An article by College Sports Matchups in the Fort Smith City Wire is picking the Razorbacks to finish 10-2 this season and to beat Alabama. Here’s an excerpt:
Playing in the SEC makes winning football games difficult every year, but is this the season that Arkansas breaks out under head coach Bobby Petrino?
Read the entire article here or access via the direct link: http://www.thecitywire.com/?q=node/10559
Harry King
Harry King, sports columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau, has a run down of the problems some SEC teams are having nailing down a strong quarterback for 2010. Will this help Arkansas win games? We can only hope!
Here’s an excerpt:
“At Mississippi State, there is no decision about the starting quarterback for 2010. At Auburn, the winner of a four-man competition is a former backup to Tim Tebow who played at a junior college in 2009. At Georgia, Mark Richt had only one choice. At South Carolina, Steve Spurrier is dissatisfied with the obvious choice.
Those notations are particularly significant for Arkansas because the Razorbacks play at Starkville, Auburn, Athens, and Columbia, and Arkansas has not won a road game in the Southeastern Conference since Nov. 23, 2007, at LSU. To win nine this year, Arkansas likely has to win at least two on the road.”
Read Harry’s column here.
This is from The Sports Network (TSN). Writer Jeff Frank is picking Arkansas over LSU on Saturday:
The most underrated team in college football
By Jeff Frank, Contributing Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Go through the AP Top 25 and you will not be able to locate a certain SEC club that has a chance to finish in a second- place tie in its division. This particular team is also surprisingly absent from the top 38, if you count the “others receiving votes” portion of the poll.
The Arkansas Razorbacks are the only team in the country to not only stay within single digits of Florida but to have a fourth-quarter lead against the undisputed number one team in the country. The Hogs could have very easily won that contest in Gainesville, or at the very least sent it to overtime, if Alex Tejada hadn’t missed a pair of makeable field goals in the second half.
Bobby Petrino’s club, perhaps emotionally drained from its fantastic effort that Saturday, failed to capitalize the following week at Ole Miss, a game the Rebels owned from start to finish. However, since that contest, the Razorbacks are 4-0, outscoring their opponents 194-84, and quarterback Ryan Mallet has been on fire, completing 78-of-107 passes for 1,295 yards with 13 touchdowns over that span.
Arkansas is having an extremely similar season to the one that transpired in Oxford last year. The Ole Miss Rebels not only gave Florida a tussle in ’08, they beat the Gators, and just like this year’s Razorbacks, lost two straight games in October.
Ole Miss then reeled off five more wins to end the regular season at 8-4. If the Hogs can defeat LSU this Saturday, they’ll be 8-4 as well.
Speaking of LSU, the Tigers were abused at home last November by Ole Miss, 31-13, rushing for just 37 yards. It’s doubtful they’ll be held to that low a number against a weaker Arkansas defense, but they’re now down to their fourth- string tailback with the latest injury to Keiland Williams. The senior is out for the year after getting hurt in last week’s incredible game against the Rebels, a loss that could carry over into this week’s game.
Arkansas will certainly not be scared of LSU. The Hogs have fared very well against the Tigers lately, winning the previous two meetings.
Last year, the Razorbacks prevailed, 31-30, holding Jordan Jefferson to just nine completions in his first career start. They also shut down the Tigers’ running game, limiting Charles Scott and Keiland Williams to a combined 74 yards.
Two years ago in Baton Rouge, Arkansas won in triple overtime over the eventual national champions, and back in ’05, lost by only two as 16.5-point underdogs.
After finishing with only five victories a year ago, the Razorbacks have a chance to win eight games in Petrino’s second season and they’ll do just that with the upset win over LSU.
Take Arkansas plus the points.
(NOTE: Arkansas-LSU graphic from the Fayetteville Flyer. Check out their Arkansas-LSU game article here).
Sports Illustrated’s George Schroeder writes in Inside College Football that Arkansas could potentially finish this season very strong. Read his article here.
Midway into Arkansas’ season, I thought it would be good to update my predictions on the rest of the season. I have picked every game with the exception of Georgia (who would have thunk it?). So here’s what I had for my updated season predictions as we go into the weekend against Ole Miss:
Oct. 24 at Mississippi – Arkansas pays Houston Nutt back for last year’s home loss, 35-28. Update: That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Oct. 31 Eastern Michigan – Arkansas wins 45-28. Update: That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Nov. 7 South Carolina – Tough game all the way around, Arkansas stumbles 28-27. Okay, this one is interesting. I really think it could go either way, but I’m updating my prediction and going with Arkansas, 30-21.
