Saturday was a wonderful day for the state of Arkansas. No, the game wasn’t close. We knew it wouldn’t be.

But more than 40,000 Arkansans were able to witness a University of Arkansas football team play an in-state opponent for the first time since 1944. The Hogs are now 38-3-3 all-time against in-state opponents with hopefully an annual game against Arkansas State University occurring in the future. A Labor Day weekend festival celebrating all things Arkansas — music, food and more — with that game as its centerpiece would be good for our state. It’s time.

As it was, having the Razorbacks break the 77-year scheduling drought against an HBCU sent a powerful message of unity. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff has been underfunded for years, and its prominent alumni haven’t always received the credit they deserve for helping build this state. Last Saturday’s game was about so much more than football.

As for football, Little Rock games continue to be good for the Razorbacks. Arkansas is 169-69-5 in the capital city through the decades and 152-62-4 at War Memorial Stadium.

The 45-3 victory over UAPB marked the 18th consecutive Razorback victory over an FCS opponent, dating back to that memorable 10-3 loss to the Citadel on Labor Day weekend 1992.

The 5-3 Razorbacks get a well-deserved break this Saturday. It’s a chance to heal up before the SEC stretch run against Mississippi State, LSU, Alabama and Missouri.

I went 6-0 on the picks last week to move to 49-13 for the season. Here are the selections for this Saturday’s games:

South Alabama 34, Arkansas State 32 — ASU fell to 1-6 overall and 1-3 in Sun Belt Conference play last Thursday night in Jonesboro with a 28-27 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns burned the final 10:26 off the clock with the game-sealing drive. This is the worst seven-game start for an ASU squad since the 2000 team went 1-10. The Red Wolves go to Mobile this Saturday to take on a South Alabama squad that’s 4-3 overall and 3-1 in home games. The victories came by scores of 31-7 over Southern Mississippi, 22-19 over Bowling Green, 28-21 over Alcorn State and 41-14 over Georgia Southern. The losses were by scores of 20-18 to Louisiana-Lafayette, 33-31 to Texas State and 41-31 to Louisiana-Monroe. Look for ASU to hang close with a chance to win at the end.

Jacksonville State 24, UCA 21 — The Bears head to the hills of north Alabama to take on Jacksonville State on Saturday. Jacksonville upset Florida State 20-17 in Tallahassee back on Sept. 11, The Gamecocks’ other two victories were by scores of 27-24 over North Alabama and 28-24 over Stephen F. Austin. Jacksonville State is 3-4 with the losses having come by scores of 31-0 to Alabama-Birmingham, 34-31 to Tennessee-Martin, 31-6 to Kennesaw State and 42-7 to Sam Houston State. The Bears also are 3-4 following a 49-38 victory last Saturday over 2-5 Lamar in Beaumont, Texas. UCA finished with 541 yards of offense, with 350 of it coming on the ground. Darius Hale had 254 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 22 carries. It was the first time for a Bear to have more than 200 yards rushing since 2015.

Texas Southern 14, UAPB 13 — The loss at War Memorial Stadium dropped UAPB to 1-6. The Golden Lions travel to Houston on Saturday to battle a 2-5 Texas Southern team. The two wins were by scores of 69-0 over North American and 35-31 over Southern University. The five losses were by scores of 40-17 to Prairie View A&M, 66-7 to Baylor, 48-34 to Rice, 34-20 to Grambling and 44-27 to Alcorn State.

Henderson 50, Southern Nazarene 19 — The Reddies are in a three-way tie with Ouachita and Harding for the Great American Conference lead. All three are 7-1 with three weeks left in the season. Henderson survived in overtime at Arkansas Tech last Saturday. Tech settled for a field goal on its possession in overtime. Henderson’s Adam Morse then threw a 10-yard touchdown pass for the win, 41-38. Henderson outgained Tech 634-437. More than 500 of those yards — 522 to be exact — came on the ground.

Ouachita 31, East Central Oklahoma 22 — Since having its 30-game GAC winning streak broken by Harding on the final Saturday of September, Ouachita has outscored its next four opponents 170-34. The Tigers beat Southern Arkansas 42-7 last Saturday as T.J. Cole and Kendel Givens had three rushing touchdowns each. Givens, a freshman out of Little Rock Christian, has 19 rushing touchdowns in eight games. Ouachita led the Muleriders 28-7 at halftime and never looked back.

