This schedule is unreal!!!!

[IntegrityHog]

I just now thought of it this way, but our first 3 conference opponents were TOP 5 NATIONALLY when we played them.  That is nuts!  The remaining 5 teams are all Top 15 or Top 10, depending on when we  play them.  And we drew the 2 best teams out of the SEC East again!  Why couldn't we play Vandy, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, or Florida while they were down?

I know some will dismiss it, but I really think there is a conspiracy by Slime and the SEC power-brokers to keep us down.  Year after year we get bent over by the SEC office when it comes to scheduling.  And I've looked at the next few years - our rotating opponent will be teams that are currently rebuilding, but will be on the upswing when we play them.  Just does not seem right.

[HognitiveDissonance]

True that, but it runs in cycles.
Back in the 90s, the East was dominating the West. Bama was down, Aub was down, LSU was average, we didn't come alive until 1998.
I don't think there is a conspiracy. We play in the NFL West. Tough break for us right now.The cross-games are just luck of the draw. Mizzou got lucky last year and didn't have to play Bama, LSU, or Auburn. That tends to help a lot. A few years ago Georgia drew the lucky breaks two years in a row. I know in 2011(when late in the year LSU,Bama,Ark were 1,2,3 in the polls in Nov) they didn't have to play any of those teams that year.

I do commiserate with you in that I would love to play Florida right now while they're down. We've never beaten them since joining the league. Having said that, we got to play them last year and got thumped, but we stunk last year too.

[Torqued pork]

Forget conspiracies and Slive. Nobody is trying to sabotage Arkansas football.

Twenty years in the SEC should be enough to realize we will likely always be at a disadvantage against the elite teams.

[MissippHog]

Yes it is, but I don't think that anything is done on purpose.  I just wish they could even out our East opponents a little better.  We get Georgia and Missouri while Miss State gets Vandy and Kentucky?

[redeye]

Remember a few years ago, when we played 3 consecutive games against top-10 opponents and everyone was asking if any team had ever done that before?  I guess we're not doing that this year, but it's similar to our yearly schedule nowadays.  That's why our SOS ranks among the highest in the SEC and the rest of the nation almost every year.

I first noticed the quirks with our SEC-E schedule when they changed the format many years ago (2002?)  It's hard to notice anything unfair from going back and looking at it, because our schedule changed like everyone else, but as you noted, we caught everyone on their way up and at their best.  I don't know if it was on purpose, but I do wonder and wouldn't put it past the Big-6 schools that control the conference.  All I know is that it is true.  A few years ago, I know we played the top 8 teams in the conference and none of the bottom 3 at the season's end.  That may have happened several times, but this was the only time I had checked.

P.S.  I'll also note that it's why we're always near the top of the conference in SOS ratings (according to the NCAA.)  It's natural to think that OOC games have more to do with that, but I've studied this enough to know that's not the reason.  Maybe one day I'll post the data to back up what I'm saying, but it'll take some time.

[HognitiveDissonance]

Remember a few years ago, when we played 3 consecutive games against top-10 opponents and everyone was asking if any team had ever done that before?  I guess we're not doing that this year, but it's similar to our yearly schedule nowadays.  That's why our SOS ranks among the highest in the SEC and the rest of the nation almost every year.

I first noticed the quirks with our SEC-E schedule when they changed the format many years ago (2002?)  It's hard to notice anything unfair from going back and looking at it, because our schedule changed like everyone else, but as you noted, we caught everyone on their way up and at their best.  I don't know if it was on purpose, but I do wonder and wouldn't put it past the Big-6 schools that control the conference.  All I know is that it is true.  A few years ago, I know we played the top 8 teams in the conference and none of the bottom 3 at the season's end.  That may have happened several times, but this was the only time I had checked.

P.S.  I'll also note that it's why we're always near the top of the conference in SOS ratings (according to the NCAA.)  It's natural to think that OOC games have more to do with that, but I've studied this enough to know that's not the reason.  Maybe one day I'll post the data to back up what I'm saying, but it'll take some time.

