⚡ CFB Dashboard

Mop-up duty time will be hard to come by for Arkansas this season, which means the Razorbacks wasted a big opportunity last Saturday when it led FCS opponent North Alabama by only two touchdowns with 3 minutes remaining. The Hogs would tack on a field goal to make the final look a tad more respectable, but the lack of playing time for key reserves was one of the biggest downers of the opening weekend. Now the Razorbacks have a much more difficult task of visiting No. 20 Utah, where they'll need a much more impressive performance if they hope to pull off an upset on a jam-packed college football weekend. There are a lot more than five players we all want to see more of from Arkansas this week, but these are the five I chose (with a few honorable mentions): Great to see you back @IsmaelCisse_ 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qlM6J7di2J — Arkansas Football 🐗 (@RazorbackFB) September 8, 2026 1. WR Ismael Cisse Chris Marshall was targeted ten times in last week's 31-14 win over the Lions and has the look of a go-to guy for KJ Jackson, but it was also nice to see the return of Cisse and his catch-and-run touchdown to start the season. When healthy, he's been as steady as anyone in multiple offseason camps and now has a chance to capitalize on Marshall likely receiving more attention moving forward. The best game of Cisse's one-year career at Stanford was a Week 2 performance that included eight catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Arkansas is still waiting on that type of game from Cisse after he missed last year with injury and the Hogs would love for it to come in Week 2 of 2026. 2. DB Carter Stoutmire Based on a few practices and one game against an FCS opponent, I have it in my head that Stoutmire is a guy that needs to stay on the field because good things happen when he's involved. He was tied with five other guys with only two tackles last week, but he brings a physical presence that's not always seen in the box score.  He's also one of the team's fastest players, which has to mean something. The Razorback defense will need to turn Week 1's encouraging performance into a we're-for-real type of performance if they want to win this one.  3. WR Jelani Watkins We could talk about several of the wideouts after Chris Marshall and CJ Brown, but wasn't it nice to see a speed guy actually show up on the field for Arkansas? More encouraging was that Watkins proved he could take a big hit and hold on to the ball, but putting a couple of rushes for 21 yards on film gives opposing defenses one more thing to worry about and could allow the Hogs to tap into different ideas. Maybe it's nothing, but Watkins suddenly being mentioned on the team's official depth chart ahead of Week 2 was likely a nod to his efforts in the opener. We're not expecting to turn him into Tyreek Hill, but a guy that explosive needs to have the ball.  4. LB Ben Bogle Ask any Razorback fan who watched last week's game to name their most pleasant surprise, they're probably going with Bogle at linebacker. It wasn't just his 3 tackles, tackle for loss, pass break-up and quarterback hurry that stood out to fans, but that he was near the ball every time he wasn't credited, too, and the veteran arrives in a bad mood. There's also a sense that maybe we've talked about the same two linebackers a little too much. It's just one game against a bad FCS team, but it's nice to see another veteran potentially emerging from this group. 5. CB Brandon Ford This is more of a selfish pick considering he was my Most Underrated pick on the defensive side when he signed in December, but Ford also had a very active fall camp and saw some action in last week's opener. The corner positions are veteran-heavy this season, but Ford also falls into the 'good things happen when he plays' category and the Razorbacks need good things to happen.  Honorable Mentions Jasper Parker was fun to watch on his 21-yard catch-and-run, and of course we'll all want to see Cam Settles after his spring game performance when he's back from injury ... Antonio Jordan's drop was one of the biggest disappointments from last weekend simply because we've all waited so long to see the next big thing from Warren, but he's also worth mentioning for that same reason. Speaking of big targets (I told you there's a lot more than five), how about tight end Ty Lockwood building on a promising Week 1? It'd be nice to know this team has more than Jaden Platt as its down-the-field threat at this position. If things don't go better on the offensive line this week, particularly on the right side, then obviously Adam Hawkes shoots up the list to No. 1. We also want to see more of Quincy Rhodes Jr. this week after barely being mentioned last week. And while you'd rather be talking touchdowns than field goals, we've still only seen Max Gilbert try (and make) one kick, so far. Would it shock anyone if this matchup comes down to a field goal?