In just a little over 48 hours, the college football season will officially begin.
The annual SEC Media Days event kicks off in Birmingham this week and Arkansas Head Coach Bobby Petrino is the first coach scheduled to appear on Wednesday morning along with Razorback players Knile Davis, Jarius Wright and Tenarius Wright.
For now, though, it’s time to unveil our predictions for the 2011 season — as well as ask you to give us yours. It’s always a fun time every year to have everyone share their version of what the future holds.
As usual, we’re planning to do this with a three-part series of posts over the next three days so that we can fully break down all of the prognostications.
We start today with the bottom line…wins and losses.
| Date | Opponent | TipsterHog | HogBlogger | Sunshine | HogBaller |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 3 | Missouri State | W | W | W | W |
| Sept. 10 | New Mexico | W | W | W | W |
| Sept. 17 | Troy | W | W | W | W |
| Sept. 24 | at Alabama | L | L | L | W |
| Oct. 1 | Texas A&M | W | L | L | W |
| Oct. 8 | Auburn | W | W | W | W |
| Oct. 22 | at Ole Miss | W | W | W | W |
| Oct. 29 | at Vanderbilt | W | W | W | W |
| Nov. 5 | South Carolina | W | L | W | W |
| Nov. 12 | Tennessee | W | W | W | W |
| Nov. 19 | Mississippi State | W | W | W | W |
| Nov. 25 | at LSU | L | W | W | L |
| Conference Record | 6-2 | 6-2 | 7-1 | 7-1 | |
| Regular Season Record | 10-2 | 9-3 | 10-2 | 11-1 | |
A few notes:
- Bobby Petrino finally gets what he’s wanted since he arrived on The Hill…three non-conference games in a row to open the season. Watching for signs of development from Tyler Wilson and the new offensive linemen will be the storyline. Expect some adjustments each week as both (hopefully) improve. Look for at least one shutout by the Razorback defense during this stretch, as well.
- Like many others, we apparently can’t decide who’s going to win the Texas A&M game. For the first time, we’re split 50/50 right down the line on our predictions. So is this the year the Aggies start making the Southwest Classic more…classic?
- Switching out Georgia for Tennessee is definitely a good trade. Even though playing in Knoxville next year will be a challenge, Derek Dooley will still be in the middle of his rebuilding project when the Vols travel to Northwest Arkansas this season.
- Home wins versus South Carolina in Fayetteville and Mississippi State in Little Rock will be critical. While there are winnable road games on the schedule, nothing is ever easy in the SEC. Raucous home crowds will be a necessity with both the Gamecocks and Bulldogs expected to be even better this season.
Coming up tomorrow: Will the Hogs win their bowl game and who will be the breakout player of the year?
Hogs team will win approximately 15 or 17 games this year. That should be plenty of wins for the big time champs of all.
Glad to see you back Hogs Guy. Look forward to your predictions this year.
11-1 with the one loss to Tennessee. We regroup and close out strong on the way to the SEC championship game.
Realistically we go 10-2….but BP's Hogs have exceeded expectations every year (at least in my opinion)! Go Hogs!
Don’t see us losing to Bama – since they open with the same number of cupcakes we do and they have an incredibly inexperienced QB, our defense is the difference. Contain Richardson and we’re golden.
A&M will be a tough game, but again I like our D in this one.
LSU is putting in a new offense and lost a lot of talent on the defensive side. I like our chances.
12-0 and in the BCS NC game. This is our year to get there.
That is what I like to hear soup, most everyone is timid about 12-0 but I think it is possible and probable! 12-0 go hogs, Petrino has allowed us to raise our expectations and we should!
2011 is going to be our year. Last year was a great primer. Calling the hogs on Bourbon street again! We will go back to New Orleans this year, only playing in the NC Game this time. We will have the experience, the confidence, and the hottest game in the country.
I agree, 12-0. It takes defense, and this is the year our defense is going to be peaking. Such a balanced attack on offense – and look, running game is stacked! Receivers are stacked! – Petrino has all the tools.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6oIvE5mWAA
Hogs 45
Sooners 17
I am making a comment in hopes that it will generate some football season weather vibes here in Tulsa—–the grass in on fire and the water in the river is boiling. Scratch that—–there is no water in the Arkansas River!
Making the championship game takes tons of luck, chemistry, talent, leadership; it’s too tough to call. But, I believe. You gotta believe.
I believe!
I’m not buying into the A&M hype. The Aggies are over-rated.
Their defense won’t be able to contain our running or passing game.
