A new Spring Newsletter is here! This is the first of the two Spring newsletters I will be blogging each month. Stay tuned for my next Spring Newsletter.
Yellow Springs, Arkansas is the home of the Arkansas Razorbacks, a college football powerhouse and the home to the Arkansas State Sun Devils. The Razorbacks have built a reputation for being one of the premier programs in the SEC and are currently on a nine-game winning streak. There are a lot of fans of the Arkansas State Sun Devils and there’s a ton of rivalry between the two schools.
And just like any sports rivalry, it is bound to get heated. There are so many fans of each school, I wouldn’t be surprised if the two schools would actually end up fighting to the death.
The Sun Devils have just dropped a shocking 41-17 decision to play the University of Central Arkansas. The game was a lot closer the second half, but it still ended up being one of the most decisive games of the season, with the Razorbacks prevailing with a last-second field goal. The Sun Devils also defeated the University of Arkansas, 27-17, in the Sun Dome this past September (see the Arkansas State Sun Devils Football Stadium Video).
The Sun Devils are the favorite to win the Sun Belt Conference, which is a step up from the Arkansas State Sun Devils Football Stadium. It’s clear that the Sun Devils are in the best position to make the conference playoffs and win it all this season. In fact, the Sun Devils have a decent shot at winning the conference, but I think Arkansas State is a very real threat to make it into the SEC Championship Game.
The Sun Devils are in the top 3-4 teams in the Sun Belt Conference. That means they are the only team with at least one good win in each of their last 6 games. If they stay healthy, I think they’ll be in the top 4 of the conference. Arkansas State is coming off a very successful season last year. They beat Texas A&M, Mississippi State, and ULM to get to the playoffs and win the conference.
Arkansas State needs to win a game to have any chance at making the conference championship game. The last three games they have played have been very winnable and they need to win to keep their hopes alive. The last time they played Ole Miss they won by a scoreline of 72-55. That was a game that many believed was over for them. If they play against the SEC’s top 5 teams a week from now they’ll have to win by at least 20 points.
Arkansas State is in the midst of a very difficult schedule. Their two losses are to rival Ole Miss and Arkansas, two SEC rivalries that they have to win to win the conference. Their next two games are against Arkansas, who has won nine of its last ten games, and in-state rival Louisiana. They are also playing against a very good Memphis team. Their next two games are against Missouri and Auburn. Their next two games are against Georgia Tech and Texas A&M.
But it’s not just the schedule that has them behind. Arkansas State’s only two wins in conference play have come against Ole Miss and Arkansas. They’ve also lost their last two games by one point. It’s the same story in the SEC and the conference is a lot more competitive than most people expect. We’ll have to wait until next week to see how much of that changes.
Its the same story in college football as well, but its different in that the teams that are more competitive are much more likely to be ranked higher in the polls, and in each of their last five games the SEC teams have lost by a touchdown or less.