FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas football program entered LSU week 2020 in a completely different frame of mind than it did one year ago.
So did the LSU Tigers.
The Razorbacks were mired in a seven-game losing streak and had just installed Barry Lunney Jr. as interim coach for the fired Chad Morris when they lost a road game 56-20 to the smoking-hot Tigers last Nov. 23.
LSU, loaded with NFL talent in 2019, was en route to a magical 15-0 national championship season that included a 46-41 win at No. 2 Alabama, a dominant 37-10 victory over No. 4 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, and routs of No. 4 Oklahoma (63-28 in the Peach Bowl) and No. 3 Clemson (42-25) in the College Football Playoff.
Today, the programs are on much different trajectories.
The Razorbacks (3-4) have been installed as a slim favorite for Saturday's 11 a.m. game at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The betting line is a nod to how well Arkansas has played under first-year Coach Sam Pittman and also an acknowledgment of the struggles for LSU (2-3), both on the field and with covid-19 testing and contact tracing.
The Tigers had a widespread outbreak in June and have had postponed games against both Florida and Alabama during the season. The Florida postponement was due to an outbreak in the Gators' program that also sidelined Coach Dan Mullen, while the Alabama postponement last week was due to testing results at LSU that included numerous contact tracing isolations.
"It's unfortunate for them because they haven't played in 21 days, or it'll be 21 days since they were able to play," Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said on Monday.
Pittman tested positive for the virus early last week . He is scheduled to remain in isolation through today, then return to the Smith Football Center on Wednesday.
Pittman and the Razorbacks have less-pressing covid-19 issues than LSU, but they are dealing with injuries.
Senior receiver De'Vion Warren is out for the season due to a torn ligament in his knee, Pittman announced Monday. Warren injured it on a kickoff return in the fourth quarter with the Razorbacks trailing 56-21 at No. 6 Florida on Saturday.
"I hate it for him, but he's got a great attitude about it," Pittman said.
Pittman said Trey Knox and Tyson Morris would pick up more game reps with Warren out, and true freshman Darin Turner could factor in at wideout as well.
Pittman said he expects tight end Hudson Henry back at practice this week after the redshirt freshman did not play at Florida due to a leg injury. Pittman also said linebacker Hayden Henry was "dinged up" against Florida but is also expected back for the LSU game.
Offensive linemen Noah Gatlin and Beaux Limmer, who started the first three games together on the right side, both missed last week's game.
"We're gonna have to wait and see on both of those guys," Pittman said without elaborating on what has kept them out. "I'll know a little bit more about it possibly on Wednesday, but we're hoping to get at least one of them, hopefully both, but at least one of them back."
Tight end Blake Kern and safety Joe Foucha both appeared to be nicked up against Florida, and Pittman said he thinks both will be "fine" this week.
LSU's last game was a 48-11 loss at Auburn on Halloween afternoon.
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron said Monday the Tigers' roster numbers are looking much better than last week.
"We feel we should get most of our quarantine guys back either today or tomorrow," Orgeron said. "So we feel like the room's going to be full today for the first time. We're actually going to have two quarterbacks practice.
"I'll have the report later on during the week. Obviously this thing is very fluid, can change every day. But I think by tomorrow we should have most of our guys back."
Freshman TJ Finley was the Tigers' only available scholarship quarterback last week, Orgeron said. Veteran Myles Brennan has been out with injuries to his shoulder and abdomen since passing for 430 yards and 4 touchdowns in a loss at Missouri in Week 3, and he might be lost for the year. True freshman Max Johnson could challenge for playing time this week after 30-year-old punter Zach Von Rosenberg played some quarterback during practice last week.
"[He] did a tremendous job," Orgeron said. "Beat our defense a little bit, which worries me."
The Tigers opened the season ranked No. 6 in the country with tons of personnel losses from their championship team, but still loaded with talent. It has been a rough run so far.
The Tigers began defense of their championships with a 44-34 home loss to Mississippi State on Sept. 26 while playing without starting cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. They also dropped a 45-41 decision at Missouri on Oct. 10.
Like the Razorbacks, LSU has alternated losses and wins in every game. The Tigers' victories were lopsided routs -- a 41-7 victory at Vanderbilt and a 52-24 win over South Carolina in Baton Rouge,.
Orgeron was asked about stewing on the loss at Auburn for three weeks due to an open date and the postponed game against Alabama, as well as the team's loss of live tackling.
"We didn't scrimmage our guys at all because frankly we didn't have enough to scrimmage last week," he said. "We didn't have two units. I wasn't going to go out there and tackle and scrimmage and get anybody else hurt. That's the reason.
"I think we'll have to practice tackling this week, do a good job, not going to take them to the ground but do a good job teaching it and get in the position to make some plays."