LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Razorbacks broadcasters Chuck Barrett and Keith Jackson feel there’s a lot of time left for this season to be special for the 5-2 Razorbacks.
“When I went through my preseason predictions, I thought we would be one win better than where we are right now,” Jackson said Monday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club at P.A.R.K. “Who knew Auburn would be this good?”
Barrett said, “This is the time of the year where the season is made. By beating Ole Miss, they were able to keep their goals they had set early on. If they lost, then all of those goals go out the window. If you saw that game Saturday, you could see both teams were fighting for their lives.”
With games against No. 11 LSU (on Nov. 27 in Little Rock), at No. 20 South Carolina (on Nov. 6) and at No. 21 Mississippi State (on Nov.20), the Razorbacks have an opportunity to notch three significant victories and win at least nine games.
“We have one more game in October and then the real stuff begins,” Barrett said. “You look at Mississippi State and the thing is they are not doing it Dan Mullen’s way. He’s taking the players he’s got and doing the best with them and they’re winning ugly.”
Jackson said the rest of the games are winnable, but quarterbacks such as LSU’s Jordan Jefferson and South Carolina’s Steven Garcia are very athletic, which has presented problems for Arkansas’ defense.
Winning 38-24 over Ole Miss on Saturday, in a game that was delayed twice by lightning, was pleasing for Barrett because the Razorbacks were able to be physical, rushing for 197 yards, with Knile Davis picking up 176 of them with three touchdowns.
“Knile Davis has turned into the most consistent player at running back,” Barrett said. “When the season started, I thought Dennis Johnson would be that player. And while we are all conditioned to think that a running back’s No. 1 priority is to carry the ball, in this offense, he has to pass protect because if Ryan Mallett gets hit, he’s going to be on the sideline.:
Regarding Mallett, who missed part of the game with a shoulder injury, Jackson believes he should return to play Saturday against Vanderbilt, but added that it’s nice to have a good backup in Tyler Wilson.
As far as the rest of the SEC is concerned, Barrett said he thinks Auburn and Arkansas are the two best teams in the nation and would pick them over anybody else. He said Alabama is the only team in the top 10 that has a dominating defense. Jackson said Auburn is a complete team, but questions remain whether the Tigers’ defense can step up when called upon.
With the prospect of the SEC East champion finishing the season with at least three losses, Barrett said he’s watching to see what the SEC does when it comes to bowl selections. He remembers 1995 when the Razorbacks won the SEC West and “wasn’t protected by the SEC” when it came to bowl selections. The Hogs ended up in the Carquest Bowl, which Barrett said was the “worst bowl in history.”
“I was down there for a week and didn’t see any Razorback fans until the day of the game,” Barrett said.
“You wonder after the BCS, if some of these bowls will take an LSU or Arkansas over a three- or four-loss team from the East because you have to wonder if some of those teams from the East will travel after a disappointing season. I’ll be interested to see what the SEC does.”
Sports, Pages 21 on 10/26/2010