Dr. Saturday will unveil its preseason Top 25 team-by-team during the next 25 days. This list is based on returning starters, schedule and prospects. However, we all know that once the games begin, things can change very quickly. Still, we thought we’d give our best guess heading into the 2015 season.
No. 16 Arkansas
2014 record: 7-6, 2-6 in the SEC
Returning starters: 9 offense, 6 defense
2015 Outlook: Perhaps no team in country typifies the respect given to the SEC and the SEC West than Arkansas.
The Razorbacks broke a 17-game SEC losing streak in 2014. Ended up 2-6 in the conference. And are a preseason top-20 team. That's respect, not only for Arkansas, but for its peers.
And its peers are also a big reason how Arkansas could finish anywhere between third and seventh in the SEC and it wouldn't be a surprise. With the muddled mess that is the SEC West, you could order the final five teams 120 ways and each justification could make some sense.
We saw how good Arkansas can be at times in 2014. Its defense was very good at the end of the year and returns six starters. The offense and its punishing run game returns nine starters; and that doesn't count Alex Collins, who'll be counted on to share carries once again with Johnathan Williams at running back.
And with a healthy – and more effective – Brandon Allen at quarterback, it stands to reason that Arkansas will be a better team in 2015. But you can say the same about LSU, which will be a year older and have better production at quarterback, too. And Texas A&M, which should have an improved defense under former LSU coordinator John Chavis. Ole Miss doesn't lose much, as we detailed yesterday, and Mississippi State returns a 2014 Heisman hopeful at quarterback and went to the Orange Bowl.
This team could lose its four road games -- Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and LSU. It also has to play Missouri, the team that's won the SEC East each of the past two seasons. It's easy to see another 2-6 conference season. But it's also possible to see the opposite. And anything in between. The Razorbacks are good. They just play a lot of other good teams, too.
Player to watch: Taiwan Johnson, DT
Four of the five starters not returning for Arkansas' defense in 2015 are in the defensive front seven. The new players mean defensive tackle Taiwan Johnson will be an even more important part of Arkansas' defense in 2015.
Last season was Johnson's first season at nose tackle, and he posted 26 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Those numbers should improve in 2015, though he may also face more double teams. If he does, it will open up more opportunities for others in Arkansas' defensive front. In three of the final four games of 2014, the Hogs defense allowed less than 100 yards rushing.
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said he feels his team's depth has significantly improved along the defensive line. And that will help Johnson avoid a bunch of attention.
"Now the biggest thing that's going to help Taiwan is the depth we have around him," Bielema said. "By far the biggest improvement on our roster is the depth at defensive line. I think Taiwan, [DeMarcus Hodge], a guy by the name of Bijhon Jackson, a young freshman that came from Denver of all places that will have an impact on our defensive tackle immediately. That's probably going to be the number one reason we have success. It's not the play of guys individually. It's the success of our depth overall."
Breakout player: Brandon Allen, QB
We mentioned Allen above, but he's the key to Arkansas' season. And if you look at last year, Arkansas' success depended on how much he threw the ball.
No, there was not a positive correlation between the number of Allen's pass attempts and Arkansas' record. In Arkansas' seven wins, Allen threw over 25 passes once. That came against LSU, when he threw the ball 27 times. In the Hogs' six losses, Allen threw 27 or more passes in every single game.
It's not surprising at all that this ground-based offense is much better when protecting a lead. But if Arkansas is going to have a top-20 type season in 2016, there's going to have to be a come-from-behind win or two. And it will be predicated on Allen's ability to be an effective passer when the defense isn't expecting it.
Bielema is hoping that new offensive coordinator Dan Enos, formerly the head coach at Central Michigan, will have a big impact on his team's passing game.
"I think [Allen] was amazed how much [Enos] was able to affect his throwing game, just his accuracy of getting his feet settled, being able to do certain things before the ball snapped and after the snap. And the effect it's kind of had on our second, third, and fourth string quarterbacks has been very contagious. Overall offensively, I think he's brought some things that we haven't really been able to expose in our offense that will fit very nicely. We have some running back that's catch the ball well. We've got some wide receivers that can do some things in the short passing game as well as the long vertical passing game. So I'm excited to bring Dan in and let him kind of showcase what he'll do."
Miss one of our Top 25? No. 17 Ole Miss, No. 18 Arizona State, No. 19 Oklahoma, No. 20 Arizona, No. 21 Tennessee, No. 22 Missouri, No. 23 Stanford, No. 24 Boise State, No. 25 Wisconsin.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
