Notre Dame football hit the road for the second time in the 2025 season this weekend, as it’ll travel to face the SEC’s Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Irish are still ranked despite a 1-2 record, while the Razorbacks have lost their last two games to fall to 2-2. It’s not the biggest game in college football this weekend, but it’s a very important one for both teams. A win for either would be huge, as Notre Dame is trying to work its way back up the rankings to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff, while Arkansas would have plenty of momentum as it will resume its conference play.
While Notre Dame is viewed as the favorite, the Razorbacks could make this a game. Find out below a few reasons why Arkansas could upset the Irish on Saturday.
The defense doesn’t hold up
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman talked about liking some of the matchups that they have against Notre Dame, and I have to believe he was mostly talking about the Razorbacks offense against the Irish’s defense. The home team enters the game as one of the top offenses in all of college football, averaging 552 yards-per-game while it’s scoring an average of 43.5 points-per-game.
They have one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the country in Taylen Green who leads the team in rushing as well as all passing categories. He spreads the ball around to his receivers, including tight ends, six of them already have over 100-yards on the year. Green’s go to is O’Mega Blake, who is a very good receiver with over 300-yards and three scores so far this year. It’s another very good offense that the Irish will face, and have an extremely tough task at slowing them down.
Notre Dame’s offense struggles in difficult road environment
Arkansas struggles have come on the road this fall, and while the competition in its two other home games isn’t nearly at the same level as Notre Dame, they’ve still won in impressive fashion. Last fall, the Razorbacks only home losses game to ranked teams, which does bode well for the Irish.
You have to remember the fact that for most teams, when Notre Dame is in their building, it’s like their Super Bowl. It’s their chance to make name for themselves, and the environment could turn out to be a big factor in this game.
Arkansas isn’t you’re average 2-2 team
Like Notre Dame, Arkansas two losses have been one-possession games, so just a few different plays and we are most likely talking about a top-25 matchup between these two teams. It’s easy to overlook a team with a .500 record unless there’s a number next to it, and that could be the case on Saturday.
We have seen some bad random performances from Marcus Freeman coached teams, and there is potential for another one against the Razorbacks. If this team takes them lightly, it could be a long afternoon for Notre Dame.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Three reason why the Arkansas Razorbacks upsets Notre Dame on Saturday
Reporting by Michael Chen , Fighting Irish Wire / Fighting Irish Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
