Ranking Arkansas schedule from least toughest to toughest

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With Week 0 kicking off in Ireland between Iowa State and Kansas State in just 16 days, it's as good of a time as any to take a look at the Arkansas football schedule and see which teams are going to give the Hogs a tough time.

What follows is a ranking of each team in terms of how tough it's going to be for Arkansas to beat them. This isn't a ranking of which programs are better or would beat each other head to head.

It simply considers all factors, especially those specific to the Razorbacks, and evaluates which will be the toughest for Sam Pittman's Hogs to knock off.

12. Alabama A&M

They're good for a SWAC team, but they're still a SWAC team. This is a good opportunity for the offensive line to build some confidence and also rotate through several pieces in the secondary to figure out who has it when it's time to get it done on the field.

It should be a good day for the offense. If all goes well, Green should be watching his back-ups for most of the game. No need to risk his health.

11. Mississippi State

The Razorbacks went into Starkville and beat the Bulldogs like they were a SWAC team last season, putting up 58 points and leaving the opportunity to put up even more. Green looked like a 1980s video game player as he utterly destroyed the Mississippi State defense.

The Hogs are better this season and, if the Bulldogs are better this year, it's not by much. This should be a rather ho-hum way to begin November after a difficult October stretch.

10. Arkansas State

The Red Wolves rank above Mississippi State because they have much more motivation and possibly a home field advantage down at War Memorial Stadium. It's certainly not Arkansas fans acting like they're the ones buying tickets.

Arkansas State won eight games last year, picked up its first bowl win this decade and has Butch Jones, who will want to re-establish his name as a major player in the coaching ranks with a signature win. After all, that Auburn job may come open soon and a big win over Arkansas plus ties to the Red Wolves usually equals a contract with the Tigers.

9. Auburn

People keep wanting to place Auburn in the playoff hunt because their name apparently still carries a little weight with prognosticators. However, the reality is the Tigers just aren't a good program.

The Tigers are banking on Hugh Freeze suddenly becoming his old self from a decade ago and that quarterback Jackson Arnold is going to have a dramatic turnaround because he's no longer at Oklahoma where Heisman and NFL level quarterbacks are constructed on a regular basis.

Arnold was forced onto the field early because of his status as a 5-star recruit and what followed was months of nightmares on repeat. It's hard to overcome that sort of damage and it rarely happens by going to a program that traditionally is more mentally damaged.

The Tigers will be tough, but Arkansas handled them rather easily last fall and the score should have been much worse. If the Hogs have improved, this should be a game in the win column.

8. at Memphis

There's a good chance the Tigers represent the Group of Five in the playoffs and Arkansas has stubbornly chosen to have that decided in a game against the Razorbacks in Memphis. If the Hogs somehow win this game, it will be a huge win, especially considering it's on the road.

Unfortunately, a lot of people won't see it that way, making this as close to a lose-lose situation as possible.

7. Texas A&M

The good news is Arkansas has a chance to get away from AT&T Stadium and the curse of Jerry Jones while having what might be the Hogs' lone high quality recruiting opportunity based on opponent and potential time slot.

The Razorbacks barely found a way to lose last season after leading pretty much the entire game. This should be a toss-up again if Green can make it to this game healthy and the offensive line can hold up.

The down side is the Aggies should be incrementally better also in their second year under Mike Elko. This could come down to how much energy the fans can bring into the building.

6. Missouri

Missouri is expected to be down this season. However, how is anyone to know with the cupcake schedule they have laid out for them?

These two teams were evenly matched last season and Arkansas led inside the final two minutes until Tigers quarterback Brady Cook scampered for 30 yards in the snow to once again frustrate the Razorbacks.

Texas A&M might be slightly better than Mizzou, but Eli Drinkwitz takes this game so personally that it's impossible not to figure that in and give the Tigers the edge over the Aggies as the tougher game.

5. at Tennessee

Arkansas has already proven it can be a tougher, more physical team than the Vols. Add in the need to move on from their star quarterback, and it's a little easier to understand why Tennessee only pops in at No. 5.

What makes it tough is the revenge factor. The Volunteers are certainly tired of seeing this game highlighted and want to even the score.

There's also the home field advantage, the possibility of it being a night game, and Green's performance, all of which are in Tennessee's favor. Green struggled mightily at Razorbacks Stadium.

Arkansas didn't make a big move for the win until back-up quarterback Malachi Singleton and freshman running back Braylen Russell took over late.

4. at Texas

This one may surprise a few people, but change Arch Manning's last name to Jones and float back down to reality for a few minutes. The Longhorns are banking on Manning being the second coming of his uncles, but that's already not happened because of the two years on the bench.

Also, last season in Austin against Georgia, Manning looked like a deer in headlights. He was way in over his head and even appeared scared at times.

There's a chance he doesn't even make it to the Arkansas game as the starter, and if he does, there will be plenty of video out there to pick apart his weaknesses. The Razorbacks also get way up for this game when Texas doesn't, so that tips in the Hogs' favor also.

Both Arkansas and Vanderbilt made Texas look rather normal last season, so there's no need to expect a Longhorns juggernaut. The Razorbacks also fall between Georgia and Texas A&M late in the season.

This means there will be key Texas players on the injured list and also strong odds Arkansas is going to get overlooked, especially if the Aggies are in contention like they were last season.

3. Notre Dame

If this game were at night, it would be moved down to No. 6, but it's not, so No. 3 it is. The Irish are the national runner-up from last season, but they will be in the early stages of trying to decide if the fresh face they chose to be quarterback is the right one.

There's also that Northern Illinois game from last season. If Notre Dame is going to get upset, it will be early in the season, but they are still a high quality, well-coached team.

2. at Ole Miss

Whatever you do, don't pull up last season's box score. The Fightin' Kiffins launched haymaker after haymaker against the Hogs' secondary last year, scoring at will.

Jaxon Dart looked unstoppable all game and Austin Simmons, this year's starting QB, was a perfect 3-of-3 for 47 yards and a touchdown.

The leading rusher for the Rebels running backs, Domonique Thomas, returns, as does Cayden Lee, who had 127 yards on five catches, and tight end Dae'Quan Wright, who had nine receptions for 99 yards.

The Arkansas secondary is supposed to be bigger this season, but who knows if that means better. Stopping the Ole Miss offense is going to be difficult and this was another tough performance for Green as Singleton led most of the scoring drives, so he will need huge improvement against the Rebels' defense.

1. at LSU

The best bet Arkansas has in this game is that with it being in mid-November, the Tigers may have fumbled their way out of playoff contention, so the intensity may not be there.

However, if LSU is still in it this late, the lone bright side will be that it's a morning game.

The Tigers are loaded with talent. Their only perceived weakness is their F-bomb prone head coach who tends to perform below expectations in key games.

On paper, this is a talent mismatch on both sides of the ball. LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmier is expected to be in the middle of a Heisman pitch when this game takes place, and the defense utterly destroyed Green last year for three sacks and an interception.

Harold Perkins made his name as a defensive force against Arkansas initially and can do it again if the line isn't up to the task.