“The Week Ahead” is our weekly Monday Tuesday, due to hoops piece, covering any relevant news from the weekend and taking a first look at all the games coming up this weekend.
News of Note
Slusher and Brown will not play against LSU. We’re late on this bit of news, but Myles Slusher and Anthony Brown will not play against LSU after being charged with disorderly conduct on Saturday night near Dickson Street. Needless to say, the loss of Slusher is going to make it harder for the Razorback to upset the Tigers.
LSU opens as 2-point favorites. Vegas seems to be expecting a monster hangover by LSU as the Tigers come off a 32-31 win over Alabama. Les Miles’ teams usually played poorly the week after Alabama (2014 and 2015 come to mind), but Ed Orgeron’s didn’t. We’ll see how Brian Kelly’s team looks on Saturday.
Who’s going to step up for the Hogs? After another bad performance against an inferior opponent – this time resulting in a loss – Sam Pittman has admitted that this team lacks leadership, writes Andrew Hutchinson at Best of Arkansas Sports. Schematically, the offensive line’s inability to block Liberty’s very simple twists that we did a deep dive into in the Box Score Breakdown points to a lack of preparedness and focus. With three tough games left, things like “leadership”, “preparedness”, and “focus” are really not what you want to be searching for, but that’s where the Hogs are right now.
At least it’s basketball season… and the Hoop Hogs are 1-0. Our first Box Score Breakdown of basketball season is now up on the site. The Razorbacks host Fordham on Friday.
Games of Note
Mizzou at Tennessee. The Vols are looking to bounce back, while Mizzou would fall to 4-6 with a loss, pinning their bowl hopes on the season finale against Arkansas.
Vanderbilt at Kentucky. This game will also happen.
South Carolina at Florida. The Gamecocks are bowl-eligible and probably had this game circled as a must-have if they want to improve on last year’s 7-6 mark. Spencer Rattler versus Anthony Richardson should be a fun battle of good-but-insanely-overhyped quarterbacks.
Texas A&M at Auburn. I am very excited for this game. Both teams have to win out to make a bowl. The thought of Jimbo Fisher actually not making a bowl with that contract is just crazy. I think Cadillac Williams has Auburn fired up, but the result probably comes down to A&M’s remaining level of buy-in.
Georgia at Mississippi State. This is actually a pretty dangerous letdown chance for Georgia. State is good enough to cause some problems, especially in Starkville.
Watch These
LSU at Arkansas (11 am, ESPN). It was all there, a chance for a major showdown. Instead, the Hogs lost to Liberty and this game lost most of its luster. I’m not counting the Hogs out, and you shouldn’t either, but LSU has been rapidly improving this season and will be tough to beat unless they have a letdown after last week’s emotional win.
Alabama at Ole Miss (2:30 pm, CBS). On the one hand, Ole Miss’s defense is really bad, and its offensive line isn’t very good either. On the other hand, this Alabama team is a major disappointment. Offensive line, receivers, and secondary – all normally Saban strengths – have been weaknesses this season. Could we actually see a three-loss Tide before the Iron Bowl?
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