FAYETTEVILLE -- Few games have fluctuated during the month before their kickoff like this Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Texas A&M Aggies SEC West clash Saturday at Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Conceding the Razorbacks losing their Aug. 30 season opener at reigning SEC champion Auburn, Arkansas optimists, believing 2014 light at the 2013 end of an 0-8 SEC tunnel, crackled the summer talk radio airwaves theorizing the A&M game would mark Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema's first SEC success.
They reasoned that A&M, 11-2 and 9-4 the past two seasons despite subpar defenses, remains defensively challenged but without Johnny Manziel to compensate.
Quarterback Manziel, the 2012 Heisman winner and also magnificent in 2013, presumably took A&M's magic with him to the NFL.
Presto! A&M coach/magician Kevin Sumlin pulled sophomore quarterback Kenny Hill out of his hat. In the college season's Thursday night, Aug. 28 debut against the then-ninth-ranked preseason SEC East favorite and dark horse national champion candidates South Carolina Gamecocks, Hill present outdid Manziel past. Hill completed 40 of 60 for a school record 511 yards and 3 touchdowns in A&M's 52-28 stunning triumph.
A&M looked Arkansas insurmountable.
Arkansas optimism renewed with Arkansas playing Auburn to a 21-21 first half in Auburn, Ala. It quickly expired. Auburn compiled a 24-0 second half to win, 45-21.
Now, through no fault of A&M, it seems maybe Arkansas' ball-control offense could shorten the game and perhaps make an uncomfortably longer day for A&M's defense.
A&M, 4-0, remains impressive routing Lamar, 73-3 Rice, 38-10 and SMU, 58-6 its last three nonconference games. The Aggies' last three marks impress but their schedule just marks time.
SMU, 0-3, struggles every outing. Rice also is 0-3 and lost at home to Old Dominion in Old Dominion's FBS and Conference USA debut.
Lamar is 3-1 but victories over Grambling State, a shell of itself post the late Coach Eddie Robinson's Grambling heydays, Texas College and Mississippi College don't inspire A&M accolades.
The constant cupcakes concern Sumlin.
"We'll know a lot more about us next week," Sumlin said post SMU pointing to Arkansas.
Meanwhile, Arkansas' schedule builds it better.
Routing 73-7 an awful Nicholls State team broke Arkansas' 10-game losing streak. Arkansas fed off the confidence builder to dominate, 49-28 Texas Tech of the Big 12 at Tech and then snap Northern Illinois' NCAA leading 17-games road winning streak. The Razorbacks dominated NIU, 52-14 last Saturday in Fayetteville.
The successes and ball-control way they were achieved gives the Hogs hope despite an opponent ranked sixth nationally.
"We have been getting better since that Auburn performance," Bielema said. "I am really excited to go play in Jerry World at AT&T Stadium and have the opportunity to be on that big stage."
An opportunity not just to share the the stage, but perhaps steal the show.
Sports on 09/22/2014