ANDY’S PICKS: Hogs’ opener should let people get over it early

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Time flies when you’re having fun, they say, and apparently there is some truth to that. When Pete Morgan sent his picks in, I looked it up and this is now the seventh straight year of our little contest.

He may have won one time. Usually it’s over before the mid-point of the season and nobody really keeps meticulous records. Arkansas’ season-opener with UAPB down in Little Rock at War Memorial Stadium will mark the beginning of the eighth year of HitThatLine with ESPN Arkansas.

I have no idea if this is the highlight of the year for anybody other than Pete, who usually gets down in this thing early, then starts having to gamble on some picks before Halloween and the whole thing ends up in a gigantic wreck. But he gets another shot starting this week.

This week, there are some really good games around the SEC. The Razorbacks hosting the Golden Lions in a stadium that’s three-quarters of a century old ain’t one of them.

No, I’m not going to throw UAPB under the bus. They are coached by a fellow Lumberjack in Alonzo Hampton and we might argue in private, nobody else is allowed to jump into the fight. He’s doing the best he can with what he’s got, but he doesn’t have the same number of scholarships or types of players the Hogs have.

The last time these two teams played was 2021 and the coaches agreed at halftime to just let the clock run like the mercy rule in high school sports for the second half of a 45-3 blowout. It was 45-0 at halftime.

Unfortunately, this one may be about the same way or there will be questions. Heading into a game with Oklahoma State next weekend.

Everybody has certain things they are looking to see, just keep in mind they have probably faced better competition in the scrimmages in fall camp than they will see on the field tonight. Personally, I’m just hoping nobody gets injured in this game they will need next week over in Stillwater. That’s when we will find out a whole lot more.

We can only discover a lot of things that need to be fixed. That’s not good, but it does count as a win and that will probably be needed when we get to November and trying to get in a bowl game.

Arkansas 45, UAPB 7

Now we get around to the rest of the SEC. Some teams are scheduling rent-a-wins while others are really challenging their teams. Some may be interesting, but most will only be newsmakers if something bad happens.

Murray State at (11) Missouri: The Tigers are looking for a big season and Eli Drinkwitz has them riding high on the radar. We won’t know a whole lot after this one with the Racers, who don’t have the same players. Missouri 48, Murray State 7

Temple at (16) Oklahoma: Now we get to another newcomer to the SEC and the Sooners are my sleeper team in the league. They should be much better than most people give them credit for having right now. They also have a tradition of winning. We’re not going into how they won, the record is what it is. Razorback fans would take it. Oklahoma 56, Temple 10

Virginia Tech at Vanderbilt: Oh, good grief. Virginia Tech 35, Vanderbilt 10

(14) Clemson at (1) Georgia: This might be a better game for November than opening, but we’ll find out this year if Dabo Sweeney has the Tigers back ready for prime time or if he might start checking where he wants to live full time. We know what Kirby Smart will have with the Bulldogs. Georgia 24, Clemson 21

Chattanooga at (15) Tennessee: Nobody in the Volunteer State is wanting to open the season with a big game, apparently. Tennessee 63, Chattanooga 13

Colorado State at (4) Texas: After a mild panic for the Longhorns’ faithful that didn’t notice the State at the end, this one should be fairly easy. There might be a touchdown difference if Deion Sanders was coming to town, but he’s at a different school in that state. We probably won’t know if Texas is back from this one. Texas 59, Colorado State 17

(19) Miami at Florida: We know it’s a slim week when this may be the most intriguing game on the SEC schedule. Billy Napier is widely thought to be on his way out the door and the Hurricane are supposed to be on the verge of racing to the top. This one may give us an indication both ways, but something nagging at me the Gators may not be that terrible. Florida 20, Miami 17

Old Dominion at South Carolina: Easy one for the Gamecocks. South Carolina 42, Old Dominion 7

Eastern Kentucky at Mississippi State: Jeff Lebby should get off to a hot start, but let’s not make a lot of firm judgements after it. Mississippi State 45, Eastern Kentucky 10

WKU at (5) Alabama: Apparently the whole state of Kentucky wants to come to the South for a payday in the opener. It helps the budget the rest of the year. Alabama 52, Western Kentucky 13

Furman at (6) Ole Miss: Rebels have no problem with this one and we may have a shutout. Ole Miss 56, Furman 3

Alabama A&M at Auburn: This one may be as bad as the Hogs playing a team out of the SWAC. Auburn 42, Alabama A&M 6

(7) Notre Dame at (20) Texas A&M: While a lot of people are dismissing this, I don’t think it’s going to be as wide as many are thinking. The Aggies may pull out a win in Mike Elko’s opener, but I’m not ready to go out on that limb yet. Notre Dame 21, Texas A&M 20

Southern Miss at Kentucky: This one may be interesting for a half or so. If the Wildcats don’t run away in the second half, well, we have an indicator of a problem. Kentucky 27, Southern Miss 14

(23) Southern California at (13) LSU: There was a time the coach of the Trojans was supposed to be headed to Baton Rouge before making a sudden turn and ending up in Los Angeles. If USC gets a win here, there will be more questions at LSU than anywhere else. But, remember, a loss in the opener doesn’t kill the rest of the season with 12 teams in the playoffs now. LSU 35, USC 27