FAYETTEVILLE — It's a confident Arkansas football team that welcomes No. 1 Alabama to Fayetteville for the weekend. Arkansas coach Bret Bielema pointed to that Thursday during his weekly radio show at the Catfish Hole.
"We are confident," Bielema said of the No. 16 Razorbacks. "We are a good football team and we've earned this moment. We are going to try to capitalize on the opportunity at 6 Saturday night."
The Hogs should be at full strength. Bielema said safety Santos Ramirez (leg bruise) and wide receiver Keon Hatcher (hamstring strain) both practiced this week after missing the Alcorn State game last week.
"We've had Santos and Keon the last two days and they should be ready Saturday night," Bielema said.
Center Frank Ragnow should be available. Bielema said he planned to return to Fayetteville later Thursday night. He was in Minnesota to attend his father's funeral.
"Frank should be back tonight," Bielema said. "Everything is progressing for him to be with us Saturday night."
Bielema said offensive line coach Kurt Anderson has stressed to his group that preparation is the way to "honor" Ragnow and his father.
"Frank is one of our best players and what he does really well is with his preparation," Bielema said. "Kurt told his players that they should try to have their best week of preparation. Frank is meticulous in his notes, his preparation. I thought that was a good approach."
Bielema was asked by a patron at the Catfish Hole if there would be an "erotic moment with 15 seconds left." That was in reference to his comments when the Hogs ran out the clock against Texas in a bowl game two years ago.
Bielema said that is two different games, two different moments, but he did return to the last time Alabama played in Fayetteville. The Tide won 14-13, but officials were in error at the end of the game for starting the clock after a penalty. The error prevented Arkansas from getting the ball back with time remaining.
"We should have gotten the ball back with about 15 seconds left," Bielema said. "We got an apology from the league on Tuesday of that week. We should have had one more play. Tennessee snapped the ball with four seconds left (to beat Georgia last week).
"I got extremely upset then, and I got pissed as I thought about it today. We've got a great crew coming to this game, one of the best. I think they will be locked in and give us a four-quarter game."
Wide receiver Jared Cornelius said every game is the same and the preparation is the same.
"Alabama is a great team, but it's the same every week," Cornelius said.
However, wide receiver Cody Hollister added, "We do have a extra pep in our step this week."
Cornelius looks forward to seeing Ragnow, his roommate freshman year.
"We were in the quad together and we moved into a house off campus after our freshman year," Cornelius said. "He's taught me a lot about fishing. I have to give him a shout out for his Instagram page, GrizzlyManOutdoors. I've taught him a lot, especially about eating crawfish and Louisiana. We are really close and we are only going to get closer."
Bielema said Zach Rogers has been awesome in practice as he prepares at center.
"He's prepared to be a starter and there is a good chance he will be depending on how Frank feels," Bielema said. "He's a guy who is extremely smart and can play left guard, center or right guard. He's played tackle in high school, so he knows the gamut."
Bielema ended the show with a plea for a loud partisan crowd.
"I've never done this, but Alabama does do a lot of things with communication at the line between the quarterback and the wide receivers," Bielema said. "If we can be loud, we can make a difference."