Could rain work in Hogs’ favor against Ole Miss in LR?

Weather forecasts right now for War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Saturday night calls for rain starting in the middle of the afternoon and increasing to a 70 percent chance throughout the game.

That works to Arkansas’ advantage … at least that’s what I’m thinking right now.

Ole Miss’ defense is patchwork at best right now. They are scrambling to move a bunch of mediocre players into spots where they might have SOME kind of success.

The Razorbacks actually aren’t playing that bad on defense. Oh, I know Alabama put up a ton of yardage and points last week but, quite frankly, that may be the best college football offense in history.

It’s the best I’ve seen in person and I’ve seen just about every big-time offense in the last 47 years. The Crimson Tide have the best collection of talent playing a scheme that fits them about as well as any I’ve seen.

After playing Alabama, Texas A&M and Auburn the past three weeks, the Hogs have seen some pretty good attacks. Ole Miss’ offense managed to score 23 points combined against Alabama and LSU.

To point out the obvious, Arkansas hung 31 on the Tide last week.

And there is no comparison at all between Bama and Ole Miss defensively.

Now, on the rain issue. The Rebels ran for 265 against Alabama and LSU combined. They aren’t going to grind it out on the ground against the Hogs, who haven’t allowed 1,000 yards rushing combined in their first six games.

Arkansas just might be able to control the game on the ground. With a stable of healthy running backs against a defense that has more issues than a one-armed paper hanger trying to stop either the run or pass, Chad Morris might just try to run, run, run.

It is the easiest way to defend the Rebels’ high-flying offense. They can’t complete a single pass standing on the sidelines.

History is also on the side of the Hogs in this one.

Ole Miss should have won games in 2014, 2015, 2016 and last year. Instead, they haven’t won a single one of those games. Remember, in 2014 and 2015, the Rebels were headed to big-time seasons that ended in the Chik-fil-A Bowl and the Sugar Bowl and they lost to Arkansas.

Last year, they jumped out to a huge lead on the Hogs and couldn’t hold it, giving Bret Bielema his only league win in that big comeback.

Right now Ole Miss is a six to seven-point favorite in Las Vegas.

Which is usually the position that favors Arkansas. Especially in Little Rock and I don’t have enough time to list all of the upsets in Razorback history there, but it started with a monumental upset in 1954 of No. 1 Ole Miss.

We’ll see if history continues in Little Rock and I think it will.

Arkansas 51, Ole Miss 31

Last week saw the first loss for me in our little prediction contest in two weeks. Kentucky’s loss in overtime to Texas A&M was my only miss.

For the Hogs, I picked Alabama 59-24, so the final of 65-31 wasn’t that far off.

The record for the season is 53-6, right at 90 percent.

This week the league is all playing each other and the quick picks are Alabama over Missouri (that might be the case the rest of the year) and Florida over Vandy (although that one might be a little close after the Gators’ win over LSU last week).

Since I correctly tabbed Mississippi State’s win over Auburn last week, I’m allowed to pick Bulldogs’ games again but they have the week off and will be rooting for Arkansas against Ole Miss.

Tennessee at -15 Auburn

It would be shocking if the Vols could pull of a win here and I started to put it in the quick picks … until I saw the spread.

This game opened with the Tigers an 18-point favorite and it’s been bet down as low as 14 in some places.

I still have a feeling that may be too many.

Gus Malzahn has shown a remarkably relaxed view of his team’s lackluster start and Auburn fans are questioned why they gave him half of the university to not go to Arkansas.

Tennessee is a mess in Jeremy Pruitt’s first year, but this game just might be a little closer than what Vegas is showing.

Auburn 17, Tennessee 10

-7 Georgia at LSU

If this was a night game in Baton Rouge it would be a slam dunk upset pick, but it’s the afternoon CBS game and that’s the only reason I’m hesitating … a little.

I haven’t bought into the Bulldogs’ ranking this season. To me there are questions with the running game and I’m not sure they have looked as dominant in the first half of the season as you’d expect from a team with that ranking.

LSU has looked solid and played some of these close games already this year against Auburn and Florida.

I’m taking the Tigers in a game that’s not going to be a wild scoring affair, but maybe more points than some think.

LSU 24, Georgia 21

-2 Texas A&M at South Carolina

The Aggies lost to Clemson and Alabama before coming very close to dropping a home game against Kentucky last week.

This time they go on the road against a Gamecocks’ team that put up token resistance against Georgia and Kentucky.

But it is a night game in Columbia in one of the best environments in all of college football regardless of South Carolina’s record.

I’ll go out on a limb here and pick the Gamecocks in an upset

South Carolina 27, Texas A&M 24