Football
Democrat-Gazette’s Tom Murphy on how Missouri State made it close
Former coach Bobby Petrino took advantage of the summer and an extra day of preparation to give Bears a chance.
| Thu, Aug 29 |  | vs UAPB (Little Rock) | W, 70-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | @ Oklahoma State | L, 31-39 2OT |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | vs UAB | W, 37-27 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | @ Auburn | W, 24-14 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Texas A&M (Arl) | L, 21-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | vs Tennessee | W, 19-14 |
| Sat, Oct 19 |  | vs LSU | L, 34-10 |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | @ Mississippi State | W, 58-25 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | vs Ole Miss | L, 63-31 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Texas | 11:00 AM |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | vs Louisiana Tech | TBD ESPN+/SECN+ |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | @ Missouri | TBD |
| Following is the Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll including the Overall Top 10, the top five in Classes 7A, 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A, plus the top three in the 8-man division, as voted by a panel of sports media from around the state for the week ending August 24. Ranking is given with first-place votes received, records, total points and ranking from last week's poll: | ||||
| OVERALL | Record | Pts | Prv | |
| 1. | Bryant (19) | 9-0 | 271 | 1 |
| 2. | Conway (7) | 9-0 | 252 | 2 |
| 3. | Greenwood (2) | 9-0 | 221 | 3 |
| 4. | Little Rock Parkview | 8-1 | 180 | 4 |
| 5. | Bentonville | 6-3 | 157 | 5 |
| 6. | Benton | 8-1 | 138 | 6 |
| 7. | Fayetteville | 7-2 | 105 | 7 |
| 8. | Pulaski Academy | 7-2 | 97 | 8 |
| 9. | Rogers | 6-3 | 38 | 9 |
| 10. | Mountain Home | 8-1 | 29 | — |
| Others receiving votes: Joe T Robinson 12, Elkins 7, LR Catholic 7, Shiloh Christian 7, Valley View 7, Cabot 6, Marion 4, LR Christian 1. | ||||
| CLASS 7A | ||||
| 1. | Bryant (21) | 9-0 | 133 | 1 |
| 2. | Conway (7) | 9-0 | 119 | 2 |
| 3. | Bentonville | 6-3 | 78 | 3 |
| 4. | Fayetteville | 7-2 | 50 | 4 |
| 5. | Pulaski Academy | 7-2 | 33 | 5 |
| Others receiving votes: Rogers 7. | ||||
| CLASS 6A | ||||
| 1. | Greenwood (28) | 9-0 | 140 | 1 |
| 2. | Benton | 8-1 | 112 | 2 |
| 3. | Mountain Home | 8-1 | 77 | 5 |
| 4. | Shiloh Christian | 6-3 | 35 | 3 |
| 5. | Little Rock Catholic | 8-1 | 28 | — |
| Others receiving votes: Marion 24. | ||||
| CLASS 5A | ||||
| 1. | Little Rock Parkview (27) | 8-1 | 139 | 1 |
| 2. | Joe T. Robinson | 8-1 | 102 | 2 |
| 3. | Valley View (1) | 9-0 | 94 | 3 |
| 4. | Farmington | 8-1 | 43 | 5 |
| 5. | Hot Springs Lakeside | 7-2 | 21 | 4 |
| Others receiving votes: Camden Fairview 8, Harding Academy 8, Morrilton 3, Vilonia 1. | ||||
| CLASS 4A | ||||
| 1. | Elkins (18) | 9-0 | 129 | 1 |
| 2. | Little Rock Mills (4) | 9-0 | 75 | 3 |
| 3. | Arkadelphia (3) | 7-2 | 71 | 2 |
| 4. | Warren | 7-2 | 59 | 4 |
| 5. | Malvern (3) | 9-0 | 48 | 5 |
| Others receiving votes: Dardanelle 18, Southside Batesville 13, Mena 6, Highland 1. | ||||
| CLASS 3A | ||||
| 1. | Bismarck (11) | 9-0 | 108 | 1 |
| Fordyce (11) | 9-0 | 108 | 2 | |
| 3. | Osceola (3) | 7-1 | 65 | 4 |
| 4. | Prescott (2) | 8-1 | 60 | 3 |
| 5. | Booneville (1) | 8-1 | 27 | 5 |
| Others receiving votes: Mansfield 20, Rivercrest 20, Charleston 4, Rison 9, Mayflower 3. | ||||
| CLASS 2A | ||||
| 1. | Carlisle (24) | 9-0 | 135 | 1 |
| 2. | Conway Christian (3) | 9-0 | 110 | 2 |
| 3. | Bigelow (1) | 7-2 | 72 | 4 |
| 4. | Murfreesboro | 7-2 | 53 | 5 |
| 5. | Des Arc | 7-2 | 28 | 3 |
| Others receiving votes: East Poinsett County 8, Marked Tree 4, Cross County 3, Poyen 3, Junction City 2, Mount Ida 2. | ||||
| 8-MAN SANCTIONED | ||||
| 1. | Strong-Huttig (27) | 5-0 | 83 | 1 |
| 2. | Midland (1) | 8-0 | 54 | 2 |
| 3. | Cedar Ridge | 8-1 | 27 | 3 |
| Others receiving votes: Woodlawn 4. | ||||