FAYETTEVILLE -- The LSU series carries extra meaning for Arkansas receivers coach Michael Smith, a New Orleans native and the Razorbacks' key recruiter in his home state.
"It's another opportunity to see a lot of friends, a lot of family, the whole situation since I've been here recruiting down there," Smith said. "It's LSU, a school in my home state that -- I don't want to say I grew up cheering for them -- but I knew about them and everybody is big about the Tigers down there and that's just something you grow up with down there."
Bielema called the fertile recruiting territory of Louisiana his "biggest surprise" since taking the Arkansas job, and that adding Smith to the staff was critical for success.
"The prominence that he's had in there ... I mean it's just overwhelming," Bielema said.
"For us, recruiting the state of Louisiana has probably been our most productive state as far as ... we may not have the largest number, but for the players we recruit and the product in return, it's off the charts."
Smith said Arkansas' two-game winning streak in the series has helped in recruiting.
"There's no doubt about it," he said. "The thing about it is that it's just a big chip on your shoulder when you're able to compete against schools like LSU and do the things that we've done in the past."
The Razorbacks have a roster dotted with key contributors from Louisiana, including receiver Jared Cornelius, defensive back Henre' Toliver, safety Santos Ramirez, linebacker Dwayne Eugene, fullback Kendrick Jackson, linebacker De'Jon Harris and defensive back Nate Dalton.
Additionally, defensive lineman Briston Guidy, quarterback Cole Kelley and linebacker Giovanni LaFrance are redshirting freshmen from Louisiana.
Ranked foes
Arkansas and LSU playing as ranked opponents has been rare, with Saturday's game representing the sixth time in the series that has happened. LSU is No. 24 in the College Football Playoff rankings while Arkansas is No. 25, with its first appearance in the third season of the CFP rankings.
The first time the Razorbacks and Tigers met as ranked opponents came in their 32nd meeting, a 0-0 tie in the Cotton Bowl after the 1946 season. No. 15 LSU beat the No. 7 Razorbacks 14-7 in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1966.
The other meetings as ranked opponents have come in the last 10 years, with No. 9 LSU edging No. 5 Arkansas 31-26 in 2006, the No. 12 Razorbacks upsetting No. 6 LSU in Little Rock in 2010, and the No. 1-ranked Tigers downing No. 3 Arkansas 41-17 in 2011.
LSU tops
Pro Football Focus, the same outfit that judged Arkansas junior Frank Ragnow as the nation's top-rated center after his dominating performance against Florida, has heaped praise on LSU this week.
The website on Thursday listed LSU as having the top-performing offensive line in the country through the first 10 weeks of the season based on its PFF O-line metric. The site claims to take into account run blocking, pass protection, situational performance and quality of opponents.
LSU has an 88.74 rating on the site's 100-point scale, with Auburn ranked second (87.23) and Alabama third (87.04). There are no other SEC teams in Pro Football Focus' ranking of the top 10 offensive lines.
Transfer QBs
Arkansas defensive line coach Rory Segrest pointed out that LSU quarterback Danny Etling will be the fifth transfer quarterback the Razorbacks have faced this season.
In addition to Etling, who was a Purdue signee out of high school, the Razorbacks have gone against TCU's Kenny Hill (Texas A&M), Texas A&M's Trevor Knight (Oklahoma), Ole Miss' Chad Kelly (Clemson) and Florida's Luke Del Rio (Alabama, Oregon State).
New-look line
With sophomore Johnny Gibson in the starting lineup, the Razorbacks have gotten bigger on their front five. The combined weight of Dan Skipper (319 pounds), Hjalte Froholdt (318), Frank Ragnow (319), Gibson (344) and Brian Wallace (335) is 1,635 pounds, or an average of 327 pounds per man. Since Gibson and Wallace have broken into the starting lineup for Colton Jackson (300) and Jake Raulerson (301), the Razorbacks have added 78 pounds.
Family ties
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron said he knows what playing the Tigers means to the Razorbacks because several of his wife Kelly's siblings live in Arkansas.
Kelly Orgeron's brother, Scotty, lives in Fayetteville, and her sister Misty and brother Russ live in Jonesboro. Including cousins, about 20 members of Kelly Orgeron's family will attend Saturday's game.
Jackson shines
Coach Bret Bielema pointed out this week after discussing the big production from tailbacks Rawleigh Williams and Devwah Whaley that one of the blockers in front of them had a big game against Florida.
"I tell you what, one of the players who ... played a really good game was Kendrick Jackson," Bielema said. "He's a kid from Haynesville, La., who is a big, strong, sturdy player that I think his game, he took it to another level last week."
Morgan-copter
Arkansas receiver Drew Morgan went spinning hard to the turf and Florida defensive back Marcell Harris also hit hard after the two crashed at the end of the best third-down conversion of the game last week.
Morgan went high over the middle to bring in a 19-yard pass on third-and-16 play from the Arkansas 23 midway through the third quarter when the two collided and stayed down on the field for a moment.
"I saw two high, cover 2 ... and I broke it towards the middle and Austin trusted me and laid it out there," Morgan said. "I knew I was going to take a hit, so rule No. 1 as a receiver, catch the ball. So that's what I did."
Green light
Reynolds Razorback Stadium was illuminated in green light on Thursday night in celebration of Veteran's Day and in support of the Greenlight A Vet program. It is the second year in a row for the green light tribute at Razorback Stadium for those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Arkansas athletics is partnering with Wal-Mart to support organizations for veterans, including the Institute for Veterans and Military Families; Team Red, White and Blue; Team Rubicon; Hire Heroes USA and Blue Star Families.
Third-down thump
Florida ranked sixth in the country in third-down conversion percentage (.504) before being held to 1 of 11 by Arkansas. The Gators' only third-down conversion came on Brandon Powell's 20-yard catch and run with a short crossing pass on third and 11 in the second quarter.
It led to Florida's only snap in Arkansas territory in the first half, when Josh Liddell intercepted Luke Del Rio's deep pass from the 38-yard line for Antonio Callaway at the 3.
Extra points
• Three-year Arkansas graduate assistant Eric Mateos is in his first year as the graduate assistant with an emphasis on the tight ends for LSU. Mateos served as Arkansas' offensive line coach for its 45-23 victory over Kansas State last season after Sam Pittman left for Georgia in early December.
• ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit named Arkansas' 31-10 victory over Florida as his No. 3 performance of the week, behind No. 1 Mississippi State, which upset Texas A&M, and No. 2 Alabama, which won 10-0 at LSU.
• Florida Coach Jim McElwain fell to 15-1 against unranked opponents after Saturday's 31-10 loss in Fayetteville.
Sports on 11/11/2016