Harding 44, Northwestern Oklahoma 20 — The Bisons moved to 7-1 with all 340 yards of offense coming on the ground in a 64-7 victory over UAM. Harding led the Boll Weevils 37-7 at halftime. Fourteen Bison running backs gained yardage. Harding takes its double-slot option offense to Northwestern Oklahoma this week to battle an opponent that’s 1-7. Harding can pretty much name the score in this one.

Southeastern Oklahoma 39, UAM 30 — Southeastern fell out of a tie for the conference lead when it lost 43-37 to Oklahoma Baptist last Saturday. The Savage Storm is now 6-2 and should bounce back at home in Durant, Okla., against a 4-4 squad of Boll Weevils.

Arkansas Tech 28, Southwestern Oklahoma 26 — The Wonder Boys are just 2-6 but played Henderson well and now get to take on the GAC’s only team without a win, 0-8 Southwestern Oklahoma. Southwestern lost 44-34 to East Central Oklahoma last weekend.

Oklahoma Baptist 40, Southern Arkansas 33 — The loss at Ouachita dropped the Muleriders to 3-5. They’re home in Magnolia this week but must face one of the most talented teams in the league, 5-3 Oklahoma Baptist.

For Razorback fans, it was a September to remember.

It has been an October to forget.

Auburn’s 38-23 victory before a crowd of 73,370 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium last Saturday dropped the Hogs to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Southeastern Conference following that 4-0 September start.

Arkansas has now lost six consecutive games in the series with Auburn and eight of the past nine. The only SEC team with a longer winning streak over Arkansas is Alabama at 14 games.

Arkansas managed to lose by double digits despite outgaining Auburn 460-427. With 232 rushing yards, the Razorbacks topped 230 yards on the ground for the fifth time this year.

The Hogs were missing three defensive starters due to injury. The good news is that the Razorbacks have three weeks between the Auburn loss and the next SEC game.

I went 4-2 on the picks last week to move to 43-13 for the season. Of those 13 misses, four of them have been Razorback games. I picked them to lose against Texas and Texas A&M. I then turned around and picked Arkansas to win against Ole Miss and Auburn.

Oh well. At least we know how this Saturday’s game at War Memorial Stadium will turn out.

Here are the picks for this week’s games involving Arkansas teams:

Arkansas 64, UAPB 7 — No, the game isn’t going to be close. Who cares? This is history. Arkansas plays an in-state school in football for the first time since 1944. The weather is going to be beautiful. Take some kids to see the Hogs for the first time. Buy them too many hot dogs. Support an HBCU. Enjoy both bands. Take them to the Arkansas State Fair afterward. UAPB fell to 1-5 last Saturday with its fifth consecutive loss, 34-7 to Southern University. The Golden Lions had only 207 yards of offense and committed five turnovers. Again, who cares? You get to watch the UAPB band. You can enjoy barbecue out in War Memorial Park before or after the 11 a.m. kickoff. Have fun.

Louisiana-Lafayette 35, Arkansas State 29 — The Coach Butch Jones era is off to a rough start in Jonesboro. Since beating UCA in the opener Sept. 4, the Red Wolves have lost five consecutive games — 55-50 to Memphis, 52-3 to Washington, 41-34 to Tulsa, 59-33 to Georgia Southern and 52-20 to Coastal Carolina. ASU has had two weeks to prepare for Thursday night’s home game against Louisiana-Lafayette, but it likely won’t matter. Since losing their opener to Texas in Austin, the Ragin’ Cajuns have reeled off five consecutive victories — 27-24 over Nicholls, 49-14 over Ohio, 28-20 over Georgia Southern, 20-18 over South Alabama and 41-13 over Appalachian State.

