Arkansas football: 2020 uncertain team of destiny?
This 2020 Arkansas team is poised to make waves. Is a CFP run in their future? Heck ye- maybe!
Photo: Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images
By: Special Guest
2020 has been a year of the unbelievable; Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl, Corona is a virus not a beverage, the Stanley Cup champions come from a place with virtually no snow or ice, and the NBA entered a bubble to finish their season; just to name a few. Could the next inconceivable headline read Arkansas Razorbacks: College Football National Champions, because in a year of the improbable would this really be a surprising outcome? I mean this season could be the perfect storm for an unlikely Razorbacks team to make some noise not only in the SEC West but nationwide and it goes without saying, we as a nation, could all benefit from witnessing a miracle on the gridiron.
Arkansas began their rise to relevance in the offseason with the hiring of a new head coach, former Georgia offensive line coach, Sam Pittman. Pittman looked to bring with him a winning tradition birthed in the Georgia clay and honed by a Smart head coach. The Razorbacks followed that hire by acquiring Florida transfer quarterback Feleipe Franks. Franks made leaps and bounds as the Gators’ starting quarterback but in 2019 it all came crashing down, like a drunken game of jenga, when he sustained an injury during the Kentucky game. After that the rest is history, Kyle Trask took over the starting position and is now looking to be the next Heisman trophy winner, sending the former UF starting quarterback up the road to Fayetteville for a redemption tour. Double F 13 looked to join an offense that features a top running back in Rakeem Boyd, and rejuvenate a team that has been unable to find its identity since the 2011 Sugar Bowl appearance.
To start the season, Arkansas would be thrown a curveball with the emergence of COVID-19. Their schedule went from having Notre Dame and cupcake teams such as Kent State, Charleston Southern and Louisiana Monroe to playing a SEC West schedule with added East opponents Georgia and Florida. Thankfully they were able to drop North Texas from the schedule this year. Arkansas AD, Hunter Yurachek, was even bold enough to say they have “the most challenging schedule in the history of college football”, apparently ignoring the fact that in 2019 Texas A&M played #1 Clemson, #8 Auburn, #1 Alabama, #4 Georgia, and #1 LSU. I understand Yurachek’s point though, if Pittman could inspire his team to get through their rigorous schedule with only one, maybe two losses there could be a glimmer of hope for Hog nation.
The first week saw the Razorbacks host the Georgia Bulldogs in Fayetteville for what many fans believed would be a full blown hog hunt by the Dawgs. The first half ended in a surprising Arkansas lead 7-5, but the #3 team in the nation proved too much for the Razorbacks in the second half scoring 32 points and leaving Fayetteville unscathed. Going into halftime with a lead over UGA is no easy task and is even more impressive for a team still establishing relationships within the locker room and between personnel. The potential was there but elsewhere in the nation Arkansas’ next opponent, Mississippi State, was throwing a welcome to the SEC party for Mike Leach and the Air Raid offense. The State Bulldogs put on a clinic against defending national champion LSU, throwing for over 600 yards and five touchdowns. From an outsider’s perspective, chances for a decent season looked bleak for Arkansas however someone forgot to mention that to Pittman and his Hogs.
Last weekend Arkansas traveled to Starkville, Mississippi to take on Mike Leach and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. For those of you that don’t know, Mississippi State is known for using the cowbell, a device that in Starkville is supposed to help find missing cows. What I don’t understand, about Mississippians, is that if your girlfriend or wife goes missing why wouldn’t you just text her? Okay, okay I apologize, I’ll only fit one more cowbell joke in the rest of the blog.
“DONNA. DONNA, WHERE ARE YOU?”
Anyways back to the game, Arkansas entered the game as a heavy underdog due to the Bulldogs impressive outing against LSU, the line for the game was Mississippi State -18. Double F 13 came out and threw for 212 yards, a touchdown and most importantly no interceptions. He looked like an experienced quarterback playing a defense that could hold their own. The difference in this game came down to turnovers, Mississippi State’s KJ Costello threw three interceptions and the Mississippi State run game was nowhere near impressive. Woo pig sooie was able to score just enough points and upset the bulldogs 21-14. Why didn’t Mike Leach put a cowbell on his offense, then maybe he could have figured out where they disappeared to all game.
The path to the college football playoffs does not get any easier for the Razorbacks. Today they will face #13 Auburn (in a few minutes in fact), however the Tigers have two starters questionable, wide receiver Eli Stove and running back Shaun Shivers, giving Arkansas another advantage in the game. If Arkansas can get a W against the Tigers, they will be favored in every game up until the Florida game, with the exception of maybe Texas A&M (always seems to be a good game, no matter the teams’ skill level). The most important factor fans forget is that Feleipe Franks is no stranger to the Swamp, so traveling to Gainesville will not be intimidating, and Franks knows the type of ball Florida plays. If any player can single handedly beat the Gators in the Swamp it will be Double F 13.
Take a good look. This man is leading Arkansas to the CFP promise land.
Say Arkansas gets through the rest of the gauntlet with no losses and plays Alabama in week 10. Bama will win and even if they have one loss, the Tide will be thrown into the SEC championship against either Georgia or Florida. If the East comes out victorious, a one or two loss Arkansas team should make it into the playoffs over a one loss Ohio State team or a joke of a Pac 12 team. We won’t even mention the Big 12, right now they are living on a dream. So in a time of uncertainty, should we really bet against an uncertain team?
Arkansas is that team. They are the 2020 uncertain team of destiny.
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Special Guest is a B&S special guest who loves SEC football but spares no school his scorn. Be warned.