Arkansas Football: Hogs destined for last place in SEC West

Arkansas football entered 2017 with hopes of challenging for a top spot in the SEC West. Instead a loss to Texas A&M might send them to the bottom.

The annual neutral site matchup between Arkansas and Texas A&M is always must-see-tv. In recent years the Razorbacks and the Aggies have been duking it out for the third and fourth spot in the ultra-competitive SEC West. This time it might have been a battle for fifth, sixth or even seventh place and the Razorbacks came out on the wrong side of the final score.

Each team traded touchdowns in the fourth and quarter multiple times before an overtime interception by Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen sealed the Razorbacks fate. Now, with five more games remaining against the West, Arkansas is in trouble.

Texas A&M suffered an atrocious loss to UCLA, was tied with an FCS squad in the fourth quarter in Week 2 and trailed at halftime to Louisiana-Lafayette in Week 3. It wasn’t Nick Saban on the other sideline, it was Kevin Sumlin. Sumlin has proven to be hot-and-cold, that can’t be said, at least not to the same degree, for the rest of the Razorbacks’ SEC West foes in 2017.

Arkansas will be an underdog to Alabama, LSU and Auburn. After the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ hot start the Hogs won’t be the favorite in that contest either. That leaves Ole Miss. With nothing to lose and a mobile quarterback, the Rebels can and will give Arkansas trouble this year.

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Where is the win? More importantly, where are the wins that will keep Arkansas from the cellar? I just don’t see them. You don’t get paid the big bucks to finish in last place. Bielema feels the pressure, but he might not be able to do much about it.