Saturday’s game
No. 17 Arkansas (4-1 overall) vs. Southeast Missouri State (3-2 overall)
Site: Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville
Time: 1 p.m.
Radio/TV: The ARSN network will broadcast the game; no TV coverage.
First, talk about the win at Auburn: The game was secured when the Razorbacks came out at the start of the second half leading 17-10, starting on their own 20, in front of a hostile crowd, and drove it out to the 50 and flipped the field. After that, I thought they had the game. It just goes to show you that in the SEC, everything can change in one Saturday. Auburn has gone from being considered the SEC champion to hoping and praying to hang on. And, unless Arkansas loses at South Carolina, it’s going to come down to the LSU game, and even then Arkansas may have the SEC-West in their hands.
It also shows that Arkansas prior to that game had not been playing up to its ability, and that was what all the criticism was to begin with. I think they got whipped up emotionally to play for Auburn, and to be a great football team you have to play with the same emotion every week. It’s going to take a concerted effort to maintain the level they played against Auburn.
What James says about SEMO: What can you say about a team that Jack Crowe [former Arkansas coach 1990-92, now head coach at Jacksonville, Ala., State] blasted 38-7? Pick a score. The only question I have is, how long does Houston Nutt play the starters? You schedule games like this to keep your walk-ons happy. I do think it’s a shame we’re playing these folks [SEMO is Division 1-AA], when we could have played Arkansas State.
The pick: It’s whatever Arkansas wants to score. I’ll say 51-3.
Watch James, David Bazzel and host Steve Sullivan on KATV, Channel 7’s “SportsWeek” Sundays at 10:30 p.m.