FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The doomsday scenario I painted back in the summer for Arkansas’ schedule has arrived.
When I wrote for Sports Illustrated the biggest game that might determine a bowl game for the Razorbacks was the Memphis game that may have been more accurate than I thought. In my view if they lost that game it could cause a big slide.
That’s exactly what has happened.
Now they get ready to play an Auburn team that hasn’t won an SEC game, either. They have had three games where they had legitimate shots to win, but have managed to screw it up every time.
Some might be put off to officials’ calls, but that seldom in the absolute deciding factor. You have a lot of other plays that didn’t help them to even be in that position.
While the Hogs took advantage of the whopping loss to Notre Dame and fired Sam Pittman, Auburn can’t seem to figure out what to do with Hugh Freeze. The odds aren’t great that he’s going to be able to survive much short of a strong run here at the end of the season.
It could be as early as Sunday if they lose to Arkansas.
This game has a interesting matchup where each team’s strength will be on the field at the same time as well as each team’s weakness.
Simply put, that means the Hogs’ offense will face the Tigers’ defense and it’s a pretty good one. They didn’t get run over by Georgia until they simply ran out of gas in the fourth quarter because they had better depth on offense than Auburn had on defense.
A lot of Razorback fans and media like to point at the final score and have hope, but Texas A&M was clearly going to be able to answer every challenge the Hogs threw at them.
The bottom line analysis on this one could simply go either way. I can make an argument for either team to win, but this one the home field might be the difference and hope the rain doesn’t get too bad.
Give the Hogs their first SEC win, but remember Mississippi State had a league win in a year they were 1-7, but that was over Arkansas in Fayetteville. Hogs 42, Auburn 35
Around the rest of the league, Pete was uncommonly quiet just wishing me good luck. As a former Lumberjack, we like winning so I hope he misses his upset special.
SEC Picks
(8) Ole Miss at (13) Oklahoma – The Sooners are a good team, but the Rebels are much better. The only thing they’ve got to resolve is the defense tends to lose focus at times for whatever reason and games end up being much closer than they should be. Or even, like against Georgia, result in a loss. Lane Kiffin just doesn’t want that game to cost them a second one. Rebels by 6.
(4) Alabama at South Carolina – In a normal year, this would be a Good Grief game. This is anything but a normal year. The SEC has turned into a junior varsity NFL league and almost every game seems to be coming down to the last possession. Crimson Tide by 12.
(15) Missouri at (10) Vanderbilt – It’s about time for the Commodores to have a stumble. They really haven’t done that much this year while the Tigers have been impressive at times. The win over Auburn didn’t come easy, but then I didn’t really think it ever would be. Something says stay with them this week. Mizzou by 4.
(22) Texas at Mississippi State – The Longhorns seem to play up to or down to the level of nearly every team they’ve played this year. Beating Oklahoma showed what they are good at doing. The Bulldogs just can’t seem to find a way to win a game. Yes, they’ve improved, but they haven’t figured out how to finish an SEC game against the hardest part of their schedule. Longhorns by 7.
(3) Texas A&M at (20) LSU – Somehow, Pete thinks this is going to be an upset and I wouldn’t be completely shocked if that happened. I’ve listened to some incredible LSU upsets for 60 years. Nobody saw them coming then and hardly anybody would see it coming Saturday night, but something just keeps nagging at me this might be a very special year for A&M. A&M by 3.
(17) Tennessee at Kentucky – This should be a comfortable win for Josh Heupel, who needs a big performance. It’s tempting to predict a blowout here, but the Wildcats seem to keep coming up with a way to at least keep hope alive for their fans. They are due to run out of gas needing a top off to finish the season. Vols by 13.
