FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas will take on six teams ranked in the top 20 of the USA Today Coaches preseason Top 25 poll released Wednesday.
The poll is topped by defending national champion Florida State. It also includes No. 2 Alabama, No. 5 Auburn, No. 12 Georgia, No. 13 LSU, No. 19 Ole Miss and No. 20 Texas A&M — all of whom will play the Razorbacks this season.
The only other SEC member in the poll is No. 9 South Carolina, which was projected by league media to win the SEC East.
Arkansas received one vote in the poll for the second consecutive year, meaning one coach put the Razorbacks’ 25th on his ballot. The same is true for Arizona and Northern Illinois, the Hogs’ opponent Sept. 20.
Arkansas opens the season Aug. 30 at defending SEC champion Auburn, then takes on the other five ranked opponents during a seven-game stretch from Sept. 27 to Nov. 22. The Razorbacks play an NCAA-best 10 teams that played in bowl games last season.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema is one of seven SEC coaches voting in the poll. The others are LSU’s Les Miles, Missouri’s Gary Pinkel, Georgia’s Mark Richt, Alabama’s Nick Saban, South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin.
Arkansas State Coach Blake Anderson has a vote, as does Cincinnati’s Tommy Tuberville, the Camden native and former Auburn coach.