Sam Pittman-Jimbo Fisher — Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman and Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher visit on the field before their game at AT&T Stadium on Sept. 25, 2021. (Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports)

Only Two Opponents to Count on Hogs' 2024 Schedule

Nearly 10 days away, there are really only two games we can probably accurately guess

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Jun 7, 2023 10:37 AM EDT
Original:
Jun 6, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Just about everybody has a different hope for what teams will be on Arkansas' football schedule in 2024 that will be released by the SEC on June 14 but there are probably two games to count on.

Just to get it out of the way at the start, Missouri is going to be there and will likely be there every year for a few reasons. The Razorbacks will play Missouri every year because everybody is trying to get a rivalry within the league for both teams. It really hasn't caught on.

Not just because the Tigers have a 6-3 edge with the Hogs since coming into the league in 2012 (that will even out over time), but it is going to take something crazy to happen a few times to actually make this a rivalry. Right now, a big section of fans really don't care.

But everybody is trying to push it as a rivalry game with a trophy and a marketing slogan you hear just about year-round. Whether it's caught on with the Tigers' faithful I have no idea because we never hear about them. Basketball may be a different story for everybody, but we're just talking about football here.

The other game pretty much guaranteed to be on there is the game with Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (all the talking heads call it "Jerry's World." That was cute for a year or two but has worn out). It's the last game there on the contract and both teams want out of the whole deal because they need that game on campus every other year. As Sam Pittman says, it doesn't help much in recruiting because they can't have any contact with the recruits that weekend or even give them tickets.

Steve Lassan over at Athlon Sports took a stab at one of the early projections for every team's opponents in 2024. Those two teams were on the Hogs' projected schedule along with newcomers Texas and Oklahoma, along with LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee. That will probably give Pittman a headache just hearing about it and that's 16 months away.

While us old-timers like hearing the Longhorns on the schedule, anybody under 40 really doesn't care. They are just operating on what they've been told and read about the history. Plus, it's only really rivalry on the Hogs' side of things. Their fans have always been more interested in the Sooners and Aggies, even in the 1960's.

LSU and Ole Miss is bigger with the younger set. The Rebels and Hogs had a series going into the 1960's that was getting close to something like a big-time deal, but that ended because Frank Broyles never could beat Johnny Vaught there, and there was no need for it at the level the old Southwest Conference was in those days. But they also have older and bigger rival games with Mississippi State and LSU.

LSU could be a big rivalry despite the Hogs having a bunch of huge upsets in a 13-19 record since coming into the SEC in 1992. The Tiger fans hate everybody and it gets kinda difficult to pin it down to one big rival. Right now, their games with Alabama are always in prime time on network TV in November and that's a big deal.

The rest of them on there are good matchups, although the Vols are playing at a really high level right now, which doesn't make life easier for Pittman. But then again that's a life in the SEC and it's only getting to get more difficult every year.