Razorbacks vs Volunteers: Who Wants It More?

I don’t even want to talk about it. Not yet. So much heartache for a team, and a group of seniors, who have been through Hell and back, and then for some reason have been launched back into Hades. So many haters. I don’t use that term very often, mostly because it’s a silly word. But every time Arkansas loses, people with zero ties to the game just love to pile on. It’s been that way since we hired Petrino. It’s stayed that way under Bielema. And it makes losing like we lost to A&M even harder. You think it’s hard as a fan? Imagine being one of those Razorbacks out there. We’ve got our senior quarterback and our freshman linebacker publicly apologizing for the loss and trying to take the full responsibility for it. That’s the mental state that the Razorbacks are in.

And then…

The Razorbacks are….dispirited? That’s a good word for it. They have lost their enthusiasm and hope after suffering another come from behind loss to their rival. Which could not have happened at a worse time, considering that the Hogs are about to take on the Tennessee Volunteers, an equally dispirited team coming off a come from behind loss to one of their rivals, the Florida Gators.

Earlier this season, I said that the Tennessee game would be the most important game of the season for the Hogs, especially if they lost to A&M. Granted, I wrote that article thinking that both Tennessee and Arkansas would have 1 loss a piece MAX coming into the game, but now that the Hogs are 1-3 and the Vols are 2-2 (with wins over Bowling Green and Western Carolina) the game is incredibly important for different reasons.

Sep 26, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks running back Rawleigh Williams III (22) runs with the ball against Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Qualen Cunningham (9) at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Both these teams stand at a defining point in the season for teams that did not live up to preseason hype. The choices are to roll over and admit that you suck, or to buckle the chin straps and go down swinging. As Dylan Thomas would say, “Rage Against the Dying of the Light”. This Tennessee team presents an opportunity to not just get a win, but get a road win, and build some confidence heading into a game with an Alabama team that is also struggling to find it’s identity.

The Hogs preseason goals may be a wash, but the season isn’t over yet. As I said before the A&M game, the Razorbacks have never given up under Bret Bielema, and I don’t expect them to start now. Remember how dispirited we all were last season after the Mississippi State game? The Hogs were able to turn it around, kinda. That can happen this season as well. Tennessee, Auburn, and Miss State aren’t as good as the preseason hype projected them to be. These are winnable games, dammit! Add UT Martin in the mix, and that’s 5 wins! Now look at Missouri…look at them! They’re beatable! WE CAN DO THIS!

And if we’re going to do this, we have to splash some water on our face and take down a beleaguered Tennessee team that is coming off a 7-6 season last year and is also fighting for their bowl game odds. Their schedule is a little easier than ours, but it’s never easy being a Razorback.

I can’t stress this enough: If the Hogs can play like they did against A&M, they’ll beat Tennessee. They held the most explosive offense in the SEC to 28 points counting overtime! If we can stop shooting ourselves in the foot, then we’ll be ok. I’m just looking for improvement week to week, and we saw it last night against A&M. Let’s improve our record in Knoxville this weekend. Please.

Please.

Next: Razor's Rant: My Heart is a Void