Everything Riding on an SEC Win Saturday
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Everyone knows the story by know.
High flying offense averaging over 400 yards and well over 30 points per game led by a stud quarterback returning for an extra year looking to impress NFL scouts. Fans clinging desperately to a 9-win season wishing a great offensive mind was still around because a change in philosophy has things stuck in the mud and feeling like it's headed in the wrong direction.
Open worry because players could start running for the transfer portal even though some may already have done so mentally. A quarterback frustrated as the losses piled up while fans openly discuss whether the man who is in his first ever job as a head coach is the right guy for the job.
Depending on whether you're reading this from Arkansas and various parts of Texas or in Mississippi, everything described was painfully familiar. However, it would have been about a very different program than the person reading it in the other location. Arkansas and Mississippi State fans find themselves heading into this weekend in the same boat and the waters are white capping no matter which side of the Mississippi they call home.
Both programs have a second half of the schedule that includes a highly winnable non-conference game, a solid chance to win against Auburn and another SEC game that could be won with proper momentum on their sides. However, the key to it all is the game this Saturday. One team will win and possibly use it as a spring board into a run at a bowl and a positive finish to what has been a frustrating season. The other most likely spirals into a losing streak that upends everything, creating a tailspin that will be felt into future seasons.
"College football's a game of momentum," Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett said. "The same thing goes in regard to your program and going into the offseason. Everything's always better when you're coming off a win right? So when you can rip off a string of victories, it builds positive momentum toward everything else you are trying to accomplish in your program."
A fight for that momentum is exactly what Saturday has become. Unfortunately for both programs, only one team can come away with a win. If it's Arkansas, the Razorbacks go into a bye week looking to use the victory as a boost on the recruiting trail while key players heal up and plans are made for how to squeeze enough out of the offense at Florida and against Auburn to put together a three-game winning streak that would bring much of the fan base back on board.
Lose, and Arnett gets the gift he needs to put together a bowl run and buy himself the comfort of recruiting for a guaranteed Year 2 with an eye toward Year 3. Meanwhile, Pittman is left hoping the improvement of the defense and a respect for the new coaches on that side of the ball is high enough to keep his job if he makes significant changes in his offensive staff. He also has to begin recruiting his own players to keep the boat from having too many holes to plug via the transfer portal following yet another difficult season.
It's essentially a live or die cage match in Razorback Stadium Saturday. All either side can do is prepare the best way possible and pray with the intensity of Jesus in the garden because it doesn't get closer to make or break for either program.
"The beautiful thing about sports is you have to put every ounce of energy, preparation and focus into it and there is no guarantee of success," Arnett said. "I think that's why people are so passionate about it, is because, frankly, you've got to put yourself out there a little bit, right? To invest that much into something without a guarantee of success, how many people are willing to do that?"
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