Opening weekend opponents

[BrickTwnHog]

There are advantages and disadvantages to both. How do you see it?

[razorbackkid]

Had Arkansas started last season against Ohio St. instead of Toledo?  Draw your own conclusion.

[BrickTwnHog]

Had Arkansas started last season against Ohio St. instead of Toledo?  Draw your own conclusion.

I would rather loose to Ohio state by 21 then toledo by 1

[Vantage 8 dude]

Had Arkansas started last season against Ohio St. instead of Toledo?  Draw your own conclusion.

Well with the way things turned out with Toledo would it have mattered? We obviously lost to the Rockets; at least had we lost to tOSU it would have been far more "honorable". For us it would have been "pick your poison".

[Youngsta71701]

Me personally I think it's good to use the first 2 or 3 games to work out all the kinks before heading into conference play or before heading into the meat of your schedule.

[DeltaBoy]

Lower tier Power 5 ie some big 10 teams, sun belt or CUSA!

[supersaint]

A State in Jboro

[ricepig]

A State in Jboro

Nah mane, WMS!

[hogcam]

Had Arkansas started last season against Ohio St. instead of Toledo?  Draw your own conclusion.

Keep seeing this over and over.  We did not start out opening weekend with Toledo.

[Cinco de Hogo]

P5, get into the conversation early and if you got the balls, stay there.  Ever team starts from the same place so tune up games only prepare you for more tune up games if you next opponent has already payed a tough game.

I would say whether it helps or hurts depends on what you early opponents do.

[MJ2]

Need wins no matter where they come from.    No 12-0 team ever has to apologize for going undefeated regardless of their opponents.

[GuvHog]

Me personally I think it's good to use the first 2 or 3 games to work out all the kinks before heading into conference play or before heading into the meat of your schedule.

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For Arkansas, scheduling a P5 for the first game hasn't worked well. Hooty tried it twice against USC and got destroyed both times. In 2014, Arkansas started the season playing at Auburn and lost a game that they no doubt would have won if it had been played later in the season. Bad idea.

[Cinco de Hogo]

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For Arkansas, scheduling a P5 for the first game hasn't worked well. Hooty tried it twice against USC and got destroyed both times. In 2014, Arkansas started the season playing at Auburn and lost a game that they no doubt would have won if it had been played later in the season. Bad idea.

Has the other way work that well either?  If you want to grow sooner or later you got to grow up.  I don't know if there is a perfect answer to the question but I do know who we compete with for championships and I have alway heard steel sharpens steel.  Whatever we need to make the climb out of where we are right now.  There are a lot of factors to that.

[PonderinHog]

We're playing five preseason top 25 teams this year.  We played six last year.  We'll get there in due time.

[DiamondHogFan]

I actually like how our schedule is set up this year.  Play a very, very winnable game against an FBS team that will pose enough of a challenge to let some kinks work out.  Then, go on the road to a top 15 team and give it all you got.  You win, you are riding a good wave towards SEC play.  You lose, you lost to a top 15 team and have time to regroup before SEC play. 

[Cinco de Hogo]

I actually like how our schedule is set up this year.  Play a very, very winnable game against an FBS team that will pose enough of a challenge to let some kinks work out.  Then, go on the road to a top 15 team and give it all you got.  You win, you are riding a good wave towards SEC play.  You lose, you lost to a top 15 team and have time to regroup before SEC play.

What difference does it make, doesn't that top 15 team also play a winnable game the first week?  Is there some reason it helps us more than them? 

[GuvHog]

Has the other way work that well either?  If you want to grow sooner or later you got to grow up.  I don't know if there is a perfect answer to the question but I do know who we compete with for championships and I have alway heard steel sharpens steel.  Whatever we need to make the climb out of where we are right now.  There are a lot of factors to that.

Yes, the other way has worked better more often.

[Cinco de Hogo]

Yes, the other way has worked better more often.

Someone mentioned USC as evidence.  Didn't we go on to win the SECW one of those years?

It has worked more often because that's the way we've played it more often than not.  The evidence that it has worked better more often would include comparing the results of the seasons against each other.

[code red]

We need to win non conference at all cost.  LSU and Bama can probably affor

We're playing five preseason top 25 teams this year.  We played six last year.  We'll get there in due time.

This

[hawginbigd1]

I like to stretch the legs, test drive the car week one, definitely don't want a conference game especially on the road like 2014.

[bennyl08]

I want a bigger game week 2 than week 1. Week one I want a rentawin. Week two, somebody like a Rutgers or Toledo, or NIU, then week three work on the areas exposed week 2 with another weaker but not as weak as week 1 team. Have the fourth OOC be somebody 2/3 the way through to act as an extra bye week.

[31to6]

There are advantages and disadvantages to both. How do you see it?

Big games on opening week favor programs that have very high levels of talent. When the mistakes happen, talent can overcome it.

Arkansas is not at a level where our team is consistently ready on week one. We can get there, but right now I think we need at least one tune-up to get all the new faces pointed in the right direction.

(It also helps immensely to have consistency at coordinator for several years.)