LITTLE ROCK — Even diehard Razorback fans may be hard-pressed to stick with the Eastern Illinois-Arkansas telecast for three-plus hours.
Potentially, the best game on Sept. 1 begins in Atlanta 30 minutes prior to the kickoff in Fayetteville and the acronyms — FBS vs. FCS and SEC vs. OVC — declare the Razorbacks should have a comfortable lead over the Panthers before the start of the fourth quarter.
Selfishly, Arkansas 28, Eastern Illinois 3 at halftime would be ideal for those of us anxious to return to No. 9 Auburn vs. No. 6 Washington. The Huskies, with quarterback Jake Browning, are the favorites in the Pac-12 and join Alabama and Georgia as teams on the Auburn schedule with a solid chance of making the College Football Playoff.
The Auburn game is about personnel, particularly at running back, and a defense that is being touted by some as the best in the SEC. The Arkansas game is more about philosophy involving the Razorbacks’ new-look offense and a more aggressive defense.
Curiosity and an obligation to report some details of the Razorbacks’ first game under Chad Morris provide motivation for tuning into the Arkansas telecast. But, watching Auburn is an opportunity to check out the skills of a legitimate SEC West contender that happens to be the foe in Arkansas’s SEC opener on Sept. 22.
As for Auburn, former Razorback player/assistant coach Tim Horton is charged with replacing the Tigers’ last two 1,000-yard rushers, including SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2017, Kerryon Johnson. Although the candidates lack experience, Horton says he will be disappointed if Auburn’s doesn’t have a 1,000-yard back for the 10th year in a row.
Last year, when it mattered, Auburn snapped the ball to Johnson 45 times. The Tigers snapped to two other running backs a half-dozen times and 28 of those 51 plays resulted in a first down or a touchdown, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
With quarterback Jarrett Stidham available, whether head coach Gus Malzahn is willing to trust the newbies with such responsibility is of interest.
So, too, is how the defense does against Browning, who has completed more than 64 percent of his 1,095 pass attempts for more than 9,000 yards and 78 touchdowns in three years.
Meanwhile, the letters FCS make it easy to dismiss Eastern Illinois’ chances against Arkansas. Simply, teams in the Football Championship Subdivision are not supposed to compete with Football Bowl Subdivision teams in Power Five conferences, but once in a great while the unthinkable happens.
In fact, on opening weekend in 2016, three FCS teams beat Power Five teams — Richmond 37, Virginia 20; Northern Iowa 25, Iowa State 20, and Eastern Washington 45, Washington State 42.
Go back far enough and there was Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32 in 2007, James Madison 21, Virginia Tech 16 in 2010, and Georgia Southern 26, Florida 20 in 2013. Odds are that with more than 100 games between FCS and FBS teams, one or two schools from the lower classification will break through.
Still, mention an FCS opponent upsetting the Razorbacks and the close-to-home comparison is how Central Arkansas or Arkansas-Pine Bluff of the FCS would fare against Arkansas. The immediate conclusion is that an exorbitant number of Razorback turnovers would be required for them to have any chance.
For starters, FBS schools can have 85 players on full scholarships; FCS teams are allowed 63 scholarships divided among no more than 85 athletes.
That is not to say that FCS programs don’t have some athletes. NCAA research revealed 160 former FCS players were on NFL rosters in the first week of the 2017 season.
Reviewing EIU, one thing stood out: all six wins in 2017 were by three points or less, including three in overtime. The guess is the Panthers’ five All-Ohio Valley Conference players who completed their eligibility were at the heart of that success, although the go-ahead points in five of those wins were scored by returning receiver Alexander Hollins and returning field goal kicker Matt Severino.