There isn’t a quarterback controversy with Arkansas football.
Cole Kelley, who has started the last three games, will start against Coastal Carolina on Saturday and should be able to produce enough to points to win that game against a very, very lower-tier Sun Belt team.
Unless something happens, that likely will be his last start.
Austin Allen has to start — and finish healthy — against LSU, Mississippi State and Missouri for the Razorbacks to have a chance to win those games.
While some like all of the interesting aspects Kelley brings to the game, he hasn’t scored enough points in any game to win it.
Say what you want, but the Hogs beat Ole Miss because the Rebels gave them a touchdown with an unforced error. Also, let’s not forget the Ole Miss defense, while the worst in the SEC against the run, is nearly as inept stopping the pass.
Don’t believe it?
There are only three teams worse than the Rebels stopping the run in all of college football and none are on the Hogs’ schedule. Why Arkansas ever passed the ball is beyond me, other than the incredible propensity playcallers have these days to prove they can outsmart themselves.
Against the pass, Ole Miss is ranked 95th out of 129 teams. Only Missouri is on the Razorback schedule that’s worse.
So a certain amount of cautiousness is in order after the win over Ole Miss.
As bad as the Hogs are this year they should still beat any Sun Belt team. Coastal Carolina isn’t a good one. They would win big with Ty Storey under center. This should be only slightly more challenging than the Florida A&M opener.
Most importantly, Allen will get another week of rest for that injured shoulder.
It will be needed against LSU, but Jeffrey Simmons of Mississippi State is probably praying every night he’s completely healthy against the Hogs on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. That one may be tougher.
Let’s face it, Kelley has had his chances against three straight SEC opponents and, quite frankly, hasn’t exactly done much to give anyone hope for the future.
While it’s common for fans to think the bigger a quarterback is the better, there have been zero successful signal-callers of Kelley’s size. No quarterback taller than 6-foot-5 has ever won a Super Bowl. In case you’re wondering, 6-3 is the average size.
Kelley has the same problems most of those bigger guys have.
The footwork is always the culprit for the bigger guys (which offensive coordinator Dan Enos has mentioned) and that causes them to overthrow receivers because they are so tall they think they can throw off their back foot. Or they over-correct and step too far, usually resulting in an under-throw.
Oh, and they all tend to have the ability to throw a ball through a brick wall which often causes as many problems as it solves.
No, the Hogs are going to HAVE to have Allen to have any shot at winning the last three games of the year. He’s got to be healthy, which is going to be a tall order.
Because the two biggest games of the year are coming up after the warmup this week.
To have a shot at Birmingham or Shreveport, the Hogs will have to beat either LSU or Mississippi State.
Let’s see the show of hands for those that give that a realistic possibility. Okay, that’s what I thought.
Allen will be needed.
Mainly because Kelley hasn’t shown he’s good enough yet.
And nothing he does Saturday will prove anything, either.
