Do Razorbacks Even Have Much Chance at LSU Saturday?

No one giving Hogs much of chance, either in betting circles or even in Fayetteville

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Sep 21, 2023 9:53 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — If you really like to take longshots, Arkansas clearly falls into that category this week as they head to Baton Rouge to play LSU on Saturday night. Even just in casual conversations, longtime Razorback fans struggle to find some path to coming up with a win.

About the only hopeful thing most of them can come up with what's happened when the Hogs have gone down there over the years. Most of that is remembering the good times and not looking at the others. More of them have been overwhelming wins by LSU that nobody wants to remember.

The Hogs have only won four times in 15 appearances in Death Valley and most of those games haven't even been that close. LSU have averaged over 10 points a win in those games. At some sports books, the Tigers are favored by 17.5 points, which is a big pretty big spread for an SEC game.

Maybe the other thing this game falls the earliest in the schedule it ever has. In the past, LSU has had the annoying habit and Razorbacks' good fortune to be more focused on the Alabama game than anything except this. It either fell the week before after the game with the Hogs for the Tigers and they were looking at the Crimson Tide or suffering a hangover from it to really get focused.

They will be this year. It's the first league at home, a true night game (remember, most of those games for years started about 1:30 p.m. and finished after dark). There will probably be over 102,000 people that will start tailgating early Friday morning and be well fortified by game time. It's always an obnoxious bunch for anybody, not just the Hogs.

The Hogs' game with LSU kicks off 6 p.m. Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge La. You can watch the game on ESPN and fuboTV .