Arkansas Football: Why the Hogs Are an SEC Contender No One's Talking About

Arkansas Football is alive and well in 2011, but up to now they have not attracted much attention. This team is a serious contender for the SEC title, and will start turning heads as the season goes on.

Here are a few reasons why the Hogs are not getting noticed.

Written Off: All of the 2011 Arkansas college football previews focused on players that the Hogs have lost. Quarterback Ryan Mallett is now in the NFL playing with the New England Patriots, and the hogs lost superstar running back Knile Davis to injury. Without key players, no one has given the Hogs a chance to make noise this season.

Rest of the SEC: The SEC is the best college football conference and is always making headlines. With two teams in the top five of the college football rankings, they are the ones getting the attention. Alabama is currently No. 2 with LSU right behind them in the polls. Until Arkansas plays one of those teams are skyrockets up the polls, they will not get any attention.

Schedule: Other teams in the SEC have had difficult games early in the schedule. Alabama went to Happy Valley to take on Penn State. LSU opened with a game against Oregon and have also played on the road against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. With games against Missouri State, New Mexico and Troy, the Hogs won’t get much attention.

That is about to change. After this game against Troy, the Hogs will face top ranked Alabama and with an impressive outing, will force the country to take notice.

James Brown is a B/R Featured Columnist. Feel free to contact James at [e-mail]