Tiger fight! Tiger fight!
Saturday, October 08, 2011
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| The Littlest Hog in cheerleader gear |
Both teams have had their struggles this season, but both teams have fought hard and sport identical 4-1 records. Arkansas was really dominated by the Alabama defense two weeks ago in a 38-14 loss. Last week the Hogs' defense looked particularly shoddy in the first half of a game against Texas A&M that Arkansas would eventually win, 42-38, in spectacular fashion.
Auburn on the other hand has been doing everything it can to confound analysts' expectations of how the Tigers would struggle coming off their 2010 national championship campaign. Coach Gene Chizik and his staff have been impressive in jumping out to a 2-0 SEC record (4-1) overall, though his defense has played uneven at times. The Tigers have had to replace key personnel from last year's team, and one gets the sense that the team has still perhaps not found its identity.
Today's game should be affected by two key factors. One is the location itself. The game will be played at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, a factor weighing in the Hogs' favor. The second factor is the power of the Arkansas offense, which I think has more weapons than Auburn is going to be able to handle.
Here's the prediction...
Last week: Arkansas 42, Texas A&M 38 (My pick: 35-27)
Arkansas' record: 4-1 (Me: 4-1)
This week: Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Auburn Tigers
Location: Razorback Stadium - Fayetteville, AR
Prediction: Hogs 31, Tigers 17
Reason: I think the second half against the Aggies last week was a season-turning experience for our Hogs. The defense found its mojo en route to a 25-3 second half domination of Texas A&M. And also look for Dennis Johnson to emerge as the #1 running back in Bobby Petrino's offense. Coach Petrino needs somebody to step up and shoulder the lion's share of the carries; Ronnie Wingo was supposed to be that back, but he just hasn't shown the ability to overcome his reluctance to hit the line of scrimmage at full force. DJ, on the other hand, looked impressive in finally getting the Hogs' running attack on track last weekend in the second half. I think it is all going to 'click' tonight, and I think the Tigers' admittedly impressive improvement over the course of this season is going to be checked in Fayetteville as the Hogs win going away.
Labels: 2011 Football Season, Arkansas Razorbacks
posted by Andrew C. Thompson at 9:57 AM
3 Comments:
Being a different sort of Tiger myself, the two games I'm most looking forward to (and have the most uncertainty about) this season are LSU-Alabama (naturally) and LSU-Arkansas.
Any predictions on who represents the SEC East in the championship? Their division is looking surprisingly weak this season.
Daniel, the LSU-Arkansas game is always one of the games I most look forward to myself. This year, though, I'm not so sure. I think LSU and Alabama may be playing on a different level than anyone else in the country -- at least where defense is concerned.
That said, the LSU - Alabama game in a few weeks is going to be a fascinating one to observe. For several reasons (a few of them selfish), I'll be rooting for your bengal tigers.
As to the SEC East, I've got a sneaking feeling that Georgia may rise up and take the division. I think Aaron Murray is a great QB, and I think the team is really rallying around Mark Richt since he has been so criticized. Of course, Steve Spurrier's decision to replace Stephen Garcia with Connor Shaw certainly seemed to pay some instant dividends this past Saturday. So I suppose South Carolina would be a reasonable prediction as well. Even so, I think I'll go with the Dawgs of GA.
Care to make a prediction of your own?
Hey, did you see this in the Wall Street journal? You may appreciate the general tenor:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204422404576592773857297688.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
I'd agree the East will probably bring either Georgia or South Carolina. I think it all turns on the SC/Arkansas game. If SC wins, I think they will take the East, if your guys win, probably Georgia. But we'll see. SC still has the tie-breaker though.
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