C&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
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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