Auburn football’s schedule includes an FCS team (Alabama A&M), the state of New Mexico’s weaker Division I team (UNM Lobos), and Cal before Arkansas visits on September 21. The Tigers may easily move to 4-0 after defeating the Razorbacks ahead of their season’s home highlight, a Week 5 matchup against Oklahoma, which will play its first SEC road game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
By no means do the Hogs have an easy early schedule. Week 2 against Oklahoma State in Stillwater promises to be a hard test, while UAB is a sneaky AAC club that could be in line for a significant second-year improvement under Trent Dilfer.
Arkansas has a considerably more difficult challenge after Auburn. Sam Pittman’s difficult sequence of road games at Texas A&M, followed by home games against Tennessee and LSU, could mean the end.
Especially if there was a loss to AU before it.
If that is the Razorbacks’ reality by late October, Arkansans can look forward to Bobby Petrino returning as head coach after two New Year’s Six bowl appearances in 2010 and 2011.
Sam Pittman on the hotseat and Bobby Petrino is already linked to Arkansas’ head coaching job
On August 16, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger formally linked Petrino to Pittman’s Arkansas head coaching job.
“On the cusp of a firing last December, Pittman, like Aranda, is getting an extra year to show improvement,” Dellenger began by stating: “That might hinge on his new offensive coordinator, Bobby Petrino, the former Arkansas head coach who many believe could replace Pittman in a return to the big chair.”
Pittman is in the same situation that Bryan Harsin was in on the Plains two years ago. He’s a lame duck with little support from the fan base and the program’s leadership. Arkansas at least has a backup plan, which Auburn lacked as they prepared to end Harsin’s stint with the Tigers.
