FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas moved up five spots to No. 17 in the latest Associated Press poll following Saturday’s 34-30 win over then-No. 12 Ole Miss.
The Razorbacks (5-2, 1-2) have been ranked six straight weeks since winning at TCU on Sept. 10. The Hogs are one of eight ranked SEC schools, joining No. 1 Alabama, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 15 Florida, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 21 Auburn, No. 23 Ole Miss and No. 25 LSU.
Arkansas plays at Auburn on Saturday in its third straight top-25 matchup. It will be the fourth time in coach Bret Bielema’s four seasons at the program in which the Razorbacks have played a stretch of at least three consecutive games against ranked foes. A similar stretch occurred three times in Bobby Petrino’s four years and three times in Houston Nutt’s 10 seasons.
With post-Auburn home matchups looming against Florida and LSU, there is a possibility of five consecutive games against ranked opponents, which would tie the longest stretch in school history, equaling the Texas A&M-Florida-South Carolina-Alabama-Auburn gauntlet Bielema’s first team faced in consecutive weeks in 2013.
AP Top 25
1 Alabama
2 Ohio State
3 Michigan
4 Clemson
5 Washington
6 Texas A&M
7 Louisville
8 Nebraska
9 Baylor
10 Wisconsin
11 Houston
12 West Virginia
13 Florida State
14 Boise State
15 Florida
16 Oklahoma
17 Arkansas
18 Tennessee
19 Utah
20 Western Michigan
21 Auburn
22 North Carolina
23 Ole Miss
24 Navy
25 LSU