Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

It’s been over two years since Arkansas faced a quality opponent at night in Razorback Stadium (no, Vanderbilt was not a quality opponent last year). Saturday’s game against Auburn is already sold out. Coaches have pleaded with the fans to create a crazy atmosphere.

No Razorback fan needs to bet on this game to make it more exciting, but this is Saturday Roulette, and that’s what we do.

Before we get started, Saturday Roulette is going a slightly different direction this week. As an homage to one of my favorite national games, Oklahoma vs. Texas, taking place in their usual location amidst the carnival rides, livestock shows, and the craziest fried food you’ve ever seen at the Texas State Fair, we are foregoing betting fantasy dollars and instead will wager some of the more incredible fried foods that have been associated with the Fair. It’s really a spectacle so drenched in excess, one could mistake it for an SEC game. Our hope is that this edition will either make you hungry or appalled.

By the way, Saturday Roulette went 5-3 last week to improve the season’s total to 21-10-1. Here are this weeks winners…

Auburn (+10) @ Arkansas: We don’t see much point in rehashing the Razorbacks’ recent defensive woes because the unit could look completely different with the return of Jake Bequette. The defense should also look different because Arkansas last week had to treat A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill as as big of a weapon as running back Christine Michael. Auburn doesn’t have that type of passing threat, so Arkansas may be able to focus more on the run and prevent a repeat of last week’s first half when A&M scored 35 points.

Plenty of attention has been placed on Arkansas’ injury situation but don’t forget Auburn will also be missing some starters Saturday night. The Tigers are without two receivers, Trevon Reed and Emory Blake. How healthy can Michael Dyer be after running the ball 41 times for 141 yards against South Carolina last week? For perspective, in Houston Nutt’s notoriously run-happy offense, Darren McFadden never rushed more than 34 times in a game. I don’t believe Dyer can duplicate that just a week later. It will also be interesting to see how Auburn uses freshman quarterback Kiehl Frazier. Frazier rushed nine times against South Carolina but did not attempt a pass. Don’t be shocked if the Tigers have Frazier attempt a deep pass if Arkansas sells out to stop the run when he comes in. When Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was at Arkansas in 2006, McFadden started out strictly running in the Wildcat, but later caught teams off-guard when he’d attempt a pass. 

But we don’t see Auburn’s defense being able to stop the Arkansas offense. Joe Adams is supposed to be healed. The Razorbacks made a relative improvement in the running game last week. I’ll bet a bucket of deep fried biscuits and gravy that the Razorbacks cover.

Oklahoma (-10) vs. Texas: Many people are still associating Texas with last season’s disastrous 5-7 squad, but this year’s Longhorns have been dominant since benching Garrett Gilbert. They’ll look to prove they’re really back against the Sooners. However, no matter how good or bad Texas is, they will never be overlooked by Oklahoma. Interesting match-ups include Landry Jones orchestrating the Sooner offense against hot-shot defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s aggressive schemes. It will also be interesting to see if Texas’ young offense is able to move the ball against the Oklahoma defense as well as Missouri did two weeks ago. The Longhorns could very well stay with the 10 point spread here.

Texas week is always difficult for my friend Oklahoma Chuck, whom you may remember is always willing to bet one, if not both, of his own legs on the Sooners in any game, especially Texas. We’ve been working hard to prevent him from risking his arms in addition to his legs. His wife is even leaving town for the weekend because it’s just easier to just come back Sunday night and see what’s still there. Don’t tell him I’m betting a basket of fried frito chili pie on the Sooners to win and cover. It will only encourage him.

Florida (+13) @ LSU: How can anyone really expect Florida to stay within two touchdowns of LSU with senior quarterback John Brantley out with an injured leg? Of course, there is always the Les Miles factor with every LSU game, which makes any conceivable scenario a legitimate possibility. However, the LSU defense should feast against a true freshman quarterback, Jeff Driskel, making his first career start on the road in Baton Rouge. Tyrann Mathieu will look to continue his Heisman campaign by terrorizing Driskel and hunting down Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps. The Bayou Bengals will likely only need to score 24 points to cover the spread. I’m putting fried chocolate-covered strawberry waffle balls (which sounds like a real dessert on New Orleans menus) on LSU.

Vanderbilt (+29) @ Alabama: Alabama beat Florida by 28 at The Swamp last week and defeated Arkansas by 24 in Tuscaloosa the week before. Does anyone really think Vanderbilt can stay within a similar spread in Bryant-Denny? Their only hope is simply if the Crimson Tide allow them to. Unlikely. Bet your buffalo chicken fried in pancake batter with dipping syrup on Alabama.

Missouri (-4) @ Kansas State: How to tell if you’re overrated in 3 parts: 1. You’re undefeated and nationally ranked, like Kansas State. 2. You’re playing at home against an unranked team, like K-State. 3. You’re still the underdog, which the Wildcats are. We’ll wager chicken-fried bacon with gravy on Missouri to cover.