SEC Football 2008: University Of Arkansas Preview

2008 Schedule

Date     Opponent

8-30      Western Illinois

9-6        Louisiana Monroe*

9-13      @ Texas

9-20      Alabama

10-4      Florida

10-11    @ Auburn

10-18    @ Kentucky

10-25    Mississippi

11-1      Tulsa

11-8      @ South Carolina

11-22    @ Mississippi State

11-28    LSU*

* Indicates game played in Little Rock, Arkansas

Overview

The Arkansas Razorbacks enter the season as one of the biggest unknowns in the SEC.  New coach Bobby Petrino arrives to take over a team that just lost two first round picks to the NFL Draft at the running back position.  While most fans think that Arkansas will struggle mightily without Darren McFadden next year, Petrino should have his team ready to play.

Arkansas returns a pretty good offensive line, led by All-American center Jonathan Luigs.  This is good news for Petrino’s dynamic passing attack, as quarterback Casey Dick will need all the help he can get.  Dick does not have many proven targets, but is already starting to look like a completely different quarterback in Petrino’s system.  Expect to see a high octane offense from Arkansas in 2008, even if it takes a few games for it to show up.

Defensively, the Razorbacks do not have many star players, but should have a solid corps.  However, someone will have to step up quickly to fill a leadership role or Arkansas could quickly be headed to the SEC cellar.  With some talented teams in Mississippi, Arkansas will be in a dogfight for position in the SEC West standings and might even struggle to become bowl eligible.  Making a bowl would be a positive start to the Bobby Petrino era in Fayetteville.

Stay tuned for the full 2008 SEC Football Preview, which will include an in-depth position-by-position breakdown of the Arkansas Razorbacks, along with every other SEC team.