We've done fine. Our division is our division.
But we had S Carolina as our permanent opponent for years. That was a good draw for us, better than having GA or FLA all that time.
Also, Auburn had Georgia every year.
LSU had to play Florida every year...back when Florida was Florida.
We had nothing to complain about.

[LA Football fan]

What people question is why Bama doesn't play a top East opponent every year.  That is what LSU was complaining about when they had to play Florida every year and Bama basically got a free pass every year from playing any of the top 2-3 teams from the East.  Doesn't look good when the SEC offices are located in Bama. 

Bama complains about teams having a bye week in front of their game and viola, the SEC bends over backwards to change it.  Anyone else complains and you never hear a word or see anything change. 

[EastexHawg]

A&M is not a top five team.  They are overrated and will be exposed as the season progresses.  Their QB was either badly off in the game Saturday or is merely HIGHLY overrated.  I suspect the latter.

There were comments after the South Carolina game that he was better than Johnny Football.  That seemed very unlikely at the time and now is obviously ridiculous.

A&M laid that game on a silver platter for us.  They made stupid mistake after poorly executed play after falling down on sure TDs...one after another.  The only thing they did well is the same thing Auburn did...they made adjustments to slow down our running game.

I'm not overly impressed with A&M, and their alleged Heisman candidate QB is not as good as billed.  He and they had a hot hand when they beat South Carolina and they have been riding the accolades from that game all season.

I think they lose at least two of their next three, maybe all three.

[TDHawgs]

A&M is not a top five team.  They are overrated and will be exposed as the season progresses.  Their QB was either badly off in the game Saturday or is merely HIGHLY overrated.  I suspect the latter.

There were comments after the South Carolina game that he was better than Johnny Football.  That seemed very unlikely at the time and now is obviously ridiculous.

A&M laid that game on a silver platter for us.  They made stupid mistake after poorly executed play after falling down on sure TDs...one after another.  The only thing they did well is the same thing Auburn did...they made adjustments to slow down our running game.

I'm not overly impressed with A&M, and their alleged Heisman candidate QB is not as good as billed.  He and they had a hot hand when they beat South Carolina and they have been riding the accolades from that game all season.

I think they lose at least two of their next three, maybe all three.

So since we played A&M good and should have won. A&M instantly is a bad team? Funny how that works.

[realpig]

I just now thought of it this way, but our first 3 conference opponents were TOP 5 NATIONALLY when we played them.  That is nuts!  The remaining 5 teams are all Top 15 or Top 10, depending on when we  play them.  And we drew the 2 best teams out of the SEC East again!  Why couldn't we play Vandy, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, or Florida while they were down?

I know some will dismiss it, but I really think there is a conspiracy by Slime and the SEC power-brokers to keep us down.  Year after year we get bent over by the SEC office when it comes to scheduling.  And I've looked at the next few years - our rotating opponent will be teams that are currently rebuilding, but will be on the upswing when we play them.  Just does not seem right.

Maybe the conspiracy is not against us but for Georgia?  We are the Kentucky of the West to them.

[popcornhog]

I just now thought of it this way, but our first 3 conference opponents were TOP 5 NATIONALLY when we played them.  That is nuts!  The remaining 5 teams are all Top 15 or Top 10, depending on when we  play them.  And we drew the 2 best teams out of the SEC East again!  Why couldn't we play Vandy, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, or Florida while they were down?

I know some will dismiss it, but I really think there is a conspiracy by Slime and the SEC power-brokers to keep us down.  Year after year we get bent over by the SEC office when it comes to scheduling.  And I've looked at the next few years - our rotating opponent will be teams that are currently rebuilding, but will be on the upswing when we play them.  Just does not seem right.

Good work, Gary. (In best Spottsworth voice)

[Dirty]

Look at Alabama's schedule the last three years. Besides the west teams;
2014: @ Tennessee and Florida
2013: @ Kentucky and Tennessee
2012: @ Missouri, @ Tennessee and Georgia

[jjdlc]

There was an article a while back that took a look at strength of schedule.  Arkansas consistently ranked in the top 5 every year since something like 2002.