FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said quarterback Brandon Allen has recovered swiftly from the oblique muscle injury that affected his play in the Razorbacks' 21-14 loss at Missouri on Nov. 28.
Allen suffered the injury on his right side in Arkansas' 30-0 victory over Ole Miss and he said it impacted his throwing against Missouri.
Allen participated in the Razorbacks' first bowl practice on Sunday.
"He did everything from start to finish," Bielema said. "He's 100 percent. If we played a game tomorrow, he'd be the starter and play all four quarters. He looked really, really good."
Bielema said tight end AJ Derby, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, was at practice but hasn't been cleared to work yet.
"This week is kind of a bonus week and we'll see where he's at," Bielema said. "We probably wouldn't get him involved until we get closer to the prep.
"We're not going to push him back until the doctors say he's ready to rock and roll."
Recruiting pitch
Bret Bielema sees Arkansas' repeated presence in Texas this season, capped by the Dec. 29 Texas Bowl appearance against Texas, as a big plus in recruiting.
The game will be shown on ESPN at 8 p.m., in the time slot normally held by Monday Night Football, a detail not lost on Bielema.
"We won't be able to have any better coverage or notoriety across the country," Bielema said. "I think that will be really good for us in recruiting also."
Toughest slate
Arkansas' opponents had a 77-36 record, which gave the Razorbacks the nation's toughest schedule based on their opponent winning percentage of .681.
Ole Miss was second in those rankings, with the Rebels' opponents going 75-38 (.664), followed by Auburn (73-39, .652), Miami, Fla. (73-40, .646) and UCLA (78-49, .614).
Early struggle
Texas Coach Charlie Strong's debut season had its share of rocky moments, including a 3-5 start, which made Strong pleased that the Longhorns have reached the postseason.
"I'm just so happy for our team," Strong said. "For us to have struggled early and then somehow find a way to get to six wins and being able to go to the Texas Bowl is really exciting for our players and also for our fan base."
Bielema's ranks
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema had the same top six on his ballot in the USA Today Coaches poll as the College Football Playoff selection committee with his vote reading: 1. Alabama, 2. Oregon, 3. Florida State, 4. Ohio State, 5. Baylor, 6. TCU.
Here's how Bielema placed the other six SEC teams that appeared in the Coaches poll, with Bielema's vote in parenthesis: No. 7 Mississippi State (7), No. 12 Ole Miss (9), No. 13 Georgia (10), No. 14 Missouri (20), No. 19 Auburn (15), and No. 23 LSU (23).
Bielema put his former team -- No. 17 Wisconsin -- at No. 21 in his final poll after the Badgers lost 59-0 to Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game.
Hogs at No. 14
Arkansas finished the regular season at No. 14 in the sports-reference.com rankings, a group of metrics that includes scoring, passing and rushing figures adjusted for strength of schedule, as well as offensive and defensive components.
Oregon topped the sports-reference.com rankings, followed by Alabama, Ole Miss, TCU, Ohio State, Georgia, Mississippi State, Baylor, Auburn and Florida State in the top 10. The Razorbacks came in behind No. 11 Michigan State, Georgia Tech and Southern California.
Key dates
The Razorbacks will have their senior banquet on Friday night, which leads into a Saturday practice and the start of finals week.
Coach Bret Bielema said he expected to have two or three practices during the week of finals and then two to four practices the following week.
Bielema said he expected the Razorbacks will practice in Fayetteville on the morning of Dec. 26 before heading to Houston.
Sports on 12/08/2014