How Auburn, Harsin Win Arkansas Week Even if Scoreboard Says Neither Did

Pac-12 school can help Tigers claim victory final weekend before Halloween

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Oct 3, 2022 8:33 PM EDT

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

Bryan Harsin probably wants nothing more than to hang on until his Auburn Tigers can square up with the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Sam Pittman's squad was one of the few teams to struggle with Auburn last season, suffering a loss second only to a 37-0 thrashing at the hands of future national champion Georgia in terms of point differential.

However, instead of hoping he can hold on until the shadow of Halloween for a chance to go 2-0 against the Hogs, there is a path that would be best for both Harsin and Auburn that will most likely require the embattled coach to skip out on a trip to the Ozarks for an early ski season in the Rockies.

With Karl Dorrell out as head coach at Colorado, Harsin has a chance to save face while creating a win-win for both himself and Auburn.

Word on the street is the Buffaloes originally kicked the tires on Harsin after several successful years at Boise State, but he was holding out for a bigger fish. Unfortunately for Harsin, he hooked a great white shark in Auburn.

He wasn't ready for the headaches that comes with dealing with Auburn boosters, recruiting in the same state as Nick Saban and fighting his way through the SEC West every year in addition to facing Penn State.

But that doesn't mean Harsin isn't a perfect fit for Colorado. He may have been the worst possible cultural fit for the SEC, but an experienced Rocky Mountain region recruiter facing a Pac 12 schedule in the low pressure college football world of the Western United States is just what the doctor ordered for Harsin to rehabilitate his reputation.

If Colorado is truly interested, this is a deal that could be completed next week, or at the latest, during the off week just before the Arkansas game. Both schools could agree to forego buy-out clause negotiations and simply say Colorado gets Harsin without a buy-out so long as Auburn doesn't owe Harsin anything in exchange.

Harsin doesn't have the negative aura of getting fired, Auburn doesn't have to pay for a second coach to leave in as many years, and Colorado gets a coach it wants without breaking the bank to tear him away.

Meanwhile, there's no way to gauge whether Arkansas comes out a winner in this also. There's no telling how the Tigers' players will handle things.

On one hand, no longer having the dark cloud of Harsin's impending career execution by the area hair-trigger boosters hanging over them might allow the players to focus on the game with renewed energy.

On the other, they may decide the season is over and start mapping out potential transfer portal destinations.

Either way Auburn comes out a winner as it moves on to its newest victim, ummm...coach.

That's when the fun begins.

Harsin shops for new homes in the Rockies while Auburn tries to find someone crazy and desperate enough to take the head position in that crazed nut house.

I hear Chad Morris might be available.