FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — I’m pretty sure Arkansas didn’t plan on a horrific start to this season, but that’s exactly the way the Razorbacks have played through the first five games. There’s not much of a different way to call a 2-3 start anything else without a win over a Power 5 team.
Never mind last week’s faceplant in Arlington against Texas A&M. Don’t quote me the final score because the Aggies didn’t really make that big of an effort to score. That looked and felt like a four-touchdown blowout and I don’t really care how you want to spin it. That 34-22 final probably should have been at least 41 because the officials didn’t give them a score on that push at the end.
What did it do to the psychology of the Razorbacks, though? Don’t read the quote sheet from the press conferences this week. Sam Pittman can’t really say much else other than positive things and the players were coached to basically say the same things. Very, very rarely do you ever hear clues in those things to indicate anybody’s letting it carry over.
Tonight we’ll find out, though. Ole Miss might have a letdown, though, after winning a shootout against LSU in Oxford last week and having students rush the field with a security guy throwing weak blocks without a lot of footwork and knocking students, including a co-ed, to the ground.
The Hogs are still trying to figure out where everybody should line up in the offensive line. It’s a mess and playing musical chairs there might just be so the coaches can say they are trying to do SOMETHING. It may be lke thinking a mule can do better in the Kentucky Derby moving to a different starting spot.
Now there are questions of depth in the secondary with Dwight McGlothern probably not going to play much tonight or certainly at full strength. He was limping around at practices this week and Pittman wasn’t hopeful.
The Hogs probably don’t want to get in a shootout with the Rebels, who seem to have things figured out there and Jaxson Dart starting to play up to all the hoopla surrounding him being a highly-rated recruit originally, going to USC. And Lane Kiffin is about as good as anybody in the business at finding the matchups in favor of his team.
(-13) Ole Miss 34, Hogs 24
Around the SEC, Pete picked his usual collection losers and accused me of running scared with the huge lead he forfeited to me. Uh, no, He will continue his chances because, really, what option is he left with as we get near the halfway point of the season and if he sent up smoke flares I couldn’t see that far in the rearview mirror.
LSU (-6) at Missouri: LSU collapsed in the fourth quarter last week and there’s not really a better way to describe it. Brian Kelly probably knows it, too. We’ll see if he can get them re-grouped before whatever mildly interested fans show up for the game in Columbia, Mo. LSU 31, Missouri 17
Western Michigan at Mississippi State: The Bulldogs should have a breather in this one. They need it because it hasn’t been a good year, but they are getting better. If they can put up points for a change, this one should be fairly easy. If it goes sideways and ends up being one of those shocking upsets, it may be a long year in Starkville. Bulldogs 38, West Michigan 10
Alabama (-2) at Texas A&M: If the Aggies hand the Crimson Tide a loss, there won’t be a fistfight at midfield between two West Virginia hillbillies, but it will be short and quick. Nick Saban won’t be mad at the Aggies, but his own team will have a quiet flight back to Tuscaloosa and the offensive coordinator probably won’t be e-mailing students. A&M was the sleeper pick for Zach Arns on Ruscin & Zach and I agree. They have a pile of talent there, especially on the defensive line as the Hogs saw last week. Welcome to a surprise. Aggies 27, Crimson Tide 24 (and they will probably take it out on the Hogs next week).
Vanderbilt at Florida (-18): When you have a mismatch, don’t sit around trying to over-think the whole thing. The Gators are better than a lot of people think (probably not championship-level), but the Commodores are as bad as everyone knows. Florida 42, Vanderbilt 14
Kentucky at Georgia (-14): The betting line is probably close to accurate in this one. A lot of people are hoping the Bulldogs’ dominance the last couple of years is coming to an end, but at the halfway point if Kirby Smart is going to get it figured out, he probably will in this game. The Wildcats may be set up for the kill. Bulldogs 31, Wildcats 17