On offense, Tannyhill isn’t a playmaker, he’s a game manager WITH a few playmakers. He doesn’t make many mistakes, whick is ok if you have a defense like Bama, and they don’t.
I still haven’t decided on whether we will go 11-1 or 10-2.
We should lose to Bama realistically. A great D and a great RB can go a long, long ways in Tuscaloosa. They will have both.
Unless the Hogs can come up with a couple of critical turnovers, I don’t see the Hogs pulling this one off with their inexperienced OTs and QB.
Now on the other hand, LSU could wind up being a game for all the marbles.
If the Hogs only have Bama as their only loss up to that point, The OT and QB inexperience may not be as much of a factor as it was earlier in the season.
We always play LSU tough, even in Baton Rouge. By then, Bama may have already lost twice by playing at Miss. St. and LSU.
Regardless of where we are in the standings going into the LSU game, I’m still 50/50 on that game.
I think we have a great shot at the SEC championship game, but it will take a few breaks in this league. I think we finish at least 10-2.
I live in Texas, and that's the word down here – A&M is being given WAY too much credit. Could be just trying to temper expectations, but I agree with your assessment of them.
With our experienced defense, especially up front, I think we can take Bama. Their offense should be 1 dimensional and if we can get pressure on the QB it could be a long day for them. But maybe I'm just too hopeful that this is our year.
Don't forget where A&M falls on the schedule. It's as much about that as it is how good the Aggies might be. Win or lose at Tuscaloosa, a bounce back against a Top 15 team the next week will be very challenging.
Good point – it will be tough for sure.
My crystal ball is a little hazy. OK, cloudy. Could be the humidity. Or the sulphur dioxide. Turn off the AC. There.
I'm seeing an "N" and an. . .is that an "O" or a "C"? Not sure. Could be New Orleans; could be National Championship. Sometimes NO means NO, like No Championship.
What's the penalty for being wrong here? I'm skeptical of the "15 or 17 games" that Hogs Guy prophecises, but I'm definitely getting a double-digit "W" vibe.
I'm going with NC. SEC West Champs. SEC Champions. National Championship. 14-0.
Ya gotta have some magic to win a NC. If ya play it safe, you're an also-ran.
I think we have a good chance at Alabama. We would have won last year if our defensive line was a little stouter. This year we have the beef on the line. Bama will have an inexperienced quarterback. I think we win. I am more concerned by the A&M game. After an emotional gave against the Tide, there will be a letdown. A&M is getting better. I think we beat Bama and lose to the Aggies. I think that after that we can run the table, although we will need the ball to bounce our way and not lose too many players to injury. I like our chances at LSU. I think we will go to the SEC championship game and play Georgia. The winner will play the Sooners for the National Championship. It should be a great year.
There's no way OU should be the pre-season #1 pick. They played an incredibly weak schedule last season in a league that fielded Texas A&M, Missouri and Nebraska as their best competition.
Texas was a miserable 5-7 team and the Sooners played against a Nebraska team in the Big 12 championship game that played great against super weak competition early in the season, only to falter late with an injured RS Freshman QB down the stretch.
They finished the season with a joke of a BCS game against UConn in the Fiesta Bowl, who finished in a 7-5,3-way tie for first in the freakin Big East. Now that's bigtime.
They underachieved all year long with a 4,000 yard passer in a league with terrible, terrible pass defenses.
OU will be the luckiest team in the NCAA if they make it to the NC game.
I agree that OU is overrated. The media always likes them because of their history. But since they are starting the season rated so high and their conference schedule is not as difficult as the Hog's, they have a good chance of being in the championship game.
I feel in my bones that we will lose one — and only one — out of Bama, TAMU, & LSU. I want to beat Bama so bad, and I think we have a shot — but probably that's the one we lose.
Beyond that, our NC hopes will come down to holding serve against the teams we "should" beat. South Carolina & MSU will deservedly get a lot of attention, but Auburn, Tennessee, & @Ole Miss are also fully capable of beating us if we don't show up to play. Best thing about these 5 'should-wins' is that 4 are at home. That gives me hope.
So I'll go 11-1, 7-1. In order to go to Atlanta we'll either need Bama to lose twice or them & LSU/MSU to only lose once, creating a 3-way tie that we can win by BCS standings.
Looking at the schedule reminds me again how stinkin' hard it is to win a national championship as an SEC team. The margin for error is razorthin. I think this team has what it takes to do it, but we'll have to play up to potential every week AND get some breaks.
I believe.