Arkansas-LSU Has Bowl Implications

By Robbie Neiswanger

Posted: November 28, 2009 at 4:33 a.m.

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BATON ROUGE — Arkansas safety Matt Harris is putting the perfect holiday plans together in his head.

The Dallas-area native, who is in the final few weeks of his college career, would love to pack his belongings, load them into a U-Haul and drive home for Christmas. He would enjoy being in his hometown for Cotton Bowl week and playing his final game in front of family and friends.

“But we’re not really focused on what’s after LSU,” Harris said Wednesday night, quickly changing the subject because of the challenge that lies ahead. “If we take care of LSU, we know everything else will be taken care of.”

There won’t be division titles or national championship implications tied into tonight’s battle for the Golden Boot between No. 17 LSU (8-3, 4-3 in Southeastern Conference) and Arkansas (7-4, 3-4). But there is a little more than just bragging rights at stake in Tiger Stadium.

In essence, the annual, season-ending rivalry is being billed as a playoff of sorts. The winner becomes the favorite to receive an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2 and spend the holidays in Dallas.

It is a scenario that seemed out of reach for the Razorbacks a month ago. But Arkansas has elevated itself in the bowl pecking order thanks to a four-game win streak, which has been fueled by quarterback Ryan Mallett and an offense that has been shredding opponents.

So Arkansas wants to fi nish the job by winning its fifth straight this season and third in a row against LSU.

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