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Schedule is a blessing for Nutt's RazorbacksSCOTT CAINARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FAYETTEVILLE -- When it comes to nonconference competition, Arkansas has taken care of business during the Houston Nutt era. In three seasons under Nutt, the Razorbacks are 8-0 in regular-season nonconference games as they head into the final one this season tonight at Reynolds Razorback Stadium against Louisiana-Monroe. They have won those games by an average score of 38-11. Each one has been a blowout except the Sept. 16 game against Boise State that Arkansas won 38-31. These days, coaches will take a victory regardless of margin. Ask LSU Coach Nick Saban if he would mind having the Alabama-Birmingham game back as a one-point victory. But there's also something to be said for style, which means rolling up points. "A win is a win," Nutt said. "I don't care if we win by one point. But you want to look good. You want to feel good coming off the field, and the way we're going to feel good is if I know everybody is playing as hard as they can. "Naturally, you'd love to score points. But it's just like Boise State, I wanted to beat them bad. Started out 24-0 and we're hanging on for dear life. So you can't take anything for granted." Take care of business against the nonconference teams and you're halfway to collecting the six victories needed to qualify for a bowl game. Arkansas' teams in 1992 and '93 might have gone to bowls if they had swept their nonconference games. The '92 team lost to The Citadel, Memphis State and SMU and finished 3-6-1, with Coach Jack Crowe losing his job after the first loss. The '93 team finished 5-5-1 with a loss to Memphis State. Even the 1995 Razorbacks, who won the SEC West, might have benefited from another victory. If they had beaten SMU and totaled nine victories instead of eight, it would have been more difficult for the SEC to relegate the Razorbacks to the Carquest Bowl instead of, say, the Peach Bowl. Scheduling can make or break the bowl goal. The 1988 and '91 teams had to play Miami. Nutt's teams have played only one opponent that appeared in a bowl the previous season (Boise State). Coming off a 38-7 loss to Georgia and with one-fourth of the team injured, Arkansas is fortunate that it didn't schedule a more rugged nonconference opponent for this date. "Thank the good Lord because I wouldn't want to be playing Nebraska or USC right now," Nutt said.
This article was published on Saturday, October 7, 2000RETURN to main pageCopyright and permissions Copyright © 2000, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. |
