FAYETTEVILLE — Woooooo! Pig! War Eagle?
The Arkansas Razorbacks and their fans may need to adjust the Hog call on Saturday and mix in Auburn’s battle cry when the Tigers play South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game.
Arkansas has done all it can to make the program’s first Bowl Championship Series game appearance, but now needs help from Auburn.
The Razorbacks (10-2, 6-2 SEC) completed the regular season with a 31-23 victory over LSU on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium to position themselves for an invitation to the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4 in New Orleans.
But there’s a catch.
Auburn needs to beat South Carolina in Atlanta to help clear Arkansas’ path to the Sugar Bowl.
If Auburn (12-0) wins, the Tigers will be set to play in the BCS title game in Glendale, Ariz., which would allow the Sugar Bowl to invite Arkansas as its SEC representative for a probable matchup against Ohio State.
But if South Carolina (9-3) beats Auburn, the Gamecocks - who lost at home to Arkansas 41-20 this season - will earn the SEC’s automatic BCS bid and play in the Sugar Bowl. Auburn then likely would take the SEC’s other BCS spot, probably in the Orange Bowl.
So if the Razorbacks and their fans want to play in the Sugar Bowl, they have to root for SEC West rival Auburn, the last team to beat Arkansas, 65-43 on Oct. 16.
“I’ll call those guys and give them some tips if they want,” Razorbacks defensive end Jake Bequette said with a smile. “I think they’ll get it done. They’re a pretty darn good team.”
Auburn’s 28-27 victory over Alabama last Friday kept the Tigers on pace to play in the BCS title game, which in turn helped Arkansas’ BCS hopes.
Razorbacks Coach Bobby Petrino said “there’s no question” he’s become an Auburn fan for the Alabama and South Carolina games.
“It was really hard to root for Auburn though, I can tell you that,” Petrino said.
Bequette’s younger brother, Sam, is an Auburn student.
“I guess I’m going to have to learn all the chants and stuff and put on my Auburn blue and orange, as terrible as that sounds,” Bequette said. “ I’ll have to borrow some stuff from him.”
Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett said it will bea strange feeling to root for Auburn.
“You know it’s hard.” Mallett said. “But whatever is going to put us in the best position.”
Arkansas has played a combined eight times in bowl games that now comprise the BCS, including five Sugar Bowl appearances. But the Razorbacks haven’t played in a BCS game since the system of creating a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup was implemented in 1998. Arkansas’ last Sugar Bowl appearance was on Jan. 1, 1980, when the Razorbacks lost to Alabama 24-9.
But Mallett said the focus going into the LSU game wasn’t on the possibility of playing in the Sugar Bowl.
“We talked about it before the game that we wanted to get to 10 wins,” Mallett said. “That was the main thing we were worried about.
“We weren’t worried about the bowl game. We wanted to get to 10 wins, and we did.”
If South Carolina beats Auburn to keep Arkansas out of the Sugar Bowl, the Razorbacks’ most likely postseason destination would be the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1 in Orlando, Fla., or the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 7 in Arlington, Texas.
Those are quality bowls, but not the BCS.
“We don’t have any control over that, unfortunately,” Mallett said of how the bowl matchups will unfold next Sunday. “But It’s fun to be talked about getting into the BCS.”
Sports, Pages 13 on 11/29/2010