Arkansas
Razorback Football Preview and Predictions for 2010
Arkansas Razorback Football is
Back!
It's
time for Hog football to kick off again! The 2010 season is shaping up
to be one to remember. Since everybody and their cousin are making
predictions for the Razorbacks this year - we'll throw our Hog hat in
the ring too!
We want to look at each opponent and determine key
matchups. For adversaries the Hogs faced last year - we'll post the
score from those games, and what changes we think may effect this
season.
Arkansas
Razorback Football - Get Ready!
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 |
Tennessee Tech
- First time the Razorbacks have faced these guys. Should have an
advantage at virtually every position. If this one is even close the
Hogs have much bigger problems than anyone thinks.
Win.
Louisiana-Monroe
- Sun Belt team that's usually pretty salty. Once again the Razorbacks
should enjoy an advantage at almost every position and with much more
depth.
Win.
Georgia
- (41-52 loss)
- The Dawgs are always tough at their place - but they have some major
problems to overcome this year. A new Defensive Coordinator is
completely changing the base scheme to a 3-4 pro style. That means
there will
be a learning curve even if you are talented.
Fortunately,
the Arkansas Razorback football team runs a pretty sophisticated pro-style offense with an NFL
caliber QB. Add several future NFL receivers, running backs, and tight
ends. With experience. Advantage Hogs.
They will also be
breaking in a rookie Quarterback. Sure he's good - but this is the SEC.
Expect some inconsistency. The usual scenario is the better the defense
he faces - the more inconsistent he'll be. (see Mallet,Ryan).
Arkansas
defensive chief Willy Robinson has a few years in the NFL himself.
Enough to confuse a fresh faced QB with a now experienced Defense that
goes at least 2 deep at every position. Advantage Hogs.
We'll
concede the kicking game to Georgia, and if the game comes down to a
field goal the Hogs could be in trouble. Speaking of trouble - that's
something that seems to have plagued some Bulldogs recently.
Discipline
problems usually indicate a lack of team focus and leadership.
Especially when they're still happening a week before the season!
Probable
Win.
Alabama -
(7-35 loss)
- The Tide loses the majority of the defense that dominated the (not-SEC looking) Arkansas
Razorback football squad last year. The bad news is that they'll still be good. If
there is a soft spot anywhere it will be in the relatively
inexperienced secondary.
The Arkansas Razorback O-line should be
better thanks to new coach Kris Klenakis and more experience and depth
at every position. If it's enough to give Mallett a few more seconds in
the pocket - he can keep the new Alabama DBs busy. Will that be enough
to close the gap from last year's score? Maybe.
Coach Nick Saban
will be bringing the same offense that lit the Hogs up last season. And
don't kid yourself - Bama could easily have scored 49 points if Saban
had been in a bad mood. The Razorbacks actually did a pretty good job
of stopping the run - except for the play with the 5 broken tackles
that made all the highlight reels!
We think the Hogs have
narrowed the gap from last year's debacle so this should be a much more
competitive contest. Unfortunately, there may be too much distance to
make up on both sides of the ball.
Probable Loss.
Texas
A&M - (47-19 win) -
The Aggies return most of their starters from last year's team. They'll
be better - but so will the Hogs. The score could very well be closer,
although A&M just hasn't done well against SEC teams. And this Arkansas Razorback football team will look like an SEC team!
Win.
Auburn -
(44-23 win)
- The Tigers are another team starting with an inexperienced QB. They
will also be losing several other productive offensive players from
last year's team. They do return most of their starting defense. That's
kind of a "good news - bad news" sort of thing, since they were just as
bad as last year's Hog D.
If we rate the Defenses even, we have
to give the Razorback offense the edge based on talent and experience.
Willy Robinson seems to have figured out how to defend against Gus
Malzahn's offense, but it may be a little harder this year. If Cam
Newton is able to run the gimmicky Auburn offense, it will be a closer
game than last year. Just not close enough for the War Eagles.
Probable Win.
