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Difficult road for Petrino's first team Sunday, Jun 8, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - A good idea man, the magazine editor doling out assignments for the football preview edition took the cookie-cutter approach. Pick the Razorbacks' season, game by game, just like the past couple of years, said Hawgs Illustrated publisher Clay Henry. Truly, this is flying blind and, other than a 2-0 start, there are no guarantees. The only other certainty is that Bobby Petrino will do things differently than Houston Nutt. In the 2007 preview for Hawgs Illustrated, I settled on 8-4. Before accepting pats on the back for the bottom line, I had the Razorbacks beating Kentucky 24-21 and losing to LSU 17-13. The finals were Kentucky 42, Arkansas 29, and Arkansas 50, LSU 48. The thing is, the 2007 prognostication began with a confident 6-0 - 4-0 against non-conference opponents Troy, North Texas, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Florida International and a sweep of the Mississippi schools. That left only six games to be deciphered. This time, there are 10, so let's get to the guessing: Sept. 13, Texas at Austin: Arkansas will need some help from freshmen at the skill positions and the Longhorn defense should provide an early read on those young men. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy has thrown for 5,873 yards and 51 touchdowns in two years. TEXAS 34, ARKANSAS 17. Sept. 20, Alabama at Fayetteville: Another early test for the Arkansas defense. Quarterback John Parker Wilson, one of nine offensive starters returning, can throw it and Terry Grant and Glen Coffee can run it. ALABAMA 28, ARKANSAS 24. Oct. 4, Florida at Fayetteville: Arkansas has a week off between the Crimson Tide and the Gators, but Florida has Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, and a slew of others. The Gators are expected to be in the national championship picture. FLORIDA 42, ARKANSAS 27. Oct. 11, Arkansas at Auburn: The Tigers will have four SEC games behind them by the time Arkansas arrives, and they could have any sort of record in the Western Division. Auburn's entire offensive line returns. AUBURN 31, ARKANSAS 21. Oct. 18, Kentucky at Lexington: Petrino did not lose to Kentucky during his four years at Louisville. Quarterback Andre Woodson and running back Rafael Little are gone. ARKANSAS 31, KENTUCKY 28. Oct. 25, Ole Miss at Fayetteville: The No. 1 game on the hit list of many Razorback fans. Quarterback Jevan Snead is a key for Nutt's first team in Oxford. Maybe the transfer from Texas will be beat up after going against Florida-South Carolina-Alabama on previous weekends. ARKANSAS 21, OLE MISS 20. Nov. 1, Tulsa at Fayetteville: Another emotional game for Arkansas fans. Teams in the SEC are supposed to have better players than teams in Conference USA. ARKANSAS 45, TULSA 42. Nov. 8, South Carolina at Columbia: Arkansas gets some help from the schedule, falling between Tennessee and Florida, but the Gamecocks won't have to chase Darren McFadden. SOUTH CAROLINA 28, ARKANSAS 24. Nov. 22, Mississippi State at Starkville: With 17 starters returning, there are legitimate expectations for the Bulldogs. Anthony Dixon will help them control the ball. MISSISSIPPI STATE 23, ARKANSAS 21. Nov. 28, LSU at Little Rock: Starting the year without a quarterback, LSU is unlikely to be in the national championship picture. Still, the Tigers will be good. LSU 31, ARKANSAS 24. That adds up to 5-7 and is not a reflection on Petrino, only an assessment of the talent in Fayetteville and at other schools. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
