It was a quiet football week for Arkansas, as the Hogs had a much-needed open date to get healthy for the stretch run.
We should get an update on the health of many injured Razorbacks either Sunday or Monday. Myles Slusher, Jayden Johnson, and Malik Chavis are the biggest concerns, as all three either didn’t play or left the BYU game due to injury. Barry Odom has had an open week to assess his defense’s health and decide whether or not to continue trying to play with four-man fronts or revert back to the three-man front.
Offensively, we expect to see the Hogs be more aggressive moving forward, as we discussed in our open date stats study. That means more first-down passing and, most likely, more power runs.
Scores of Note
South Carolina 30, Texas A&M 24. So, the Aggies are going to make a bowl, right? Because looking at the remaining schedule, I’m not sure it’s a guarantee. Texas A&M and their $95 million man are 3-4. They should beat UMass, but they’ll need to go 2-2 against Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, and LSU just to reach six wins. That’s not a guarantee by any stretch. South Carolina, meanwhile, is somehow 5-2. Their remaining schedule is quite difficult, but they should be bowling again.
Liberty 41, BYU 14. This was an eye-popping score, especially considering that the Flames were playing their fourth-string quarterback, and original starter Charlie Brewer should be healthy by the time Liberty arrives in Fayetteville. Liberty is a very shaky 7-1 – they needed four overtimes to beat Southern Miss and struggled with UAB, Akron, and Gardner-Webb – but they are 7-1 nonetheless. They have a strong defense, but if their offense is as improved as it looked in this one, the Hogs will be in for a fight.
LSU 45, Ole Miss 20. The Rebels jumped up 17-3 in Baton Rouge, and then the Tigers outscored them 42-3 the rest of the way. We already knew Ole Miss’s defense was bad, but LSU exposed the offensive line as well. If Ole Miss can’t run the ball or protect the quarterback, their offense can be shut down. LSU continues to look scary. They have a strong defense and a chaotic offense. As long as they get out of their own way (wild mistakes doomed them against Tennessee and Florida State) they can beat anybody. Yes, that includes Alabama in a couple weeks.
Alabama 30, Mississippi State 6. State scored as the clock expired in the fourth quarter for the first touchdown against Alabama of the Mike Leach era. The three final scores of Leach-versus-Saban have been 41-0, 49-9, and 30-6. As long as Leach is in Starkville, there will be games on the schedule that are simply unwinnable for the Bulldogs. This is one of them. (No shame in that, by the way, Alabama is 85-18 all-time against State, so success against the Tide should not be the standard for MSU coaches.)
Missouri 17, Vanderbilt 14. The SEC Pillowfight of the Year lived up to expectations. Mizzou’s bowl hopes are still alive. They should beat New Mexico State, but they’ll need to go 2-2 against a conference finish of South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. There’s a very good shot they’ll be 5-6 heading into the season finale against the Hogs.
Northern Iowa 41, Missouri State 20. Just thought we’d check on Bobby Petrino and the formerly-5th-ranked Bears. It’s not going great! Missouri State is now on a five-game losing streak with this loss. The good news is that 0-7 Western Illinois and 1-6 Indiana State are still on the schedule, but I definitely did not expect a Petrino offense to be completely shut down by the rush-3, drop-8 zone defense, which is what everyone is doing to the Bears now.
Cincinnati 29, SMU 27. The Bearcats had to hold off a late 2-point try by SMU to get to 6-1. They’re not winning with style, but they are winning. The season finale against 7-1 Tulane will likely determine who is the best Group of Five team in the country.
Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow us on Twitter.
The latest from Fayette Villains, straight to your inbox
Enter your email to subscribe and receive new post alerts and other updates. You can unsubscribe at any time.