ESPN Rankings Strongly Suggest Weak Non-Conference Schedule for Hogs

Infamous Bottom 10 includes multiple teams Razorback football will face this season

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Aug 25, 2023 2:37 AM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After years of claiming the national championship for the nation's toughest schedule at the start of the season, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman definitively has to concede that proverbial trophy to someone else.

ESPN released its infamous Bottom 10 teams as the kickoff to the 2023 season looms hours away and there Arkansas fans will see a pair of familiar faces. Week 2 opponent Kent State and Week 11 opponent Florida International show up at No. 2 and No. 10 respectively. Depending on how this poll is interpreted, Arkansas either has the second worst team in all of college football or the absolute worst on its schedule.

Either way, two of the nine worst teams in America make up half of the Razorback non-conference schedule and that doesn't even take into account Western Carolina, which, as an FCS school, isn't eligible for ESPN's Bottom 10 ranking.

KENT STATE, No. 2

"The Golden Flashes have a new coach in Kenni Burns, who has been preaching the mantra of "Kent Grit." I've eaten a lot of grits in my Carolina-raised life, but never in Ohio. Also, after Kent State is done with its first two games -- trips to UCF and Arkansas, where the Flashes are estimated by ESPN's mystical and magical FPI to have a 6% chance of winning each -- we should call Ken Burns, the documentarian, and have him do a film about Kenni Burns. I can already hear Peter Coyote's voice set to piano music: "They called it 'Kent Grit'..."
– RYAN MCGEE, ESPN senior writer

FLORIDA ATLANTIC, No. 10

Mike McIntyre's first head coaching job was at San Jose State. Then he moved 1,300 miles east to be head coach at Colorado. Then he moved 2,100 miles east to Florida International. By our calculations, his next job should be at Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, 4,000 miles east of Miami.
– RYAN MCGEE, ESPN senior writer

With no overhyped Texas team popping onto the schedule before falling apart or a Cincinnati team fresh off a playoff appearance, the only blip on the non-conference schedule is a BYU team that comes in with far less hype than last year in the absence of now departed quarterback Jaren Hall and wide receiver Puka Nacua. The Hogs almost need Pittsburgh transfer Kedon Slovis to have a series of huge games heading into the trip to Fayetteville to build a little hype and give the Razorbacks a notable non-conference win. Otherwise, it's going to be a long, slow slog to the Top 25 outside an SEC-opening win over LSU.

One thing is for sure. Pittman already can't afford a loss against any of the non-conference opponents. However, with these rankings turning a loss to any non-conference team outside of BYU into either a Chad Morris Bottom 10 San Jose State / Colorado State loss or a Jack Crowe Citadel debacle, not coming out on top could be even more damaging.

Of course, the other side of the coin is that it should almost be a given that the Razorbacks get halfway to last year's regular season total almost automatically. It also offers more opportunity to develop depth and lower the risk of injury to key players heading into SEC play. The Florida International game offers a second chance to heal wounds from league battles two weeks after the Hogs get time off to do a little trick-or-treating. That sets the table well for the Razorbacks to be in good shape heading into a game against Missouri to close the season that will go a long way toward how the season is viewed.

Either way, it's a well deserved break after years of Pittman facing schedules that rivaled the most difficult any former Hogs leader ever tackled.