Like It Is

Time to get over Missouri, focus on bowl

Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen walks off the field following a 28-24 loss to Missouri on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, in Columbia, Mo.
Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen walks off the field following a 28-24 loss to Missouri on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, in Columbia, Mo.

It was supposed to be sunny with temperatures near 60 degrees when Arkansas took on Missouri the day after Thanksgiving.

Instead, it was gray skies until late in the fourth quarter, or around the time the Tigers took the lead, and in the low 40s. But there were numerous pockets of Razorbacks red in the stands, and a decent showing in the Arkansas section.

One question some bowl folks have asked themselves since that game, concerns how many of the Razorbacks Nation will travel after that 28-24 loss?

There's something hugely more appealing about an 8-4 record than 7-5, and the same for each number going up to undefeated.

It is supposed to totally be up to the bowls as to which teams they invite, but to believe that the SEC, and, especially ESPN, have no say would be ludicrous.

Given the glut of bowls, it gets wearisome for ESPN, the most powerful entity in sports, to broadcast games in front of half full stadiums.

This morning, that picture will clear up after the College Football Playoff selection committee announces its final four.

All other bowls, followed by the New Year's Day Six, will then fall into place.

College football fans then get to decide how many miles they will drive and how much they can spend to support their team.

The focus will, for the most part, turns to the next opponent, which is always the best way to develop a short memory when the last game was a loss.

The Razorbacks Nation has been gnashing its teeth for the past nine days, but still short of wailing, about the loss to Missouri, which was a bad way to end the regular season.

Missouri was not very good, but it outscored the Razorbacks 21-0 in the second half to overcome a 24-7 halftime deficit, and it was a bitter pill to swallow considering the Hogs' other four losses were to teams from the Western Division. All four of those losses were to ranked teams, all are going to bowl games, and one is playing for the national championship and another may be in the Sugar Bowl.

Granted, fans want to compete with those teams and have a shot at a SEC title every once in a while, so those losses were difficult to take, especially the 53-3 drubbing by Auburn.

Most don't want to admit that it is a little extra salt in the wound that Auburn is coached by Arkansas native Gus Malzahn, but it is a fact.

However, and this is not blowing sunshine, the following facts were turned up by a former crack researcher for the Veterans Administration who chose to retire to Fayetteville and has become a friend by email.

Through numerous email exchanges, it is easy to see his intelligence, eye for detail, and his undying love for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Glen, and we'll leave it at that for now, sent in some eye-opening information last week on the Razorbacks' body of work this season.

Using noted analyst Jeff Sagarin's computer rankings of college football's toughest schedules, it was discovered that Arkansas is one 11 teams out of those that played a top-25 schedule to finish with a winning record.

The Razorbacks had the nation's seventh-toughest schedule, according to Sagarin.

Of the nation's 13 most difficult schedules, five belonged to teams from the SEC West, and only Ole Miss, which had college football's toughest schedule,had a losing record.

That won't have a bearing on bowl selections, but it does seem to point out that a bitter loss to Missouri shouldn't define the body of work this season.

Sports on 12/04/2016

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