2010 Arkansas Razorback Football Schedule and Predictions.
It's finally time to start paying attention to the Arkansas Razorback
football schedule for 2010! Excitement is at an all time high for the
upcoming season. The Razorbacks bring back an experienced football team
ready to battle heads up in the SEC with anyone on their schedule.
| Date |
Opponent |
Location |
| Sept. 4 |
Tennessee Tech |
Fayetteville |
| Sept. 11 |
Louisiana-Monroe |
Little Rock |
| Sept. 18 |
Georgia |
Athens, Ga. |
| Sept. 25 |
Alabama |
Fayetteville |
| Oct. 9 |
Texas A&M |
Arlington, Tex. |
| Oct. 16 |
Auburn |
Auburn, Ala. |
| Oct. 23 |
Ole Miss |
Fayetteville |
| Oct. 30 |
Vanderbilt |
Fayetteville |
| Nov. 6 |
South Carolina |
Columbia, S.C. |
| Nov. 13 |
Texas-El Paso |
Fayetteville |
| Nov. 20 |
Mississippi State |
Starkville, Miss. |
| Nov. 27 |
LSU |
Little Rock |
So let's take a look at the Arkansas Razorback football
schedule with an eye towards predicting how the season will go.
Conventional SEC football wisdom says you always favor the team with
the most experience coming back - with extra credit for returning skill
position players.
We need to qualify that by saying the
assumption there is that your talent level is at least close to the
other teams. For the most part, the Razorbacks can now say exactly
that.
Losses From 2009 Arkansas Razorback Football Schedule.What went wrong - and why it should be different this year.
Georgia
- This was the first SEC game for several Razorbacks - including
Ryan Mallet and most of the defensive secondary. Having the starting
middle linebacker (and play caller for the defense) ejected early in
the game didn't help.
Georgia exploited all those weaknesses
but still had to rely on near miraculous passing by Joe Cox to win the
game. He should probably send Christmas cards to the Arkansas defensive
backs for that.
Georgia returns to this year's Arkansas
Razorback football schedule with a new quarterback and a new defensive
scheme to learn. That's not a recipe for success in the SEC! Arkansas
has a bigger, stronger, faster D-line, along with more depth and
experience in the secondary for this year.
Mallet has a year
in the SEC behind him now, and will return with a much more experienced
and deeper offensive line. The running backs and receivers know what to
expect now, and the new pistol formation should help the running game
even more. Prediction - Arkansas Win
Alabama
- This is really the only game that Arkansas just wasn't competitive in
last year. Alabama loses most of the starters on the defense from last
year - but they bring the offense back intact. There's no doubt the
defensive replacements will be good - but there's still no substitute
for experience in the SEC.
We look for the Razorbacks to be much
more of a challenge for the Tide this year. If the Arkansas O-line can
buy Mallet a few more seconds in the pocket, that can put a lot more
pressure on the young Alabama secondary.
Unfortunately, Greg
McElroy and his offense scored easily and often on the Hog defense.
There aren't many reasons to expect that to change much this year.
We're afraid the gap is just too wide for the Razorbacks to
close in one season. Prediction - Alabama Win
Florida
- Traded for Vanderbilt for the 2010 Arkansas Razorback football
schedule. Vandy has a stout defense but not much offense to go with it. Prediction - Arkansas Win
Ole Miss
- Arkansas had a poor performance on both sides of the ball last year
in Oxford. But the Rebels lose most of their offense this year. They
will have an inexperienced QB - no matter who it is. The Mississippi
defense will be strong once again, although some key players are gone.
A
record setting number of dropped passes killed the Hog offense last
year. They should be much more comfortable in Fayetteville and a run
game should at least be visible this year.
The defense had no
answer for Dexter McCluster last year, but fortunately the only place
they'll see him this year is on TV in the NFL. Prediction - Arkansas Win
LSU
- The usual toe to toe slug fest last year. The Tigers eked out an OT
win with a field goal in Baton Rouge. LSU will have a good defense
again this year. But their last place offense will also return with
even less depth than last year.
But according to this year's
Arkansas Razorback football Schedule, the Bayou Bengals will have to
travel to Little Rock. Home field advantage has always mattered in this
series, and it will this time too. Prediction - Arkansas Win
Wins From 2009 Arkansas Razorback Football Schedule.What went right - and why it should again this year.
Texas A&M
- The Aggies were dominated on both sides of the ball in Dallas last
year. The Razorbacks made a disturbing number of mistakes, but A&M
didn't have the firepower to capitalize.
We don't see any reason
to think that the Aggies have closed the gap significantly on the Hogs.
If anything, the Razorbacks look to show more improvement than the
Texas team. Prediction - Arkansas Win
Auburn - Last
year's game was an easy win for Arkansas, in spite of dire predictions
otherwise by the national media. Granted, the War Eagles were flying
high until they rolled into Razorback stadium.
That ended as
their national ranking went down in flames after the game with the
Hogs. Willy Robinson exposed weaknesses in the hyped Tiger offense that
the talking heads had been ignoring (much like this year).
This
year's Auburn offense is hanging their hopes on an untested QB and some
freshmen running backs. That might work - but most of the time it
doesn't.
The Tiger defense fought it out with the Razorbacks for
last place in the SEC last year. We think they will easily win the last
place position this year. A bunch of freshmen in the second team
defense is not a formula for success in the SEC. Prediction - Arkansas Win
South Carolina
- The Gamecocks put up a better fight than the scoreboard showed last
year. They just spent too much time shooting themselves down last year
with fumbles, interceptions, and wanky clock management.
The
Razorbacks shouldn't count on that many breaks in the road game on this
year's Arkansas Razorback football schedule. The S. Carolina defense is
one of the best in the league and looks to still be one the best this
year.
But the Hogs didn't have that much trouble moving the ball
last year and are bringing a more potent and experienced offense back
this year. On the offensive side for South Carolina, Garcia can be
trouble for the Razorback defense if he's hot.
But for some
reason, Coach Steve Spurrier insists on playing head games with his
offense to the point they may all be in therapy before this game.
There's plenty of turmoil in Columbia to go around already. That
usually means trouble on the field too. Prediction - Arkansas Win
Mississippi State
- Ryan Mallet didn't really have one of his better games last year, but
you wouldn't know it from the score. The Hog defense kept the run first
Bulldogs on a short leash for most of the game.
Dan Mullen has
State going in the right direction, but it's doubtful they will be able
to gain that much on the Razorbacks this year. Prediction - Arkansas Win
Arkansas Razorback Football Schedule - Prediction SummaryIf
we look strictly at probabilities based on what we know from last
season and the pre-season this year - an 11-1 season is a reachable
goal.
Likely losses are to Alabama, with good odds for another
one at South Carolina. That probability is based on all teams playing
within their normal range of capabilities, especially the Razorbacks.
This
year's Arkansas Razorback football schedule shows that the Hogs control
their own destiny this season more than any other in recent memory. If
they just play within their normal range of capability, an 11-1 season
is a very reasonable prediction.
If they play a little better
than expected, a 12-0 year could be the result. Have a let down at the
wrong time, or suffer a rash of injuries, and they could fall to a 7-5
disappointment.
Since none of us have those answers - that's what makes College football so much fun to watch! Woo Pig Sooieee!!!
Related links:
Arkansas Razorbacks Sports Guide
Little Rock Living Home from Arkansas Razorback Football Schedule.
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