Hogs not afraid of the dark in Baton Rouge

It is almost mythical.

To hear LSU fans tell it, you would have better luck trying to cross all the streets in Times Square blindfolded on a Saturday night than trying to get a victory in Death Valley after the sun has gone down.

Legend has it that the longer the fans have to drink, the more LSU wins.

First, let it be known that not every LSU fan is a boozer, or crazy, or a crazy boozer. Several colleagues and very close friend Ed Daniels — who happened to have attended Arkansas and earned degrees from UALR, Memphis and NYU on his way to being a tax attorney — are among the Tigers faithful.

They are all professional people who mostly would prefer that their head coach add some wrinkles to his offense and defense rather than munch on football field grass that is full of chemicals.

Maybe drunken fans can yell louder and make for a more hostile environment, but these days loud crowds are not unusual.

The Razorback Nation got really loud during its four-overtime victory over Auburn.

Alabama has more long-winded bigmouths than a Louisiana crawfish boil.

The Razorbacks will not be intimidated by the dark Saturday night in Baton Rouge. They also won’t be fazed by fans hitting their bus, screaming and showing them their middle fingers.

In 2009, the Razorbacks went to Death Valley and played the Tigers off their feet. The Tigers led 17-6 at the half but only 24-20 after three quarters.

The Hogs took a 30-27 lead with 1:18 to play when Ryan Mallett capped a 75-yard drive by hitting Joe Adams with a 14-yard touchdown pass. But the Tigers drove 41 yards to set up a 41-yard field goal by Josh Jasper with four seconds to play to send it to overtime.

Jasper, who kicked four field goals in the game, hit a 36-yarder in overtime, and the Hogs missed a field goal.

Arkansas won almost every statistical category except the one on the scoreboard, yet none of that had to do with playing at night, and it most likely won’t this Saturday.

Logic says the Razorbacks’ spirits will be skyhigh coming off a victory over Ole Miss. It was a victory that originally seemed like an upset, but when you consider that neither defense dominated, maybe it was just a big victory.

LSU should be down a little after suffering its first loss of the season, a 30-16 defeat against Alabama.

Of course, the Tigers are not mathematically eliminated from the SEC race. When they won the 2007 BCS national championship, they had suffered two triple-overtime losses in the regular season.

The Kentucky Wildcats beat the Tigers 43-37 in Lexington. A few weeks later, the Razorbacks went to Baton Rouge and came out with a 50-48 victory.

So the Tigers, who still have games against Ole Miss and Texas A&M, are hoping to win out and are praying that Mississippi State or Auburn will give Alabama another loss. I didn’t mention Alabama plays Charleston Southern for a reason.

Arkansas is still playing to become bowl eligible, and the more victories it gets, the better the bowl because its fans have the reputation of following the Hogs in the postseason. There will be a few hundred Hogs fans in Baton Rouge on Saturday night.

If they choose to wear red, they are the ones who need to be on guard. If they also want to keep their car magnets for the drive home, they might want to remove them and lock them inside the car before kickoff.

Les Miles has said the Tigers have to put the loss to Alabama behind them and that they are moving forward.

Arkansas has to find a way to slow Leonard Fournette, put some pressure on Brandon Harris and not miss so many tackles, or it will be a long but not necessarily scary night.