Despite Arkansas Ties, Razorback Fans Will Be Cheering for Mississippi St. in Reliaquest Bowl

Bielema, Lunney won't have support of Hog fans and it has nothing to do with them

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Dec 30, 2022 11:01 PM EST
Original:
Dec 30, 2022

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – With the Arkansas bowl game in the record books and no Razorback basketball until Tuesday, Hog fans will be scanning the channels over the next few days to see if there is anything of interest.

While the playoffs will certainly be a must-watch event, there is one game that will almost certainly stop Arkansas fans down – Illinois vs. Mississippi State in the Reliaquest Bowl in Tampa on Monday, Jan. 2 at 11 a.m.

During most years, this game would draw little to no interest from Arkansas fans. The Bulldogs haven't exactly been a reason to stop clicking on the remote during the three decades the Razorbacks have been in the conference and very few Hog fans know if the Illini ever had a televised game prior to 2021.

For fans who are wondering, this is the same bowl Arkansas played in last year. It just got a new sponsor after 26 years of being the Outback Bowl.

Apparently Americans haven't eaten enough Bloomin' Onions as of late.

While there were mixed feelings when Bret Bielema was asked to depart Fayetteville, Hog fans have kept a steady eye on "Ole Bert."

When Bielema tried to slip into the Gator Bowl after Texas A&M vacated their spot in the game last year, Razorback fans were quick to notice.

When former interim Arkansas head coach Barry Lunney, Jr. and former Hogs' assistant Jeff Traylor lead UTSA to an upset of Illinois in Champaign last year, Razorback fans were on top of it.

When Bielema stole Lunney to fix his low production offense, Arkansas fans gave a knowing nod in acknowlegement of Bielema offering a future head coaching candidate for the Hogs' head coaching position a chance to continue to grow.

Yet, despite all this, it's unlikely the people of Arkansas, nor anyone else outside of Illinois, will openly pull for an Illinois victory.

The unexpected passing of one of college football's most colorful coaches in Mike Leach makes it impossible to not support the Mississippi State players. If the Bulldogs win, Leach will officially have led Mississippi State to nine wins or more for only the eighth time in the school's 120-year history.

That's something on five people in the entire existence of this planet have ever done.

Prior to Leach's passing, 11 Bulldogs entered the transfer portal. Only one, safety Dylan Lawrence, has left since.

It's possible many more will leave after the Reliquest Bowl, but for now, the players on this team are in it for at least one last game in honor of Leach.

When it was announced that their coach had died, the players were quick to put out that they intended to still play the game. The coaches left behind, led by newly named head coach Zach Arnett, have put what they can into preparing the players while dealing with how to move forward in football operations without their leader.

That's just too much to root against. If anything, it deserves prayers for both the Mississippi State team and Bielema's staff.

After all, Illinois loses whether the Illini win on the scoreboard or not, so handling everything the right way will require the Lord's guidance also.