VIDEO: In Little Rock, Bielema talks polls, War Memorial games

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema watches practice Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema watches practice Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema held a wide-ranging news conference before speaking at the Little Rock Touchdown Club luncheon Monday.

For a few moments, he talked about one of the first polls of the season.

Bielema said he didn't care about the initial Associated Press rankings of the season, in which Arkansas received votes but did not make the Top 25.

"I worry about postseason polls," he said.

Five Arkansas opponents did make the list — No. 1 Alabama, No. 5 LSU, No. 11 Mississippi, No. 13 TCU and No. 25 Florida. With the exception of TCU, Arkansas will play each of those opponents at Razorback Stadium.

Speaking of home games, Bielema was also asked about the Razorbacks' contract to play one game a year at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium through the 2018 season. He said he loves making the drive down to play in Little Rock, especially for his players from the area, but he added that the consistency of playing every game in Fayetteville could provide more of a home-field advantage.

As for the possibility of future games in Little Rock, Bielema said he’s not a part of the decision-making process. The Razorbacks play Alcorn State in Little Rock on Oct. 1.

"Where it's going to go from here, I have no idea," he said.

The Razorbacks held their final scrimmage of fall camp Saturday, breaking camp Sunday. Monday was the first day of classes in Fayetteville, and the players had the day off from practice.

Speaking at the luncheon in front of several hundred excited, attentive Razorback fans — including Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge — Bielema touched on a wide range of topics, previewing the team at each position, heralding his team’s senior leadership and hypothesizing which freshmen might see significant playing time, including linebacker De’Jon “Scoota” Harris, defensive end McTelvin Agim, running back Devwah Whaley and receiver T.J. Hammonds.

He also brought his sense of humor, joking about The Bret Bielema Show, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s wedding and how he almost dropped his mai tai in Hawaii after hearing that now-defensive backs coach Paul Rhodes was interested in the job.

Arkansas opens the season Sept. 3, hosting Louisiana Tech.

Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for the full story.

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