After a great showing on both sides of the ball against Western Illinois, the Rams look to build off their blowout victory as they travel to Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks.

Although the University of Arkansas is an SEC team, the Rams are familiar with the Razorbacks, as they picked up a 34-27 comeback victory against the Hogs last season.

Last year’s match up resulted in the Rams coming back from an 18-point second half deficit to defeat the Razorbacks in front of their home crowd. The Rams were unable to establish the run game for a full 60 minutes against the Razorbacks, and Head Coach Mike Bobo put an emphasis on balancing the offensive attack this season. 

“Our run game was nonexistent until that last drive (that) we spit out one run on the zone,” Bobo said. “We talked about that (Tuesday). We’ve got to find ways to run the ball; it might not be your traditional ways, and that’s the way we’ve been doing it for the first two weeks. … Non-traditional stuff with Dante Wright, I think we’re going to continue to do that.”

In the first two games of the season, the Rams looked solid as a team. A couple of fluky turnovers and questionable penalties made the score look a lot worse than it really was in week one. As for last week, the offense and the defense were firing on all cylinders.

Quarterback Collin Hill has looked outstanding in the first two weeks of play. He has tallied 738 passing yards, seven touchdowns and just two interceptions. Hill also has a 75.1 quarterback rating, which is good enough for 26th in the nation. The Rams’ success will hinge on the arm of the junior signal caller.

Another big part of the offense has been the one-two punch of senior running back Marvin Kinsey Jr. and freshman wide receiver Dante Wright.

Kinsey sits on 290 total yards from scrimmage with two touchdowns. As for Wright, he boasts 272 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. These playmakers continue to make their presence felt in the Rams’ offense.

Wright seems to be yet another special wide receiver to put on the green and gold. Not only does Wright catch everything thrown his way and show ridiculous speed, but his IQ on the field is through the roof. Wright is a nightmare for opposing coaches.

“His football IQ is really, really high,” Bobo said. “You don’t have to tell him more than one time and he’s got it. Not that he doesn’t make mistakes, but he might make it in practice [and] he doesn’t make it again.”

Defensively, the Rams have been getting the job done so far this season. It may not show up on the stat sheet, but timely stops have helped the offense get back onto the field. Since Arkansas only has two returning starters on their offensive line, the Rams have an opportunity to take advantage of their lack of experience.

Ultimately, to be successful, the Rams need to cut down on the turnovers and the mental mistakes. If the Rams can avoid hurting themselves, they can do a lot of damage.

The Razorbacks are heading into this clash with the Rams with a 1-1 record on the season. Led by second year Head Coach Chad Morris, the Razorbacks look to defend their home turf.

Heading into the season, the Razorbacks found themselves with a quarterback competition. Ben Hicks and Nick Starkel have split reps so far this season, but Starkel was named the quarterback against the Rams and for the rest of the season.

Like the Rams, the Razorbacks have a lot of offensive weapons and playmakers to go around. This matchup has all the characteristics of being a shootout.

Junior Guerrero can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on twitter @juniorg45.