FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. CBS will air at least two Arkansas football games during the 2017 season, including the Razorbacks Week 2 non-conference showdown with TCU in Fayetteville, the network announced Tuesday.
Arkansas will take on TCU at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 9, inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. It will be the first SEC on CBS Game of the Week of 2017.
Additionally, the fourth annual Battle Line Rivalry between Arkansas and Missouri in Fayetteville has been moved to Friday, Nov. 24. The game will kick off at 1:30 p.m. CT and be broadcast on CBS.
In a rematch of last years 41-38 double-overtime win in Fort Worth, Texas, TCU will head to The Hill for the first time since 1988 when both the Horned Frogs and Razorbacks were members of the Southwest Conference (SWC). Arkansas owns a 44-23-2 advantage in the all-time series.
Last years thriller saw quarterback Austin Allen complete 17 of 29 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Allen led the Razorbacks to the tying score in the final two minutes of regulation, going 4-for-4 with a touchdown pass and then catching the tying 2-point conversion with 1:03 remaining. He later ran 5 yards for the winning score in the second overtime to lift Arkansas to victory, snapping TCUs 14-game home winning streak.
Preseason All-SEC selections Allen and center Frank Ragnow are set to lead Arkansas offense in 2016. Tasked with taking the reins as the Razorbacks top signal-caller in 2016, Allen immediately made his mark by leading the SEC with 3,430 passing yards, including a league-best 2,291 in conference play. Behind nine multi-touchdown pass games, he totaled 25 touchdown passes to rank second in the conference. Ragnow, who enters 2017 as a Rimington Trophy Candidate, was named the nations best offensive lineman, best run blocker and a first-team All-American by Pro Football Focus (PFF) last season. He also helped pave the way for running back Rawleigh Williams III to capture the SEC regular-season rushing title with 1,326 yards.
Paul Rhoads will be in charge of the Razorbacks defense, which will feature a new 3-4 scheme. The 2017 campaign will mark Rhoads third stint as a defensive coordinator and second in the SEC. Prior to joining head coach Bret Bielemas staff last February as defensive backs coach, Rhoads spent 16 years as either a head coach or defensive coordinator at Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Auburn, including the previous seven seasons (2009-15) as Iowa States head coach. Over his nine combined seasons as a defensive coordinator at Auburn (2008) and Pittsburgh (2000-07), Rhoads units ranked in the top 30 nationally in scoring defense six times and the top 12 for fewest yards three times.
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