FAYETTEVILLE — Finally, a long and contentious off-season comes to a close for the University of Arkansas and Coach Houston Nutt.

When the No. 21 Razorbacks take the field at 6 p. m. today against Troy in Reynolds Razorback Stadium, all those familiar buzz words — Malzahn, Mustain, e-mails and text messages, Freedom of Information Act — will descend into background noise as the clatter of shoulder pads and the grunts of exertion take center stage again.

“I know we’re tired of talking about it, you’re tired of writing about it,” Nutt said this week, referring to a long, hot camp. “It’s time to play. That’s the bottom line.”

Arkansas’ straight-talking defensive coordinator, Reggie Herring, put it another way.

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“The one thing that’s good is all the preseason hype, all the magazines, everyone picking our record, all the talking is over and reality is here,” he said. “We’ve wasted a whole month listening to people talk all over the country. Now it’s time to quit talking and go play.”

The Razorbacks couldn’t be happier to be kicking off 2007. A bounce-back 10-victory season in which Arkansas drove to an SEC West championship behind Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden was followed by a tumultuous winter and spring the likes of which the program had never witnessed.

Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn bolted after one season to take over as co-offensive coordinator at Tulsa, and heralded freshman quarterback Mitch Mustain — who started eight games, all victories — ended up transferring to Southern California on the heels of a disparaging e-mail from a booster with close ties to the Nutt family.

It didn’t end there. Disgruntled fans even used the state Freedom of Information Act to obtain Nutt’s e-mail and cell phone records and posted the findings on message boards, drawing media attention from across the country.

“Obviously [the off-season ] was a nightmare, but it’s gone,” Arkansas offensive line coach Mike Markuson said. “We can go on with business. We’ve got our season and Troy.” Troy went 8-5 last season, won the Sun Belt Conference and walloped Rice 41-17 in the New Orleans Bowl, but the

Tro-1 jans are a 23 / 2-point underdog heading into tonight’s game. This despite returning eight starters from a strong defense and six starters on offense, including veteran quarterback Omar Haugabook, who accounted for 2, 714 total yards in 2007. “We’re very confident right now, and we feel like we’re capable of beating anybody,” Haugabook said.

Coach Larry Blakeney has guided the Trojans from Division II to a Division I conference championship during his tenure, and his team has been troublesome for a series of schools from major conferences.

“Our kids have never shied away — we’ve been woodshedded [whipped ] pretty good a couple of times — but we’ve competed hard,” Blakeney told the Dothan (Ala. ) Eagle. “The application and preparation is all you can do.”

Arkansas will roll out a running game that is expected to have few equals in the country. With a rare combination of sprinter’s speed, vision and power, McFadden is the focal point following his 1, 647-yard season, but the Razorbacks go much deeper. Felix Jones, a 1, 100-yard rusher, joins McFadden as an All-SEC selection, and Peyton Hillis and Michael Smith are capable runners.

Clearly, Troy will gear up to slow the Razorbacks’ rushing attack.

“That’s the main thing they’ll try to do is establish the run, but our defense is 10 times better than we were last year,” Troy defensive end Brandon Lang said. “We’ve got the players and the missing pieces to the puzzle this year, so we want to make a statement and stop their run.”

There are plenty of questions for the Razorbacks. Can quarterback Casey Dick and a receiving corps that is temporarily without its best player, Marcus Monk, provide the proper counterbalance to that starstudded running game ?

“If we can get them to pass, we’ll be in good shape,” Troy cornerback Elbert Mack said. Will an Arkansas offensive line with three new starters be able to create creases for McFadden and Co. against a quick, aggressive and experienced front seven led by ends Lang and Cameron Sheffield ?

“They have two great ends,” McFadden said. “They aren’t scared to come down and hit you.” Markuson, who recruited Lang out of Tucker (Ga. ) High, called the transfer from Florida State a beast. “He can run, he’s strong, and he wreaks havoc,” Markuson said.

Can Arkansas exert pressure defensively and cover long enough in its nickel and dime packages to force Haugabook into errors ? Herring said Haugabook is strong and throws the deep ball well, and the Razorbacks expect to get Haugabook’s best game. “The biggest thing about Troy is their senior quarterback, the escapability he has, the ability to create when things break down,” Nutt said.

Another intriguing story line is the bravado of the underdog Trojans.

“We want to win, and we want everybody in the world to know that we’re for real,” Mack said.

Linebacker Marcus Richardson even went as far as to say he sees arrogance among the Razorbacks.

“I see talent and I see a lot of ability, but I also see a sense of arrogance,” he said. “They’ve got players and the players know that they’re good, and there are times that can hurt you.”