Copyright Arkansas Online
Your browser does not support the audio element. It was more of the same for the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville on a wet Saturday: The offense was good; the defense was horrible. Arkansas came close against yet another ranked opponent, only to fall short. We're getting used to this. The Arkansas offense produced more than 500 yards in the 45-42 loss to 7-0 Texas A&M, which is now ranked No. 3 in The Associated Press poll. It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Hogs, who are now 2-5 overall and 0-3 in Southeastern Conference play. Four of the five losses have been one-score games, making it all that much harder to be a Razorback fan. Arkansas outgained the Aggies 527-497 and had no turnovers. But against one of the worst defenses in FBS, the Aggies scored on seven of nine possessions to move to 7-0 for the first time since 1994. The series with Texas A&M has been particularly difficult for Razorback fans to stomach. The Aggies are 8-0 in one-score games against Arkansas since Bobby Petrino's 2011 team came back from a 17-point deficit to win 42-38. The Aggies are 13-1 in games against Arkansas since joining the SEC and have won three consecutive games in Fayetteville -- 2025, 2013 and 1990. The last Arkansas win over Texas A&M in Fayetteville came in 1988. The game against Auburn this Saturday in Fayetteville represents a golden opportunity for Petrino to get his first victory as interim head coach. An added benefit is the fact that a Razorback win would probably cost the smarmy Hugh Freeze his job at Auburn. We were 6-0 on the picks last week, making the season record 47-12. Here are the selections for this week's games: Arkansas 31, Auburn 30 -- The Tigers are now 3-4 overall and 0-4 in SEC games. After nonconference wins over Baylor, Ball State and South Alabama to start the season, Auburn has lost SEC games by scores of 24-17 to Oklahoma, 16-10 to Texas A&M, 20-10 to Georgia and 20-17 in two overtimes to Missouri. Granted, those four teams are nationally ranked. Still, Auburn fans demand better. The Razorbacks should have no problem scoring on the Tigers. Stopping Auburn is another matter entirely. We think the Hogs are due to win a close game. Arkansas State 21, Georgia Southern 20 -- In an unusual Tuesday night game, ASU kicked a field goal on the last play to escape Mobile last week with a 15-14 victory. That came 10 days after the Red Wolves scored in the final seconds to upset Texas State by a score of 31-30 in Jonesboro. With two consecutive wins, ASU is now 3-4 overall and 2-1 in Sun Belt Conference play. This week's opponent is another 3-4 team. Georgia Southern's three victories were by scores of 41-34 over Jacksonville State, 45-17 over Maine and 41-24 over Georgia State. The four losses were by scores of 42-14 to Fresno State, 59-20 to USC, 35-10 to James Madison and 38-35 to Southern Mississippi. The two teams appear evenly matched. We'll give a slight advantage to the home team. West Georgia 29, UCA 27 -- UCA is 3-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play following a 49-21 win at North Alabama on Oct. 11. The Bears had an open date last Saturday. They travel this week to West Georgia, which is 5-3 overall and 2-3 in conference action. The wins were by scores of 34-3 over Samford, 34-10 over Nicholls, 35-31 over East Tennessee State, 33-12 over Eastern Kentucky and 27-24 over Southern Utah. The losses were by scores of 44-30 to Austin Peay, 30-13 to Abilene Christian and 45-10 to Tarleton State. Bethune-Cookman 25, UAPB 14 -- The Golden Lions fell to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the SWAC with a 2016 loss to Grambling in Pine Bluff on Saturday. Grambling scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:42 remaining in the game. The Golden Lions make the long trip to Daytona Beach this week to take on 3-4 Bethune-Cookman. The three Bethune-Cookman wins were by scores of 35-9 over Edward Waters, 41-34 over Alabama A&M and 45-14 over Southern University. The four losses were by scores of 42-9 to Florida International, 45-3 to Miami, 55-41 to South Carolina State and 52-35 to Alabama State. Ouachita 35, Southern Arkansas 33 -- Southern Arkansas has lost only to No. 2 Harding. The Muleriders improved their record to 6-1 with a 42-7 win over 4-3 Arkansas Tech at the Murphy USA Classic in El Dorado on Saturday. They now must go to Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia to face a surging Ouachita team. Ouachita, which graduated 27 seniors off its 10-2 squad of a year ago, started the season 1-3. But the Tigers have won three consecutive Great American Conference games, all by margins of more than 20 points. Sophomore quarterback Nate TenBarge broke his collarbone early in a game against Southern Nazarene on Oct. 11. He was replaced by true freshman Tre Nichols. In his first start this past Saturday, Nichols led Ouachia to a 45-10 victory at UAM with 184 passing yards and 142 rushing yards. In the seven quarters he has played, he has 641 yards of offense. Ouachita has outscored its opponents 73-17 in those seven quarters. Harding 55, UAM 16 -- Harding moved to 7-0 with a 35-10 win Saturday at 5-2 Henderson. The Bisons only led 7-3 at halftime. Andrew Miller broke the school's single-game rushing record with 298 yards on 21 carries while scoring four touchdowns. The Bisons will run wild again this Saturday in Searcy against 2-5 UAM.
