Arkansas Football: Will Tough Road Ahead Derail Razorbacks' BCS Hopes?

It wasn't easy for the Arkansas Razorbacks to get to the Sugar Bowl last season. They got as high as No. 10 in the rankings after three early wins, but it looked at the time like midseason losses to Alabama and Auburn were going to bury the Hogs for good.

In retrospect, it's pretty remarkable that Arkansas was able to win each of its last six games, a stretch that included tough road contests at South Carolina and Mississippi State and a home tilt against LSU. The Hogs may have lost to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, but the overall quality of their 2010 season should not be overlooked.

So why bring this up now?

Glad you asked. I bring this up now because odds are the Hogs are going to have to do it all over again this season. They're going to move to 3-0 after they demolish Troy on Saturday—take it to the bank if you haven't already—but that's when things are going to get difficult.

Alas, no SEC team plays an easy conference schedule. But if I'm Arkansas, I'm wondering who put my conference schedule together and why they hate me so much.

Observe:

Date	Opponent
Sep. 24	at No. 2 Alabama
Oct. 8	vs. No. 21 Auburn
Oct. 22	at Ole Miss
Oct. 29	at Vanderbilt
Nov. 5	vs. No. 10 South Carolina
Nov. 12	vs. Tennessee
Nov. 19	vs. No. 25 Mississippi State
Nov. 25	at No. 3 LSU

If those eight games don't look scary enough, the Hogs also have the Southwest Classic against No. 9 Texas A&M on October 1.

True enough, with the exception of the Tennessee game on November 12, this schedule is essentially a mirror image of the schedule Arkansas played last year. And the year before that and the year before that, if you're scoring at home. Nothing out of the ordinary.

But that doesn't mean things aren't different this year. Having to take on Alabama and LSU on the road borders on being unfair, and having to host three teams that are currently ranked is also a tough deal.

Considering this, it would be foolish to think that the Hogs are going to run this particular gauntlet and come out the other end unscathed and ready for another BCS bowl.

Could they? Sure, why not? We'll see just how good Arkansas' defense is in the coming weeks, but the offense seems to be a legitimately dangerous unit. It would be even more dangerous if it had Knile Davis, but Tyler Wilson has looked pretty good. When he's not getting his bell rung, of course.

But will the Hogs run the table? I highly doubt it. Right now, I'd say it's safe to put Arkansas down as losers against both Alabama and LSU, and I'm also willing to bet that the Hogs are going to drop at least one other game before the season is over.

Obviously, three losses is not going to get it done in the SEC West, and it's certainly not going to get it done in the (mechanical) eyes of the BCS. Two losses might work, but that would put the Hogs in a position where their fate would be largely out of their hands, as was the case last year.

Here's hoping the Hogs still have some of last year's magic left over. They're going to need it.