Like it is

Hogs, Rebels may have unfinished business

Mississippi's Anthony Servideo (3) is tagged out by Arkansas shortstop Casey Martin (15) as he was caught in a run down for the second out of a double play during the third inning of an NCAA college baseball game at the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Friday, May 24, 2019, in Hoover, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

The headline on the front of your sports page Monday said it all: No Surprise: Hogs to host a regional.

Dave Van Horn and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks were believed to have secured the right to host before they ever left for Hoover, Ala., and the SEC Tournament.

The belief was solid.

The Hogs, 41-17, beat Ole Miss in the conference tournament opener, then lost to Georgia and Ole Miss. They still were awarded the No. 5 national seed and will host a regional that includes the Hogs' first opponent Central Connecticut State (30-21), TCU (32-26) and California (32-18).

No doubt Van Horn plays to win every game, but he didn't seem particularly upset about losing 3-2 to Ole Miss on Friday and getting two extra days of rest after a long season.

The drama between the Hogs and Rebels was not missed by the baseball selection committee. Those teams met five times during the season, and the Rebels have a rare advantage against the Hogs by winning three times. They host another regional as the 12 seed.

If both win, the Rebels would head to Fayetteville for the super regional. Neither team has an easy path, but it seems the two SEC foes are on target for another showdown as a road to Omaha again runs through Fayetteville.

. . .

Since leaving the now defunct, and still missed, Southwest Conference, the University of Arkansas has tried to schedule its former brothers in football, but not hard enough.

There is talk about a game with Rice in a couple of years, and the response to that is PERFECT.

As it would with games vs. Houston and Baylor.

The more exposure the Razorbacks have in Texas, the more Texans are going to be interested in playing for the Razorbacks.

Texas has been and will continue to be the most football-recruited state in the country. Coach Chad Morris has spent so much time in the Lone Star State he should own a home there. OK, he does have a home there for another year.

The point is Morris needs even more exposure in Texas.

He has a great reputation there first as a high school coach who won state championships, then for starting to turn around SMU.

Morris has made a seamless transition into Arkansas, but the similarities between Texans and Arkansans are obvious.

Morris has a penchant for big trucks and Corvettes. Working from sunrise into darkness is normal. His friendliness and concern for others are genuine. He's a family man.

So far he has recruited more football players from Texas than Arkansas, which is good because that state produces about 14 times as many Division I football players. It also has nearly 10 times the population of the Natural State.

He can't get too much exposure in the 28th state.

Since leaving the SWC in 1992, Arkansas has played every school from the old league except for Rice, Houston and Baylor.

There should be a Texas school on the Razorbacks' nonconference schedule every year, and Texas Tech won't do every year.

When the Hogs played the Red Raiders, it was to get some exposure in the second-largest state, but Tech is so far west the game might as well have been played in Tucumcari, N.M.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have made their programs by recruiting north Texas, and the Razorbacks need more exposure there as well as southern Texas.

Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek was the AD at Houston, and he has the contacts to get a Texas-based school on the schedule every year. It won't happen overnight, but he and Morris are on the same page.

Rice on the schedule would be a great start.

Sports on 05/28/2019