Nov. 14 Troy – Another shootout, but SEC strength brings it home 40-28.
Nov. 21 Mississippi State – Arkansas hits its stride and Mallett has his biggest passing game of the year, 48-21.
Nov. 28 at Louisiana State – Hogs can’t beat LSU three years in the row. Good effort, but lose 34-31.
Final Record: 8-4. Bowl bid secured, Petrino is redeemed and everyone looks at an even better 2010!
It certainly looks to be an exciting finish for the Hogs. Even if they stumble and lose two games against Ole Miss, South Carolina or Mississippi State, the absolute worse record for 2009 is 6-6 and they are still bowl bound!
Go Hogs!
ESPN’s Chris Low has some excellent observations on Week 2 of the SEC season. Direct link or below:
What we learned in the SEC: Week 2
September 13, 2009 11:30 AM
Posted by ESPN.com’s Chris Low
Auburn made a little history. Tennessee came crashing back down to reality and Georgia lived to see another day Saturday.
Here’s a look at what all we learned in the SEC in Week 2:
1. Auburn serves notice: Hey, this Gene Chizik guy has made a pretty big splash. In fact, of the three new head coaches in the league, he’s made the biggest splash, and he’s done it the old-fashioned way — by winning games. Auburn flattened Mississippi State 49-24 on Saturday night and rolled up more than 500 yards of total offense for the second straight week. It’s the first time since 1970 that Auburn has surpassed the 500-yard mark in back-to-back games. This is a team that’s improving weekly and a team that obviously knows how to put its opponent away. Auburn led Louisiana Tech 13-10 at the half last week, but set sail on a 24-3 run in the second half to win easily. And then Saturday, Mississippi State jumped out to a 17-14 lead midway through the second quarter, but Auburn scored four unanswered touchdowns to send the Bulldogs packing in the SEC opener for both teams. Here’s the most telling stat about what the Tigers have done: They scored six offensive touchdowns against Mississippi State. A year ago, they scored a total of seven offensive touchdowns in eight SEC games.
2. Alabama has options on offense: Sophomore running back Mark Ingram was already coming back from the flu and a bruised knee. Then on the opening drive against Florida International, Julio Jones bruised his right knee cap, while senior running back Roy Upchurch injured his ankle. No problem, though. The Crimson Tide unveiled freshman running back Trent Richardson in full, and he responded with 118 yards rushing. Mike McCoy got most of Jones’ snaps and finished with 100 yards in receptions, and junior quarterback Greg McElroy really looks comfortable standing in that pocket right now and throwing the ball. Everybody will keep an eye on Jones these next few days to see how his knee responds, but this appears to be a more diverse Alabama offense than a year ago.
3. Tennessee not ready for prime time: Now we know. Western Kentucky was just that bad. The Big Orange Nation was giddy with excitement over the Vols’ 63-7 season-opening win last week. But after watching the Vols play a real opponent and lose to UCLA 19-15 at home Saturday, reality quickly set in for the folks on Rocky Top. This is an average team that has a ways to go before it climbs back among the SEC’s elite. The offense doesn’t look any better than it did a year ago, although Monte Kiffin’s defense played valiantly. Lane Kiffin has a decision to make about senior quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who’s already thrown five interceptions in two games. Kiffin obviously lost any confidence he had in Crompton throwing the ball in the second half Saturday. How else do you explain those two up-the-middle-run calls by Kiffin down near the goal line in the final minutes?
4. Garcia finds his groove: Even though South Carolina didn’t win Saturday, sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia gave the Gamecocks hope for the future with the way he played. He showed some courage in the pocket, was a wizard at scrambling out of trouble and just generally grew up in South Carolina’s 41-37 loss at Georgia. It’s sort of what everybody has been waiting to see from Garcia ever since he came to South Carolina as a highly regarded prep quarterback out of Tampa, Fla., two years ago. He finished 31-of-53 for a career-high 313 yards and was intercepted just once. He also led the Gamecocks in rushing with 42 yards on 10 carries. If he’d only kept the ball on that final fourth-down play instead of trying to throw it, South Carolina might be 2-0 right now. Either way, if he continues to play this way the rest of the season, the Gamecocks are going to have a chance to win a lot of games.
