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Arkansas vs Auburn Preview: Q&A with College and Magnolia

We reached out to Walt Austin, editor of the SB Nation Auburn site College and Magnolia to answer a few burning questions for us. You can see my answers to Walt's questions here.

Wesley Hitt

AF: Are Auburn fans worried at all about an upset in this game? I think they are delusional, but there are a lot of Hog fans that think there is an upset brewing.

C&M: There are some that are worried. There is a general "joke" about the Hawg Hex in Auburn. It seems Arkansas has derailed more good Auburn seasons than any other team out there. I think most all Auburn fans are confident in a victory, but there are a sizeable portion that believe it's going to be closer than the odds show. I fall into that category. I believe if Auburn covers the odds, it will be late in the game. Arkansas will not be a pushover. We know they will come out hyped and ready to prove themselves. I think it will be a good game, personally.

AF: Realistically, how long do you think Nick Marshall is suspended? A play? Series? Quarter? The whole game because Arkansas won't even be able to stop the back up?

C&M: I think Marshall and Mincy will both sit for the first half. There's a chance Marshall is a quarter and Mincy is a half. They will both play, though.

AF: Who is one guy who the Razorbacks need to watch out for that might not be a household name?

C&M: Justin Garrett. Robenson Therezie was a bright spot at the Star position for Auburn last year, but Garrett was ahead of him on the depth chart before he was hurt in fall camp. Garrett was the defensive MVP of the 2013 A-Day game, and looked explosive at the Star position. He plays it much more like a linebacker than a DB as Therezie did. He's a hard-hitter and his LB-type play will be necessary if Auburn hopes to stop the run.

AF: Are Auburn fans still pumped about the SEC Network, considering they will now have to attend the game in the August heat at 3 in the afternoon?

C&M: I think they are, though Auburn fans will always be Auburn fans and complain about the media, regardless. The 3pm game time is definitely not going to be fun. My seats will be right in line with the sun until it goes down, too, so it's going to be brutal.

AF: Are there any high school coaches around Auburn that could potentially be the head coach of the Razorbacks in ten years? (Like how Malzahn is from Arkansas, but now coaches Auburn)

C&M:  I honestly don't know the answer to this question. The only person I could think of right off hand would be Josh Floyd (link to C&M article about him: (http://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2014/7/11/5887115/why-nick-saban-needs-this-guy-to-fail-josh-floyd-trussville), a name that may be familiar to many in Arkansas. He is starting his first year as head coach at a place just north of Birmingham and was hand-picked by Gus to take that position.

AF: On a scale of Kristi Malzahn to Harvey Updyke, how crazy did it make the Arkansas fan base look when someone torched the starting quarterback's truck (although possibly not football related)?

C&M: That's getting up there as pretty crazy. I don't know if it's quite [NAME REDACTED] (I refuse to say the man's name or acknowledge he exists, now) level of crazy. Or it may be even worse. I guess it depends on the ultimate reason behind the attack. If it's football related, then it's pretty danged nuts since a game hasn't even been played this season. I hope it ends up being mistaken identity, and I feel for the guy having to deal with something like that.

AF: Prediction of the final game score, and the likelihood Bielema hits Malzahn with a "Stone Cold Stunner" instead of a post-game handshake?

C&M: Final score: I'll go with similar to last year. Maybe even an exact repeat of last year. I'll say 42-24. And Auburn's final TD comes late to make it look like a bigger victory than the game shows. I think the post-game hand-shake will be quick. There may not be any real animosity between the two (though I do think Malzahn isn't thrilled with the efforts to slow his style down), but there is definitely no friendship, either. It may even be over with before the media can get a good shot of it.