP rankings. Their slim playoff hopes depend on winning the final two games of the regular season, which also include a home meeting Nov. 28 with Texas A&M. And Texas also needs a win to help salve its wounded pride after allowing 21 consecutive points to close out the loss at Georgia.
Here’s a full scouting report for the Texas Longhorns vs. the Arkansas Razorbacks.
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Texas (7-3, 4-2 SEC) vs. Arkansas (2-8, 0-6)
When: 2:45 p.m. Saturday
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Where: Royal-Memorial Stadium in Austin
TV/radio: ABC, 1300, 98.1, 105.3 (Spanish)
Weather: Partly sunny with highs near 80 and a small chance of scattered showers, so pack that poncho.
Texas vs Arkansas football betting info
Moneyline: Texas +325, Arkansas -260
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Spread: Texas is favored by 9 ½ points.
Texas history: Arkansas
All-time: Texas leads 56-23
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Last meeting: Texas 20, Arkansas 10 (Nov. 16, 2024)
Most memorable meeting: Texas 15, Arkansas 14 (1969). One of the nation’s fiercest rivalries when both teams competed against each other in the Southwest Conference, this series reached an apex with what pundits dubbed “The Game of the Century.” The meeting between No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Arkansas took place in front of a frothing crowd in Fayetteville, Ark., that even included President Richard Nixon, an avid college football fan. Texas overcome a 14-0 second-half deficit to win the game behind several of the most famous plays in Longhorn history, including the fourth-down “right 53 veer pass” from James Street to Randy Peschel, a touchdown run by Jim Bertelsen and a late interception by Tom Campbell. Nixon gave Texas a plaque proclaiming them national champions after the game, and the Longhorns did go on to beat Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl to claim its second of four national titles.
MORE: Texas football film study: How Longhorns’ offensive evolution failed against Georgia
Know the foe: Arkansas
Last week: Lost to LSU, 23-22
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Players to watch: Quarterback Taylen Green, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound senior, is a dual-threat force who ranks fourth in the SEC with 2,632 yards passing and eighth in rushing with 717 yards. Ten interceptions counters his 26 total touchdowns.
Running back Mike Washington, who’s on his third team in five seasons, is saving his best for last. The 6-2, 225-pound banger already has a career-high 915 yards rushing and averages a career-best 6½ yards per carry while punishing defenses that focus too much on Green.
Defensive end Quincy Rhodes Jr., a 6-6, 275-pound junior, has played his way into one of the best edges in the conference. He’s racked up three of his eight sacks over the past three games and already has 15 tackles for a loss.
Central Texas connections: None.
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When Texas has the ball
Texas quarterback Arch Manning has accounted for 77.9% of the Texas offense in SEC play while throwing for 308 yards a game over the past three weeks, and he could have a field day against a porous Arkansas pass defense. The Razorbacks rank 15th out of 16 teams, allowing 289 yards passing a game in SEC play, and they allow a league-worst 37.5 points a game in conference games.
Running backs Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter haven’t found any traction this season for the Longhorns, who rank 12th in the SEC with an average of 3.7 yards per carry as well as 12th with an average of 124.1 rushing yards per game. But Arkansas allows 4.8 yards a carry in SEC play, which is third highest in the conference. If the Longhorns can’t move the ball on the ground against the Hogs, they might as well go with an empty backfield and let Manning air it out 50 times.
When Arkansas has the ball
Sure, Green can chuck it all over the field and interim head coach Bobby Petrino has a long history of producing effective passing attacks. But the Razorbacks lead the SEC in rushing with 230.5 yards a game behind Green and Washington, and they won’t waver from their bread and butter. The absence of Texas middle linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. with a hand injury would be especially felt against the run since the 240-pound junior leads the Longhorns with 70 tackles.
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Senior receiver Raylen Sharpe plays the same role for Arkansas that Zachariah Branch does for Georgia, and that’s bad news for a struggling Texas pass defense. Like Branch, Sharpe likes to work underneath coverage and rack up the yards after a catch; he has nine catches for 149 yards over the past two games and will try to exploit a Longhorn team that has allowed its last four opponents to complete a cumulative 72.7% of its passes.
Texas vs Arkansas key matchup
Texas defensive tackles vs. Arkansas guard Fernando Carmona
The 6-5, 325-pound Carmona is one of the best — and one of the nastiest — run blockers in the SEC. If he gets to the second level, Carmona will overwhelm a Texas linebacking corps that will likely be playing without Hill. That means Hero Kanu, Maraad Watson, Alex January and the other interior Longhorn linemen will have to lock up Carmona on the line and allow the 225-pound Liona Lefau and the 215-pound Ty’Anthony Smith to flow to the ball from their linebacker spots.
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Texas vs Arkansas predictions
Danny Davis: Texas. This season has been a disappointment for the Longhorns, but it isn’t yet a disaster. Texas wins comfortably this weekend.
Thomas Jones: Texas 42, Arkansas 35. Arch Manning has a few more weapons to work with downfield and wins a shootout with Taylen Green and Arkansas. It doesn’t do much to alleviate concerns about this Longhorn squad, but a raucous crowd sure has some fun.
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David Eckert: Texas 31, Arkansas 28. Don’t be fooled by the record, the Razorbacks are dangerous and explosive enough to keep up with the Longhorns in what will be an emotionally charged game for the visitors. It’ll come down to whether Texas can force Arkansas into the kind of big-time mistakes they’ve been making all year.
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