UCA 31, Lamar 21 — The Bears fell to 2-4 Saturday with a 38-35 loss in Conway to 5-1 Eastern Kentucky. UCA led 28-10 at halftime and then collapsed. A 38-yard field goal attempt with 2:14 left in the game that would have tied the score was blocked. UCA lost despite outgaining its opponent 481-346. Eastern Kentucky didn’t take its first lead until there was just 7:39 left in the game. The Bears go on the road this Saturday and should get well in Beaumont against 2-4 Lamar. The two Lamar victories came by scores of 47-3 against North American and 17-10 against Northern Colorado. The four losses have been by scores of 54-0 to Texas-San Antonio, 56-0 to Abilene Christian, 41-7 to Sam Houston and 24-17 in a second game against Abilene Christian.

Harding 40, UAM 12 — There are four weeks left in the Great American Conference season, and there are four teams tied at the top — Harding, Ouachita, Henderson and Southeastern Oklahoma. They’re all 6-1. This should be a fun final month of GAC football. Harding, which ended Ouachita’s 30-game GAC winning streak on the final Saturday of September, went to Arkadelphia last Saturday and knocked Henderson from the ranks of the undefeated, 46-21. Henderson had come in ranked No. 9 in the country, and Harding was No. 20. Now, Harding is No. 12 and Henderson is No. 20. Harding scored four touchdowns in a 13-minute span at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium to turn a 9-7 lead into a 36-7 advantage in the third quarter. Cole Chancey led the Bisons with 231 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Ouachita 37, Southern Arkansas 27 — Since losing to Harding, No. 7 Ouachita has outscored its next three opponents 128-27. The Tigers had their most complete game of the season in Monticello last Saturday afternoon as they cruised to a 31-0 halftime lead, rested the starters in the second half and wound up winning 34-0. That secured Ouachita’s 13th consecutive winning season. Ouachita is 28-1 in conference games since the start of the 2018 season. T.J. Cole led the Tigers in Monticello with 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Tiger defense had five sacks. Three of Ouachita’s final four games are at Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia.

Henderson 45, Arkansas Tech 25 — Expect the Reddies to bounce back in a big way at Arkansas Tech on Saturday afternoon. The Wonder Boys are 2-5 following a 34-17 loss to 3-4 Southern Arkansas in the Murphy USA Classic at El Dorado last Saturday. Tech took a 14-0 lead, but the Muleriders then ran off 31 unanswered points.

KJ Jefferson completed the nine-yard touchdown pass as time expired in Oxford, Razorback head coach Sam Pittman decided to go for two rather than going into overtime with a PAT, and you know the rest of the story.

Ole Miss 52, Arkansas 51.

Had the Razorbacks completed the two-point conversion pass, the final score would have been 53-52, the same score as the 2015 Henry Heave game.

Wild things happen in Oxford, don’t they?

I predicted Arkansas to win by one. So close yet so far.

Arkansas outgained Ole Miss 676-611. The combined 1,287 yards were the 10th most ever in a Southeastern Conference game. Arkansas’ 676 yards were the fourth most yards in school history and the school’s most ever in an SEC game.

Arkansas had 39 first downs, a school record. The previous high was 37 against TCU in 1980.

Arkansas’ 350 rushing yards were the most since 359 against Mississippi State in 2016.

And yet the Hogs lost. Still, Arkansas football is relevant on the national stage again, the Razorbacks remain ranked and a good bowl game remains a possibility. What a difference a year or two can make.

I was 6-3 on the picks last week, making the record 39-11 for the year.

Let’s get to this week’s games:

Arkansas 35, Auburn 34 — Why not just pick Arkansas by a point again in what figures to be a close game? Auburn is 4-2 overall — the same record as the Razorbacks — following a 34-10 loss to Georgia. The Bulldogs’ Stetson Bennett passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Auburn’s Bo Nix was 21 of 38 passing for 217 yards. Auburn’s four victories have come by scores of 60-10 over Akron, 62-0 over Alabama State, 34-24 over Georgia State and 24-19 over LSU. The win at Baton Rouge is the only one that can be classified as a “quality victory,” and that might even be called into question given that LSU is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the SEC following last Saturday’s loss to Kentucky. The other Auburn loss came at Penn State by a final score of 28-20.

Eastern Kentucky 29, UCA 27 — With a record of 2-3, the Bears have had two weeks to prepare for this home game against a team that comes in on a three-game winning streak. Eastern Kentucky won its opener 31-28 over Western Carolina, lost back-to-back games to Louisville and Indiana State and has since posted victories of 35-27 over Austin Peay, 20-3 over Tarleton and 30-15 over Abilene Christian. The Bears beat Abilene Christian 42-21 on Oct. 2. These two teams appear evenly matched.

Southern University 25, UAPB 15 — The struggles continue for the Golden Lions. UAPB fell to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the SWAC last Saturday with its fourth consecutive loss, 35-15 to Alabama State in a game played at Montgomery. There were two blocked field goal attempts, a lost fumble and an interception in a first half in which UAPB didn’t score. Southern is 2-3 with victories of 41-24 over Miles College and 38-25 over Mississippi Valley State. Its losses have come by scores of 55-3 to Troy, 31-24 to McNeese State and 35-31 to Texas Southern.

Henderson 31, Harding 28 — This is the biggest game to this point in the season in the Great American Conference. The Reddies are 6-0 and ranked ninth nationally in the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II poll. Harding is 5-1 and ranked No. 20. Henderson cruised to a 59-24 victory last Saturday in Arkadelphia against an East Central Oklahoma team that had entered the game with a 4-1 record. Reddie quarterback Adam Morse passed for 357 yards and six touchdowns. L’liott Curry (who will play in the NFL; he’s that good) caught eight of those passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns. Henderson outgained East Central 559-399. Harding moved to 5-1 with a 49-10 victory over Southern Nazarene. The Bisons had 310 rushing yards. Harding led 14-0 after one quarter, 28-3 at the half and 42-10 after the third quarter. It should be a fun Saturday afternoon in Arkadelphia.

Ouachita 41, UAM 30 — Ouachita is ranked No. 11 nationally this week in NCAA Division II. The Tigers improved to 5-1 with a 30-10 win at Southwestern Oklahoma. Freshman Kendel Givens from Little Rock Christian had three rushing touchdowns, giving him 15 in just six games. Givens finished the game with 109 yards on 18 carries. T.J. Cole rushed for 193 yards on 28 carries for Ouachita. The Tigers finished with 345 rushing yards. UAM is off to a surprising 4-2 start following a 42-23 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma. Boll Weevil quarterback Demilon Brown completed 13 of 23 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another 66 yards.

Southern Arkansas 24, Arkansas Tech 22 — A couple of 2-4 teams will square off in the Murphy USA Classic at El Dorado on Saturday afternoon. Southern Arkansas started the season 2-0 but has since lost four consecutive games. The Muleriders fell 38-24 Saturday to 5-1 Southeastern Oklahoma. Southeastern outgained SAU 457-372. Mulerider quarterback Hayden Mallory was 17 of 32 passing for 276 yards and two touchdowns. Arkansas Tech has gone just the opposite direction, losing its first four games and then winning two. The Wonders Boys posted a 38-35 victory last Saturday over 3-3 Oklahoma Baptist. The winning score came with just 42 seconds left on the clock. Oklahoma Baptist had taken a 35-31 lead with 2:22 remaining. Tech quarterback Jack Lindsey was 31 of 43 passing for 382 yards and three touchdowns.

It was a September to remember for Razorback fans.

It’s starting out to be an October to forget.

No. 2 Georgia scored three first-quarter touchdowns and took the suspense out of the game early last Saturday en route to a 37-0 victory at Athens.

But I think most Arkansas fans would have taken 4-1 after five games had they been offered that record before the season.

It was a men vs. boys affair between the hedges. Arkansas just doesn’t have the athletes yet to compete with a team like Georgia. The Bulldogs outgained the Razorbacks 345-162 (with 273 of those yards coming on the ground) and had no turnovers.

Saturday’s game marked the first back-to-back shutouts of Southeastern Conference opponents by a Georgia team since the Bulldogs’ national championship squad of 1980.

Arkansas’ 87 passing yards were the fewest for a Razorback team since 2019. The Hogs had 13 penalties for 101 yards, the seventh most in school history.

Arkansas is back on its level this week with a chance to win at Ole Miss.

I was 7-3 on the picks last week, making the season record 33-8.

Here are the predictions for this week’s games:

Arkansas 30, Ole Miss 29 — Yes, I’m going to do it. I’m predicting that the Razorbacks will bounce back and come away with a victory in Oxford. Like Arkansas, Ole Miss was simply outclassed last Saturday. Alabama roared to a 28-0 halftime lead, put in the subs and wound up winning 42-21. Brian Robinson Jr. rushed for 171 yards and scored four touchdowns for the Tide. Bryce Young completed 21 of 27 passes for 241 yards. Nick Saban is now 24-0 against his former assistants. Admit it. Georgia and Alabama are just on a different level from other college football teams across the country.

Coastal Carolina 42, Arkansas State 21 — It doesn’t get any easier this week for the struggling Red Wolves. Nationally ranked Coastal Carolina comes to Jonesboro fresh off a 59-6 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. Grayson McCall was 13 of 13 passing for 212 yards. The Chanticleers are 5-0 for a second consecutive season and have won 16 of their past 17 games. McCall is the FBS leader in completion percentage. ASU, meanwhile, fell to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the Sun Belt Conference with a 59-33 loss to a Georgia Southern team (2-3, 1-1) that had just fired its head coach. Georgia Southern outgained the Red Wolves 503-91 on the ground with two running backs combining for 365 rushing yards. ASU has allowed more than 50 points in three of its five games.

UAPB 19, Alabama State 17 — On national television last Thursday night, UAPB fell to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the SWAC with a 27-17 loss at Prairie View. The Golden Lions have now lost three consecutive games and must go to Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday to take on Alabama State. Alabama State is 2-2 with wins of 14-13 over Miles and 38-24 over Bethune-Cookman to go along with losses of 62-0 to Auburn and 28-0 to Florida A&M. The teams appear to be evenly matched in this one from a talent standpoint.

Henderson 41, East Central Oklahoma 22 — There’s only one undefeated team remaining in the Great American Conference. It’s Henderson at 5-0. The Reddies went to Durant, Okla., last Saturday and knocked Southeastern Oklahoma from the ranks of the undefeated with a 27-24 victory. The winning points came on a Temo Martinez field goal with 9:25 remaining. Adam Morse was 22 of 27 passing for the Reddies for 195 yards and two touchdowns. East Central is a surprising 4-1, but its four victories have all come against teams with losing records.

Ouachita 35, Southwestern Oklahoma 25 — Ouachita had its 30-game GAC winning streak broken at Harding the final weekend in September. The Tigers bounced back Saturday with a 64-17 homecoming victory over Northwestern Oklahoma at Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia. Three freshman running backs had two touchdowns each on the ground for the Tigers. A freshman quarterback also scored on a running play. And a freshman returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Tiger backs scored on runs of 72, 71, 42, 25, 11, eight and three yards as Ouachita improved to 4-1. This week’s opponent, Southwestern Oklahoma, fell to 0-5 with an 18-16 loss at UAM.

Harding 50, Southern Nazarene 11 — Harding went on the road and made it look easy with a 31-7 win against a talented Oklahoma Baptist squad. The 4-1 Bisons controlled the ball for 40 or more minutes for a third consecutive week with their option offense. Cole Chancey rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns. This week’s opponent is Southern Nazarene, which fell to 0-5 with a 51-41 loss to Arkansas Tech.

Southeastern Oklahoma 31, Southern Arkansas 28 — The Muleriders played poorly in a 38-17 loss to East Central Oklahoma. SAU senior quarterback Hayden Mallory was 21 of 36 passing for 210 yards in the loss. SAU is 2-3 and must play far better this week to have a chance against 4-1 Southeastern Oklahoma.

UAM 33, Northwestern Oklahoma 26 — The Boll Weevils are off to a 3-2 start following their 18-16 victory at home last Saturday against Southwestern Oklahoma. UAM stopped a two-point conversion attempt with 6:49 remaining. UAM sophomore quarterback Demilon Brown passed for 150 yards and ran for 127 yards. The Weevils should move to 4-2 this week as they travel to 0-5 Northwestern Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Baptist 40, Arkansas Tech 27 — The 1-4 Wonder Boys picked up their first victory of the season with that 51-41 win at Southern Nazarene. Tech quarterback Jack Lindsey passed for 247 yards and three touchdowns.