It hurt, didn’t it?
A blocked extra point.
A bad snap on a field goal attempt.
What was about to be a touchdown fumbled into the end zone.
Alabama 14, Arkansas 13.
This is a team that could be 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference instead of the team with the longest losing streak in the SEC at 15 games.
The loss to Texas A&M in overtime hurt. The loss to Alabama hurt even more.
But think how far Arkansas has come from the teams that lost 52-0 the previous two seasons to the Crimson Tide.
It would be poetic justice of sorts if the SEC losing streak ended in Little Rock on Saturday at a time when the athletic administration in Fayetteville seems dead set on ending the great Razorback tradition of Little Rock games (though I suspect the final decision again will be made by the UA Board of Trustees, not Jeff Long).
The weather should be perfect Saturday afternoon. I hope War Memorial Stadium is its old rockin’ self.
Meanwhile, anyone who claims to have predicted before the season that the state of Mississippi would be the center of the college football world in the middle of October is a liar.
I don’t know how to say it more plainly. Nobody saw this coming.
Arkansas still gets to take a swing at Mississippi State in Starkville and Ole Miss in Fayetteville.
But first things first: It’s Georgia in Little Rock on Saturday afternoon.
We were 7-0 on the picks last week, making the record 50-4 through the first seven weeks of the season.
Let’s get to the picks for Week 8:
Georgia 28, Arkansas 25 — No Todd Gurley for Georgia? Todd who? Freshman Nick Chubb carried 28 times for 143 yards and one touchdown as Georgia shut out Missouri in Columbia, 34-0. Georgia rolls into the City of Roses with records of 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC. The Bulldogs had the ball for more than 42 minutes against Missouri and finished with 379 yards of offense. Missouri never reached the red zone. Is this the week the Hogs break through? Arkansas did manage 335 yards of offense against Alabama, but only 89 of that came on the ground. Brandon Allen was 21 of 40 passing for 246 yards as Arkansas lost for an eighth consecutive time to Alabama. If Arkansas is going to pull the upset on Saturday, it’s going to have to score in the fourth quarter. The Razorbacks have been outscored 62-0 in the fourth quarter and overtimes of their past five SEC games. And Arkansas has lost 12 consecutive games to ranked teams. The most recent victory over a ranked team came in January 2012 against Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl when that fellow named Petrino was the head Hog.
Southeastern Louisiana 31, UCA 30 — The Bears are 3-0 in the Southland Conference (and 4-3 overall) after a 70-0 thrashing of an awful Houston Baptist team in Conway last Saturday night. It could have been worse. UCA led 56-0 at halftime. It was the sixth-highest margin of victory ever for a UCA team. Three Bear quarterbacks threw touchdown passes. Taylor Reed out of El Dorado was five of five passing in the first half for 106 yards and two touchdowns. UCA ended the game with 287 yards passing and 258 yards rushing. Things will be much more difficult this week as the Bears make the long trip to Hammond, La., to take on a Southeastern Louisiana team that’s also 3-0 in conference play after victories of 63-7 over Incarnate Word, 30-22 over Northwestern State and 61-34 over Lamar. Southeastern is 5-2 overall, having won nonconference games by scores of 44-3 over Jacksonville University and 41-14 over Southern Utah and having lost 35-20 to Tulane and 24-23 to Southeast Missouri. This should be a heck of a game. We’ll give a slight edge to the home team.
Grambling 29, UAPB 19 — The Golden Lions have had two weeks to prepare for this game, but it might not help at Eddie Robinson Stadium on Saturday afternoon against a much-improved Grambling squad. The Tigers lost their first three games by scores of 42-27 to Lamar, 47-0 to Houston and 36-23 to Bethune-Cookman. Then they entered SWAC play and have won four consecutive contests — 40-35 over Jackson State, 26-20 over Prairie View A&M, 38-28 over Alabama A&M and 28-21 over Alcorn State. UAPB’s only victory this season has been against tiny Concordia College out of Alabama. The losses have been to Texas State, Alabama State, Jackson State and Southern University.
Harding 38, Ouachita 27 — The biggest game to this point in the season in the Great American Conference will be played in Searcy on Saturday night. Harding is 5-0 and No. 13 in NCAA Division II. Ouachita is 5-0 and No. 22 in NCAA Division II. That gives the GAC three ranked teams since Henderson (6-0) is No. 6. This is the first meeting between two ranked GAC teams since Ouachita and Harding met in October 2012. Harding won that game, 34-14. Harding beat 1-5 UAM, 55-15, last Saturday in Monticello as the Bisons’ option attack gained 454 yards on the ground. The Bisons lead NCAA Division II in rushing, averaging 410.2 yards per game. Harding has won nine consecutive games, a school record. Ouachita is off to a 5-0 start for a third consecutive year after making the long trip to Northwestern Oklahoma and defeating the 1-5 Rangers, 41-10. Etauj Allen returned two punts for touchdowns in that game. In a victory the previous week against Southwestern Oklahoma, the Ouachita defense scored three touchdowns. The Tigers likely will have to have scores from the defense or special teams to knock off Harding. Ouachita is the only college program in the state with six consecutive winning seasons, but the Tigers have not defeated the Bisons since Ouachita’s GAC championship season of 2011.
Henderson 49, Arkansas Tech 24 — The Reddies played their worst game of the season and still managed to beat 2-4 Southwestern Oklahoma on the road, 28-14. That game was tied 14-14 at the half. Don’t expect Henderson to play poorly two weeks in a row. Arkansas Tech is 3-3 overall following a 21-14 loss to Southern Arkansas in Magnolia. Henderson quarterback Kevin Rodgers should have a field day against a Wonder Boy defense that gave up 334 yards through the air against the Muleriders.
Southern Arkansas 40, Southern Nazarene 20 — This is a Mulerider team that’s 3-3 and getting better every week behind quarterback Si Blackshire, who had three touchdown passes in the win over Arkansas. SAU is 3-0 at home and 0-3 on the road. The Muleriders are home Saturday against an 0-6 Southern Nazarene team. Enough said.