Hog Wild

They cried in the locker room at Jerry World, a team used to winning big games — not giving them away.

So here we are with Arkansas, a week removed from a gut-punch loss to rival Texas A&M and staring at the most important game of the season against SEC heavyweight Alabama.

This is the game they pointed to all offseason, the one moment that could further solidify what Hogs coach Sam Pittman has built in Fayetteville, and where it’s headed.

They won the 4 trophy games in 2021 — Southwest Classic (Texas A&M), The Boot (LSU), The Battle Line (Missouri), The Outback Bowl (Penn State) — and the next step in the growth of the program under Pittman was doing yet another thing that hasn’t happened in years.

Beating big, bad Alabama.

A loss last week to Texas A&M — a game the Hogs should’ve won — won’t sidetrack this moment.

“I’ve got all the respect in the world for Alabama,” Hogs defensive end Jordan Domineck said. “But then again, great team, but they’re not unbeatable.”

Frankly, they’re somewhat vulnerable — at least, unlike anything they’ve been since coach Nick Saban’s 1st year at Alabama in 2007.

Pass protection has been spotty, the run game sluggish, the receivers uneven. Those issues translated to 55 points last week against Vanderbilt, but a home game against the Commodores clearly isn’t the same thing as playing in a wild environment at Fayetteville against a confident and suddenly desperate team.

Now, the problem: The strength of the Arkansas offense — its power run game (243.7 ypg) — goes directly against the strength of the Alabama defense, stopping the run (62.5 ypg).

Even if the Hogs can get to Alabama All-America QB Bryce Young with a pass rush that leads the nation in sacks (20) — and affect the passing game like Texas did for 3 quarters — they still must find a way to generate points.

Enough points to beat Alabama and stay in the SEC West Division race — and make a program-defining statement in the process.

“Every team is beatable,” said Hogs tailback Raheim Sanders, the SEC’s leading rusher. “We’ve just got to go out there and attack.”

The trendy Iowa pick

Iowa has an awful offense. The ugly truth for the Hawkeyes:

— 120th in the nation in scoring offense (17 ppg), and last in the nation in total offense (232.5 ypg).

— 5 total TDs, and only 1 against Power 5 teams.

— 122nd in 3rd down conversion (28.3 percent), 130th in the nation in long scrimmage plays of 10-plus yards (27).

So as the Hawkeyes play host to No. 4-ranked Michigan Saturday — and the No. 7 scoring defense in the nation (11.8 ppg.) — why in the world would anyone take the Hawkeyes and the points (+10.5)? Well, since you asked:

Iowa is 6-0 vs. the spread in its last 6 home games vs. an Associated Press Top 5 team. The breakdown:

2021: No. 4 Penn State, W, 23-20 (-1.5)

2017: No. 3 Ohio State, W, 55-24 (+20.5)

2017: No. 4 Penn State, L, 21-19 (+13)

2016: No. 2 Michigan, W, 14-13 (+21.5)

2010: No. 5 Michigan State, W, 37-6 (-6)

2008: No. 3 Penn State, W, 24-23 (+7.5)

Forget about the horrific play of QB Spencer Petras (1 TD, 2 INT, 51.1 completion percentage, 5.6 yards per attempt), or that Iowa is averaging 3 yards a carry.

Embrace the trend, everyone.

Big game, big crowd

If you really want to understand the depth of how far Florida State has fallen since former coach Jimbo Fisher gave up during his final season in Tallahassee, consider the events of this week leading up to Saturday’s Wake Forest game.

Deacs coach Dave Clawson made an honest comment at his weekly press conference about the game, and the size of crowd to expect.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be packed, who knows?” Clawson said. “There could be fewer people (there) than Vanderbilt.”

Wake Forest played at Vanderbilt on Sept. 10, and the announced crowd was 24.431 (it was much less). Less than 3 days later, FSU announced the game was sold out (80,000).

But more pressing at this point for FSU: Wake Forest is now a barometer game for the Noles. In some strange, bizarre world, No. 23-ranked FSU’s 4-0 start this season can be certified with a win over … No. 22 Wake Forest?

All of those All-Americans over all of those top-5 seasons in Tallahassee just collectively puked. But like it or not, this is where we are with the FSU program, which has been wandering aimlessly since Fisher’s last season in 2017.

Willie Taggart tried to turn around the Noles and was fired during his 2nd season. Mike Norvell then arrived to clean up the mess from both coaches, and it got worse before it got better.

Now here we are in nut-cutting time, with FSU facing a 3-game run against Wake Forest, at N.C. State and Clemson. That’s 3 games against 3 ranked teams — 2 of which zoomed by FSU in the ACC passing lane while the Noles figured it out over the last 5 seasons.

So yeah, the Noles must figure out Deacs QB Sam Hartman and the slow-read offense. They must follow up a surprising season-opening win over LSU and a gutty win at Louisville and a 4-0 start by beating a team that has won the last 2 games in the series.

That’s right, Wake Forest.

A matter of time

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the beginning of the end for Auburn coach Bryan Harsin.

Over the next 6 weeks, Auburn plays LSU (Saturday), at Georgia, at Ole Miss, Arkansas, at Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The combined record of those 6 teams: 20-4.

When does Auburn finally do what it wanted to do at the end of last season, but in typical Auburn fashion botched it so badly, it was left with another season of a coach it didn’t want?

If you’re trying to set up 2023, the best time to fire Harsin is probably after a big home loss Saturday to LSU. That not only gives Auburn officials time to debate the good and bad of hiring Urban Meyer (of course Meyer will be a candidate), it allows the search committee (see: Yella Fella) to find the right coach who won’t push back.

Don’t think the firing of Harsin less than 2 years into the job will impact whom Auburn could hire this time around. When you’re waving around $7-9 million a year, a lot of qualified applicants will listen. Especially those with big egos who believe they, unlike every other coach since Pat Dye, can handle outside influence on The Plains.

Oh right, the game? LSU is a matchup nightmare for Auburn. The one thing Auburn does well (play defense) is negated by LSU QB Jayden Daniels’ ability to play off schedule and throw accurately, and gain chunk plays on scrambles.

The return of DJU

Forget about what he has accomplished in the past 3 games, and that the Clemson offensive line is finally beginning to hit its stride and protection is becoming a strength.

Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei still needs a big game against N.C. State — the preseason ACC darling — before questions about his rebound from a regression in 2021 are finally answered.

Uiagalelei has 9 TDs and only 1 INT in the past 3 games (all wins), and last week, he led the Tigers to a comeback win at Wake Forest. His completion percentage is up, his turnovers are down and his average per attempt is way up (from 6.0 in 2021 to 8.0).

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney believes in him. Clemson OC Brandon Streeter says DJU is playing with the confidence of his freshman season.

The line is blocking well, the receivers are getting separation and catching 50-50 balls and the Clemson passing game is beginning to look like it did under a couple of NFL 1st-round picks (Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence). At least, with points production.

“(Uiagalelei) just looks very robotic back there,” an NFL scout told me this week. “He’s seeing the field better, but there’s no sense of urgency with him. He’s plodding, he’s deliberate. I don’t know if that’s out of necessity because they’re trying to slow him down so he sees everything, or it’s just the way he’s playing.

“If you look at the Notre Dame tape (from 2020), he’s not the same quarterback. It’s a completely different guy. Maybe he eventually gets back this season to that quick, aggressive guy from the snap. But he’s not there now.”