Arkansas looks for second straight Top 10 upset when it hosts LSU

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season!

Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here.

No. 8 LSU (5-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) at Arkansas (4-2, 2-1), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

BetMGM College Football Odds: LSU by 2.

Series record: LSU leads 44-23-2.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

LSU can further establish itself as a legitimate national-championship contender by clearing its next hurdle. The game against Arkansas marks the second of four straight matchups against teams either ranked in the Top 25, or, in Arkansas’ case, picking up votes for the poll. Arkansas has not been ranked in the Top 25 in more than two calendar years. A win over LSU would almost certainly be enough to change that.

KEY MATCHUP

Arkansas quarterbacks vs LSU pass defense. Usual Razorbacks starter Taylen Green is questionable for the game and if he were unable to go, coach Sam Pittman would go with redshirt freshman Malachi Singleton. Green averages 250 yards passing per game, the fourth best mark among SEC quarterbacks. LSU’s pass defense is 15th out of 16 SEC teams. Singleton is largely seen as the heir apparent. He scored the game-winning touchdown on a run against Tennessee.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

LSU: QB Garrett Nussmeier. As far as efficient and big-numbered quarterbacks go, few are better this year in the SEC than Nussmeier. His 331 yards a game through the air ranks sixth in FBS, and his 18 touchdown passes are tied for third. Arkansas’ pass defense is 10th in the SEC.

Arkansas: Other than Green, Landon Jackson may be Arkansas’ most important player. After a slow start, the preseason All-SEC defensive end has registered 2 1/2 sacks in the Razorbacks’ last two games.

FACTS & FIGURES

From 2006 to 2015, Arkansas and LSU split the series with five wins apiece, leading to a strengthening of mutual rivalry. LSU has won all but one since then, though the last three games have been decided by three points each time. … Nussmeier spent most of the last two years as a backup to Jayden Daniels, but he was LSU’s quarterback for a bulk of the Tigers’ 16-13 loss in Fayetteville in 2021, going 18 of 31 with a touchdown and two interceptions. … Since 2007, Arkansas has beaten LSU three times in games in which the Tigers were ranked in the Top 10. Each time, Arkansas was ranked lower.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football