5. Bulldogs aren’t dead yet: They were reading the last rites on Georgia’s season as South Carolina drove down the field in the final minutes Saturday. Who knows where an 0-2 start would have led the Bulldogs? Wherever that is, it wouldn’t have been a lot of fun. But by gutting out a 41-37 win, Georgia now heads to Arkansas this coming weekend with a little momentum. The Razorbacks have been pointing toward this game for the past couple of weeks. Even Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino admitted the Hogs worked on some Georgia stuff leading up to the opener against Missouri State, and they were off this past weekend. The Bulldogs will have to play better defensively, especially against the pass, if they’re going to win in Fayetteville. But they go into that game with some newfound confidence and do so 1-0 in the SEC.
Here’s ESPN’s SEC preview. No surprise here. It’s all about the Florida Gators. Can the Razorbacks play a spoiler roll en route to an 8-4 season? I think so!
Click on image above to play ESPN video.
The way I look at it, there is only one, possibly two games, on the 2009 Arkansas Razorback schedule that they have absolutely no chance to win. The first is Oct. 17 at Florida and the (possible) second is Nov. 28 at LSU.
Why? Florida is back and back in a big way. An undefeated season is entirely possible for the powerful Gators led by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.
LSU is another story. Arkansas will have the guns to beat the Tigers, but having won two straight and playing on LSU’s home turf will make it a tough proposition.
That being said, all other games on the Arkansas schedule are definitely winnable. Winnable, but certainly not easy. This is the SEC after all.
Here’s my supposition: Arkansas will unveil Petrino’s high octane offense in all it’s glory in 2009. Coach Petrino has brought all of the right pieces together to create one of the most exciting offenses ever to take the field in Fayetteville.
That being said, question marks still center around the offensive line and its protection of Ryan Mallett, the highly-touted transfer from Michigan. The way I see it, if Mallet gets good protection and plays the football he is capable of, Arkansas will put up a lot — and I mean a lot — of points.
Offense aside, the lowly defense has to get better if Arkansas is to have a chance against the powerful teams in the SEC. However, if the defense can play good enough and the offense is able to put up good numbers, the win column will stack up for the Hogs. Below are my game-by-game predictions:
Sep. 5 Missouri State – Arkansas sputters early, finishes big: 31-14.
Sep. 19 Georgia – Believe it or not, I think the Hogs can win this one, but it’s a shootout: 38-34.
Sep. 26 at Alabama – Arkansas plays hard, but stumbles at ‘Bama, losing 27-14.
Oct. 3 vs. Texas A&M @Dallas, TX – Interesting historic rivalry game. Hogs win: 30-21.
Oct. 10 Auburn – Hogs at home equals another win, 28-21.
Oct. 17 at Florida – Gators are unstoppable at home. Arkansas stays close for much of the game, then falls 38-21.
Oct. 24 at Mississippi – Arkansas pays Houston Nutt back for last year’s home loss, 35-28.
Oct. 31 Eastern Michigan – Arkansas wins 45-28.
Nov. 7 South Carolina – Tough game all the way around, Arkansas stumbles 28-27.
Nov. 14 Troy – Another shootout, but SEC strength brings it home 40-28.
Nov. 21 Mississippi State – Arkansas hits its stride and Mallett has his biggest passing game of the year, 48-21.
Nov. 28 at Louisiana State – Hogs can’t beat LSU three years in the row. Good effort, but lose 34-31.
Final Record: 8-4. Bowl bid secured, Petrino is redeemed and everyone looks at an even better 2010!
After a tremendous effort and win at Auburn, the season for the Hogs is looking up. Here’s a quote from an article from the Northwest Arkansas Times:
“Somehow a 3-3 mark overall and 1-2 record in SEC play doesn’t look quite as bad, considering in the latest Associated Press poll Texas is ranked No. 1, Alabama is No. 2 and Florida is No. 5. Most teams that played Arkansas’ schedule would have a identical record.”
Read the entire article here.
From Rice Hog's Photostream/Flickr
Having been an Arkansas Razorback fan practically all my life, I can’t just throw in the towel on the 2008-09 football season…not yet at least.
I refuse to concede that our beloved team will not be competitive against admittedly top-level football programs in and outside of the SEC.
Arkansas certainly has a capable coach (most still think so), the money, the fans, the facilities…but not the players? I refuse to accept that this year’s Hogs have no heart. If nothing else, they’re playing for pride now.
So what will happen Saturday? Another blow out at the hands of a Florida team looking for blood after being upset by Ole Miss? Or will Arkansas surprise everybody by fighting hard, using what it has and showing heart?
I choose to believe we will see a lot of heart that might just surprise the Gators.
Will the Razorbacks win? Probably not. But a good showing will go a long way to communicating to the Hog Nation that our team won’t quit without a fight.
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