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It is going to be quite a first year run for Head Coach Bret Bielema and one that the Arkansas Razorbacks fans will get to witness first hand as the Hogs will play seven home games in 2013.
That’s right. Seven. Five will be on campus in Fayetteville and two will be at War Memorial in Little Rock to keep all the old booster money folks happy.
“The 2013 schedule provides match-ups against some of the other marquee college football programs in the nation,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. “With seven home games in the state of Arkansas, Razorback fans will have the opportunity to see key SEC games as well as non-conference match-ups featuring first time football opponents. As we continue in the process of working alongside the Southeastern Conference to outline future conference schedules, we are pleased we were able to put together a competitive and compelling 2013 schedule for our program and our fans.”
A bland statement by Long as he is totally downplaying how perfect this sets up things for Arkansas to get the ball back rolling.
Kicking the season off in Fayetteville will be the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns followed the next week with a game in Little Rock against the Samford Bulldogs before returning back home to Fayetteville to host the South Miss Eagles. So for the fun of it let’s say the Razorbacks are 3-0 at this point before hitting the road to get a little revenge against the Rutgers Scarlet Knight. That makes Arkansas 4-0 before it welcomes Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies. Could it be possible Arkansas could pull the upset? The answer is yes, it’s possible, but its only about 30 percent likely at this point.
Win or lose, the season is far from over as the hopscotch begins for the Hogs as they travel to face the Florida Gators and then return to Fayetteville to face the South Carolina Gamecocks. So let’s say Arkansas is 1-1 in those games, 5-2 overall and 1-2 in the SEC.
And that means the Razorbacks would only need three wins in the final five to get to that eight win mark. Two of those final five are at home against the Auburn Tigers in Fayetteville and the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the final home game and the next to last game of the season in Little Rock. That is two wins they can get.
But to get to that magical number eight, Arkansas is going to have to pull the upset in one of its three final road games. And that will not be an easy task against the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Ole Miss Rebels and its hated rival in the LSU Tigers to close out the 2013 regular season.
The Razorbacks usually have a bullet or two every year to pull the upset no one sees coming. And with the commitment to defense under Randy Shannon and the fire of Bielema, Arkansas will find a way to get eight wins. You heard it hear first.
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M Shannon Smallwood is a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the US Basketball Writers Association.
Follow him @woodysmalls.
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