All set up at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium….

September 01, 2007

Drew Champlin

....and it’s as beautiful as advertised. This completes my tour of the 12 SEC schools (I attended college and did my student newspaper work at an SEC school and went everywhere but here). I love the open-air press box - a lot of places don’t have that, including Troy. That alone makes me like this place better than Nebraska and Florida State.

Not a whole lot to report. I don’t know if I’ll post during the game at all because late deadlines will consume me, plus I doubt many of you will be continually hitting refresh on this blog during those three hours. Maybe some halftime observations, but no play-by-play. That’s where the color analysis of that Jerry Miller comes into play.

A happy birthday to Troy play-by-play voice Barry McKnight. I’m not at liberty to say how old he is.....

How bout Appy State over Michigan? Biggest upset ever? I think so, no matter how good Appy State is in I-AA. You can’t be a top 5 program and let a I-AA team come to your house and beat you. If they had beaten Clemson, it’s not nearly as big of a deal.

Gameday links

Drew Champlin

Outside it feels like a FANTASTIC day/night for some football. I watched Washington at Syracuse last night and most of the Sun Belt teams would clobber the once-proud ‘Cuse.

Here’s my story on no more close losses acceptible for the Trojans.

From WholeHogSports.com, which appears to be a combination of the NW Arkansas Times and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, there’s a lot of stuff. Arkansas has a new offense for the second straight year. ‘Da Razorbacks are ready to go with a couple of “told the Dothan (Ala.) Eagle” mentions in there. Also here’s a good position-by-position breakdown from Tom Murphy.

From the Morning News, more on the new offense, a look at the countermeasures, which examines some aspects of Troy. Also, here’s some keys to a Hogs victory.

Good thing I only had to wade through two newspapers this week. I can think of at least seven that cover Florida full-time next week.

It’s gameday, folks

Drew Champlin

So last night I’m hanging out in the hotel with a good friend of mine from high school and college, Riley Logan, who works at the Wal-Mart Headquarters in Bentonville. I saw a player - I think it was Andrew Davis - walk up to someone with his Troy t-shirt. On the front, it had the “Anybody, Anywhere, Anytime” motto over the Trojan sword.

Don’t worry, it was only about 9 p.m. Bedcheck according to the card I saw was 10:30. Of course, the last time Troy was in the state of Arkansas, three players snuck out the night before the game. That was at Arkansas State in 2005, the day before a 9-3 game that officially ensured a losing season.

Those miserable days are over for Troy fans. The schedule slogan (which really hits hard in 2008 with @LSU and @Ohio State), kicks off tonight at 6 at Arkansas.

To be honest, I think Troy has a great chance to pull the upset, but there are question marks about both teams that make me shy away from it. I was on the air on a Fayetteville station Tuesday saying I thought it would be a close game. Of course, after I’m cut off I get online to listen. He had a quote from Blakeney, then said “the more and more I hear about this game being close, the less I believe it. Arkansas by at least 20.”

Well, 20 points covers the spread. Let’s look at it a little more.

Time: 6 p.m. CST
TV: None
Radio: 94.7 FM WTBF (man that Jerry Miller’s going to sound good on color)
Key matchups: Arkansas running backs Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hills vs. Troy linebackers Marcus Richardson, Boris Lee and Josh Maxwell. It’s clear the Hogs are going to run. Can Troy’s linebackers stop them past the line of scrimmage? Will Boris Lee be able to cover Hills out of the backfield on those flare passes? The big key for Troy will be stopping slowing down the run and forcing Casey Dick to pass.

Big question: How will Troy’s untested offensive line hold up through the duration of the game? It’s clear the Trojans have depth all across the board at the other positions, more so in years past. If Troy can run the ball, the Trojans have a chance. If that offensive line is tired in the fourth quarter and it’s a close game and all the sudden Omar Haugabook has less and less time to throw, then Woooooo! Pig Suey! gets louder and louder.

Prediction: Arkansas 24, Troy 20

***After the game, the Trojans’ charter plane will fly back to Dothan Regional Airport. ETA 2 a.m.