Arkansas was supposed to be their easiest opponent in November, as they still have to play Ole Miss and Texas A&M in the final two weeks.
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The Arkansas Razorbacks enter this game as a team on the rise. But, LSU comes in after an emotional and physical beatdown from the Crimson Tide.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST: Arkansas has moved up to second in the SEC in total offense, averaging 472.6 yards. It’s unlikely Orth will be able to replicate the Tennessee game against Florida’s stellar defense.
3The Flip Side. LSU, meanwhile, comes in with the seventh ranked S&P+ passing defense nationally, but the Tigers have not faced almost the quality of passing offenses that the Razorbacks have. Last week, Alabama held him to just 31 yards on 19 carries, while fellow Heisman candidate Derrick Henry churned out 210 yards and three touchdowns. That 2015 per attempt average is the highest in the SEC and tied for 10th nationally.
A psychoanalysts roundtable, rather than a sports analysts roundtable, might make a more telling pregame show for tonight’s Arkansas vs. LSU SEC West football clash.
“It was a way for Arkansas to unleash a few emotion and say ‘We’re back, we won this game.’ I don’t care what the situation is, when you beat an LSU team it’s significant”.
BYU (7-2) at Missouri (4-5), 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network): The Tigers end a tumultuous week by hosting the Cougars at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. While the matchup against the Razorbacks might not have looked tough at the start of the season, the team has begun to mesh well and the overtime win against Ole Miss proved they are a threat for the remainder of the year. While Arkansas wasn’t quite that dominant on Saturday, they still did a nice job limiting the 6-foot-1, 230-pound sophomore.
“We’ll be fine”, Pittman said of Arkansas’ mental state at kickoff.
LSU (7-2, 4-2 SEC), which lost consecutive games for the third time in Les Miles’ 11 seasons, returns to action on November 21 when the Tigers travel to face Ole Miss. Fournette is expected to play after an ongoing investigation into alleged potential NCAA rule violations, but his status is certainly one to keep an eye on. While the Hogs continue to run the ball effectively, most of their newfound success has been fueled by QB Brandon Allen and the SEC’s 3rd most productive passing attack.
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It sounds as if LSU’s football players are trying to convince themselves of how important their clash with Arkansas is – even on the heels of a crushing loss to longtime nemesis Alabama. Travin Dural (26 rec., 503 yards, 3 TDs) and Malachi Dupre (23 rec., 420 yards, 5 TDs) are LSU’s top receiving threats, while true freshman Derrius Guice is second on the team in rushing with 316 yards to go with a pair of TDs.
