LITTLE ROCK — The last time Bret Bielema opened a regular season with a Thursday night game, his team went on to win a conference championship.
Bielema is hopeful his game next Thursday will be the start to a similar campaign.
The Razorbacks open with Florida A&M at 7 p.m. next Thursday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Bielema said it will be the first time he has coached a regular season game on Thursday since 2011 when Wisconsin beat UNLV 51-17 at Camp Randall Stadium.
The Badgers went on to win the Big Ten and played in the Rose Bowl.
“I’m excited," Bielema said Monday prior to his speech at the Little Rock Touchdown Club. “When I was at [Wisconsin] we opened up [on a Thursday], and it was a real live crowd. That set the stage for a championship year.
“I think just the advantage of playing early having a national audience playing here in Little Rock and to play a night game and have that exposure is really big. It also affords you a little opportunity to prepare for TCU on the back end. I think our kids will be excited. They always get pumped for Little Rock. We try to minimize all of the issues we have to deal with, but I think it will be a really good crowd.”
Everyone hopes so, at least central Arkansas fans and civic leaders who enjoy the nostalgia and revenue that the Razorbacks bring. The Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism, which now manages the stadium, hopes for a big crowd, too, clinging to hope hat maybe a glut of fans will persuade UA athletics director Jeff Long to renew with the stadium after 2018.
No one seems to doubt that Arkansas will beat hapless Football Championship Series member from Tallahassee, Fla. What is a mystery is how many fans will attend.
On one hand, it’s the opener. On the other hand, it’s a school night on the cusp of Labor Day weekend. Convincing people to travel, especially from outside the Little Rock area, may be difficult. Bielema said the Wisconsin fans that weren’t at Camp Randall Stadium for the UNLV win missed the debut of quarterback Russell Wilson and the beginning of his historic season.
“I would say this, it is going to be the kickoff to a very special year,” Bielema said when asked what he would say to fans wavering on making the tip to War Memorial Stadium. “You only get one game in Little Rock, so you better come and enjoy it. It is going to be a neat thing with the element of that.
“We have a lot of players with something to prove. Hopefully, they are going to come out on that first play and go forward with it. You always do that first year, that first game you are always going to bring some faces that no one has heard of. I really think defensively there are going to be some guys that really become playmakers. No one really knows whom and to see that first hand.
"That Little Rock crowd is always never short of enjoyment. They have a good time regardless of what goes on on the football field.”
Bielema said the right things. Truth be told, I think he’d rather play all of the games at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
It’s simpler and there is no travel. He’s complained before about the game being more like a road game.
The Razorbacks bus to Little Rock, but fly home.
You noticed the portion of his quote where he mentioned the “issues” that come along with the trip to Little Rock. It didn’t help matters when Arkansas lost to mid-major Toledo two years ago at War Memorial.
But that is ancient history, and Bielema seemed genuinely excited to start the season, no matter where the game is played. He lit up when addressing the packed house at the Embassy Suites. If attendees weren’t ready for a game coming into the luncheon, they left excited.
Bielema knows after last season’s disastrous end that the expectations are high. He’s ready for redemption, and that begins next week against the Rattlers.
Bielema is pumped and has done his part to add the hype. We will see how many Arkansas fans respond.