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There's still a little bit of intrigue in this game, if you ask me, for no other reason than the fact that we know that Gus Malzahn and Bret Bielema really don't like each other. They've tried to be diplomatic in recent months, but the back-and-forth over the safety concerns (or lack thereof) with hurry-up offenses doesn't appear to have completely gone away.
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What has faded is the memory of Gus Malzahn as an offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks. He was in Fayetteville for one season years ago; since then, he was the successful offensive coordinator on the Plains, the head coach at Arkansas State and, now, the top man at Auburn. And Arkansas' offense, no matter how it might change and evolve over the next few years, is still likely to focus primarily on the ground game as long as Bielema is the coach.
The interesting things to look for in this game? One will be just how good the Razorbacks look in general. Last year's maiden SEC voyage for Bielema, who's still trying to convert this team from a Bobby Petrino-style offense to something that will likely resemble what his team ran at Wisconsin, was not encouraging. This year's team should be better, but maybe not so much better that they can scare up enough wins to go to a bowl game. And probably not so much better that they can beat Auburn. But pushing Auburn would at least back up the idea of progress.
For Auburn, we can see what their offense looks like without Tre Mason (and, every so briefly, without Nick Marshall). We could also get a sense of whether Ellis Johnson's defense is going to be any better than last year's edition. If all goes well on those fronts, then we'll have our first indications of whether Auburn's preseason buzz is warranted.
Game Time: 4 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN