It was a cold, cold room that Jeff Long walked into Monday for his speech to the Little Rock Touchdown Club.
Razorback fans aren’t happy, and who can blame them following an awful performance against TCU last Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville. It was 28-7 at the end as the Horned Frogs avenged last year’s double overtime loss to Arkansas in Fort Worth. This was the first TCU win in Fayetteville since 1984.
TCU outgained Arkansas 195-129 on the ground and was 10 of 14 on third down. Arkansas was just four of 14 on third down.
The Horned Frogs led in time of possession, 33:52 to 26:08.
The Hogs don’t have a game this week, thus giving those frustrated fans a chance to see other college teams across the state.
UAPB is at Arkansas State. ASU, unlike the Razorbacks, will play other Arkansas schools.
In Conway, UCA hosts Southeastern Louisiana.
And all six of the state’s Great American Conference teams host squads from Oklahoma. That means two games at Arkadelphia along with contests at Magnolia, Searcy, Monticello and Russellville.
This just might be the week when some dismayed Razorback fanatics find an enjoyable, less expensive alternative. They might realize that watching college football can be fun at a place where the parking is free, the tickets are cheap, donations to the scholarship fund aren’t required and the concession lines aren’t long.
We were 5-2 on the picks last week, making the record 13-2 for the season.
Let’s get to the games for Week 3:
Arkansas State 49, UAPB 13 — It was a shame that we couldn’t see what the Red Wolves could do at home against Miami following a solid effort by ASU at Nebraska in the first week of the season. UAPB is 1-1, having defeated Morehouse in the opener before going on the road last weekend for a 52-3 loss at Akron. Akron, which is coached by former Auburn head man Terry Bowden, had lost 52-0 the previous week at Penn State. ASU should be able to pretty much name the score in this one.
UCA 30, Southeastern Louisiana 19 — The Bears were thumped in their season opener at Kansas State but rebounded for a 41-13 win at Murray State. Hayden Hildebrand passed for 286 yards and three touchdowns for UCA. The Bears outgained the Racers 312-91 in the first half and had a 31-6 lead at the break. Southeastern Louisiana comes into Conway with an 0-2 record following losses of 51-48 to Louisiana-Lafayette and 28-23 to Bethune-Cookman.
Ouachita 37, Southeastern Oklahoma 28 — After two weeks of play, there are only three 2-0 teams in the 12-team GAC. Two of the three play Saturday night at Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia. Southeastern Oklahoma started the season with wins over two of the league’s weakest teams, 58-0 over Southern Nazarene and 21-17 over Oklahoma Baptist. The Savage Storm, who are 2-0 for the first time since 2011, will be hurt by the loss of quarterback C.B. Cantwell, who went down in the first half of last week’s game. Ouachita opened the season with a 31-28 win over Northwestern Oklahoma and followed that up with a 38-10 victory last Saturday night at Southwestern Oklahoma. Drew Harris from Benton had three rushing touchdowns for the Tigers.
Henderson 31, Northwestern Oklahoma 18 — Henderson, which has won three of the first six conference titles, went on the road and knocked off defending GAC champion Harding in the first week of the season. But the Reddies came down to earth quickly last Saturday with a 26-3 loss to Arkansas Tech in Arkadelphia. Henderson should have a bit easier time of it this Saturday night at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium. The Reddies host a Northwestern Oklahoma team that’s 0-2 following losses to Ouachita and UAM.
Southern Arkansas 25, Southwestern Oklahoma 17 — The GAC coaches picked Southern Arkansas to win the conference, but the Muleriders slipped up at Arkansas Tech in the first week of the season. The home opener last Saturday night in Magnolia was a different story as the Muleriders beat Harding, 35-24. SAU ended an 11-game losing streak to Harding. The Muleriders had not beaten a Bison team in Magnolia since 1993. The Magnolia advantage should help again as SAU hosts a 1-1 Southwestern Oklahoma team (the Bulldogs beat UAM and then lost to Ouachita) this week.
Harding 44, Southern Nazarene 20 — Harding was 11-0 in the regular season in 2016. So it has to be a tough pill to swallow when the season begins at 0-2 with losses to Arkansas Tech and Southern Arkansas. Southern Nazarene has been the GAC whipping boy since joining the conference, but SNU upset East Central Oklahoma last week. The visit to Searcy won’t be as pleasant as that game. The young Bisons (Harding lost most of the starters from last year’s playoff squad) are hungry for a victory and will get it this Saturday night.
UAM 21, East Central Oklahoma 15 — The Boll Weevils are one play away from being 2-0. They had a 32-yard field goal attempt blocked in the final seconds of the season opener against Southwestern Oklahoma and lost by a point. They came back last Saturday on the road in Alva, Okla., with a 37-35 win over Northwestern Oklahoma. East Central is reeling following its loss to Southern Nazarene.
Arkansas Tech 36, Oklahoma Baptist 23 — Tech shocked Southern Arkansas in the season opener at Russellville and then went on the road to Arkadelphia to whip Henderson. It was one of the biggest road victories for the Tech program in years. Quarterback Ty Reasnor was 15 of 25 passing for the Wonder Boys for 124 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for two touchdowns. Cua Rose had three interceptions for Tech to tie a school record. Can the Wonder Boy magic continue? It will for at least one more week against an 0-2 Oklahoma Baptist team.
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