Razorbacks schedule skips Alabama, Ole Miss and that matters this year

Arkansas lost to a ranked team again Saturday.

Go ahead and save that sentence. You may need it a few more times before this season’s over.

The Razorbacks have six games left and several of them come against teams with a number beside their name.

That’s what happens when you play in a league that just put nine teams in the new AP Top 25.

Do the math on that. It’s more than a third of the poll.

The Hogs aren’t in it, and nobody who’s watched them is calling the voters to complain.

Where the SEC sits in the poll

Georgia is the new No. 1 after winning 20-17 at Alabama. The Bulldogs landed 66 of the 70 first-place votes.

They hadn’t won in Tuscaloosa since 2014. They hadn’t been on top of the rankings since Sept. 8, 2024, either.

Texas held that spot until Oklahoma beat the Longhorns. Now they’re No. 7, six places lower.

Alabama lost and stayed put at No. 6. Must be nice.

Ole Miss is No. 9, Missouri is No. 13 and Tennessee is No. 14.

Kentucky wasn’t ranked a week ago. A 35-34 overtime win over LSU fixed that, and the Wildcats are No. 15.

Mississippi State is 16th. LSU fell all the way from No. 10 to No. 22.

That’s the company Arkansas keeps every week. It’s a rough crowd.

The break Arkansas actually gets

So where’s the good news? You have to look at who isn’t on the schedule.

Alabama isn’t.

Neither is Ole Miss.

Those are two top-10 teams the Hogs won’t have to line up against this fall. Nobody at the league office meant it as a favor, but let’s just call it one.

Look at what the voters did with the Tide. A three-point loss to the best team in the country cost them nothing. That says plenty about how good people think that roster is.

The Rebels are three spots behind them.

Put either one in the back half of this slate and a hard finish turns into something worse.

Why the numbers could change

Here’s the other thing about rankings. They’re only good for a week.

Ask LSU, which went from the top 10 to nearly out of the poll in one Saturday.

Or ask Kentucky, which jumped past 10 teams without being ranked the Sunday before.

Voters have short memories and shorter patience.

More of that is on the way because these teams have to play each other.

Alabama goes to Tennessee this week. The Tide dropped their past two games in Knoxville, and the Vols haven’t settled on a quarterback.

Missouri is at Ole Miss. Mississippi State visits LSU.

Three of those six are going to lose.

What it means for the Hogs

So the team that’s ranked when you circle the game might not be when you play it.

That cuts both ways for the Razorbacks. Somebody unranked today could have a number by then.

None of that is up to Arkansas.

The voters aren’t asking for input and the league isn’t getting softer.

What’s left is six games, and some are against teams the poll says are better. Saturday showed again how that’s gone.

Still, two of the best teams in the conference won’t be on the other sideline.

It’s a small break. Around here lately, you take those.

AP Top 25:

1. Georgia

2. Notre Dame

3. Miami

4. Ohio State

5. Indiana

6. Alabama

7. Texas

8. BYU

9. Ole Miss

10. Texas Tech

11. Utah

12. UCLA

13. Missouri

14. Tennessee

15. Kentucky

16. Mississippi State

17. Iowa

18. Oklahoma State

19. USC

20. Houston

21. Wake Forest

22. LSU

23. Boise State

24. SMU

25. Northwestern