SEC 2009 // Fayetteville's Future
by cocknfire on Jun 25, 2009 3:00 AM EDT
in SEC Football
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PrintC&F's predictions for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Finish: 4th, SEC West
General: I've said before that I wasn't completely sold on the Hogs, and I might have been at least a little bit wrong. Arkansas will be significantly better this year than last, and will be qualitatively better than at least five other teams in the SEC. The problem is that they only play two of those teams during the season, and one of them I've already de facto labeled a possible loss in an earlier post. Arkansas is going to have to win a lot of games this year by scoring 30 or 40 points, which is generally not a recipe for success in the SEC, especially against the fearsome schedule they face. I would pick them to win maybe eight games if it weren't for that schedule.
More specific: Obviously, the old Mississippi State pick is one that I might like to have back, but it's on the record. Nonetheless, that would be one of the games I would look for the Hogs to possibly pick up. South Carolina comes to Arkansas -- if the Razorbacks do indeed lose to the Western Division Bulldogs, that could be one Arkansas wins to put its record back together. With the Georgia game, I'm pre-emptively picking an upset; the Dawgs come to Fayetteville after traveling to Oklahoma State and playing an always-tight game against South Carolina. After the Hogs, Georgia returns to Athens for Arizona State and LSU. For a young offensive team still trying to find an identity, that's just too much to ask. In any case, Arkansas will win at least two out of the three (Gamecocks, Dawgs and Bulldogs).
Game-specific:
9.5 :: vs. Missouri State (Little Rock) :: WIN
9.19 :: vs. Georgia :: POSSIBLE WIN
9.26 :: at Alabama :: PROBABLE LOSS
10.3 :: vs. Texas A&M (Arlington, TX) :: PROBABLE WIN
10.10 :: vs. Auburn :: POSSIBLE WIN
10.17 :: at Florida :: LOSS
10.24 :: at Ole Miss :: LIKELY LOSS
10.31 :: vs. Eastern Michigan :: WIN
11.7 :: vs. South Carolina :: PUSH
11.14 :: vs. Troy :: LIKELY WIN
11.21 :: vs. Mississippi State (Little Rock) :: POSSIBLE LOSS
11.28 :: at LSU :: POSSIBLE LOSS
Final record: 7-5, 3-5 SEC
--
MONDAY: Arkansas Rebuilds with Offense
TUESDAY: The Arkansas Agenda; Darren McFadden is Still Unfair; Bobby Petrino's 'Stock Speech'
WEDNESDAY: Hog Holdovers
TODAY: Predictions
FRIDAY: Feedback and Conclusions
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Likely?
Over Troy? Come on man, give us more credit than that.
There are few teams I would give a certain win there
Troy’s a good Sun Belt program. Granted, that’s not saying a lot, but the Trojans are one of the consistently better lower-tier mid-majors. One of these years, they’re going to upset someone, so I wouldn’t put them down as a sure bet for anyone. Except maybe Florida. Maybe.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
They already have that win.
Oklahoma State in 07 at Troy.. Last year they were smoked by 31 in Stillwater. Blakeney is doing a good job there, but come on.
7-5 Sounds About Right
So much, I think, depends upon how well the defense has matured into the system that they are running. Not holding anyone under twenty-one points last year was what killed us more than anything. And you have to hope to see significant improvement in special teams. I think John L. Smith can bring that to us. It certainly deserved more attention last year. Better late than never, I guess. I respect Mark Richt on the road, so I see the three SEC wins being Auburn, South Carolina, and Miss. State. But would love to get a victory over Georgia to start the season! Georgia, I would say is more a possible loss than Miss. State is. We have a history of dominating the Starkville Bulldogs (have never won a game in the state of Arkansas) but not the Athens kind (which has never lost a game in Arkansas).
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