Ole Miss -
(17-30 loss)
- Arkansas just didn't show up for this game last year. We don't think
that will be a problem with this year's home game. The Rebels lost most
of their offense but did make a last minute desperation grab for a QB
with a shaky reputation.
Masoli is a difference maker but he
can't do it by himself for an entire season in the SEC. Inexperience at
other key positions will be too much to overcome. But you can expect
some off the wall play calls from someone we all know!
Update! - The NCAA has denied Masoli's eligibility to play this season!
Update #2 - The NCAA changed their mind and will allow Masoli to play.
The Ole
Miss defense will still be stout - just not as stout as it was last
season. The Arkansas Razorback football players and coaches know how badly the fans want to win
this one. If they forget for some reason, we're sure the crowd noise
will remind them! That deafening noise from the home crowd will
energize the Hogs to deliver this year.
Probable Win.
Vanderbilt
- You don't ever want to overlook anyone in the SEC, but Vandy has a
new coach and very little offense. Defense is scrappy and won't be a
pushover. Still, if everyone plays their normal game, it should be a
relatively easy home win for the Arkansas Razorback football team.
Win.
South
Carolina - (33-16 win)
- This was a much closer game last year than the score indicates. Coach
Spurrier seems rededicated to coaching his guys up this year and that
could be trouble for the Hogs. The Gamecocks did as much to beat
themselves in last year's game as the Razorback defense.
Fumbles,
interceptions, penalties, and clock mismanagement killed a lot of
chances for them.
Don't expect that many gifts in Columbia
this year. If Garcia has a good game, this will be a tough one to win.
But who knows when and if Garcia will have a good game? Who knows if he
will even still be the QB by the time Arkansas rolls around? It's just
as likely that Spurrier will have ripped off his headset and stomped
off the field to go play golf by then!
All that turmoil is
exactly why we have to give the Arkansas Razorback footballers the edge in this one. The
head games Spurrier likes to play with his quarterbacks don't seem to
be working at South Carolina. This could be the year it all clicks for
Garcia, but from what we're hearing early on, it isn't likely.
Probable Win.
Texas-El Paso
- Another team you don't want to take too lightly. But if everyone just
does their job it should translate into a predictable victory. I mean, the Arkansas Razorback football team is still in the SEC.
Win.
Mississippi
State - (42-21 win)
- The other Bulldogs look to be improved from last year, but they will
still have depth problems this late in the season. We think the
Razorbacks will show at least as much, if not more, improvement than
Dan Mullen's guys. This home game for the cowbell ringers may be closer
than last year - but not that much.
Probable Win.
LSU - (30-33
OT loss)
- The Bayou Bengals will be making a trip to Little Rock for this one.
The Hogs went toe to toe with the Tigers at their place last year.
Death Valley is a tough place to play a night game, so that little
tidbit of info is pretty significant.
LSU will have one of the
best defenses in the SEC. Their problem is that they play with one of
the worst offenses. Basically a mirror image of the Arkansas Razorback
football team. That's why the last few games have been so close and
hard fought. They match strength against strength and weakness to
weakness.
This game may come down to who has the most players
left standing at the end of an SEC season. We like the Razorback's
chances in that case. The Hogs are blessed with impressive depth at
each critical skill position on offense. There is depth on the
defensive side - just not as deep.
Les Miles had offensive depth
problems last year that rivaled his problems with telling time. It
doesn't look to be much better this year. Sure, they might
get unbelievably lucky. And Les might double his IQ score too! But we
have to look at probabilities. These games have been so close that Home
field has been an advantage. Nobody wants to face the Hogs in Little
Rock
Probable Win.
So
if we are just looking at probabilities, it appears we have predicted
an 11-1 season. We think that's pretty close if nothing strays too far
from the normal ranges of the capabilities of each team.
Of
course, college football can be unpredictable. An opponent could play
well beyond their normal talent level on occasion. Conversely, the
Arkansas Razorback football team could play below their normal range at
some point.
That's why we watch!
Related links:
Razorback Sports Guide
Arkansas Razorback Football Tickets
Arkansas Razorback Football Apparel and Souvenirs
Little Rock Living Home

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