Whether you agree with what Bret Bielema has said this season or not, his words have been louder than anything the Hogs have done on the field. It's gotten so much attention even Grantland is talking about it (it's a pretty one-sided article written by a guy from Ohio, but it is an article on a major mainstream site that links to one of our articles, so we're returning the favor, I guess).
So much of the attention is on comparing the Hogs' schedule to Ohio State's. The focus of the statement, that some have gotten away from, was supposed to be S-E-C! S-E-C! With that being said the conference had a difficult week and this piece rightly points out that the sky isn't falling for the SEC, but expectations for it do need to be reevaluated.
Last season's win over Texas Tech was one of the more pleasant surprises of 2014, not just because the Razorbacks won but because of how they physically imposed their will on the Red Raiders and wore them down completely. The two teams already have a common opponent, last week Texas Tech's gunslinging offense put up 69 points on UTEP but have a lot of the same issues from last season, specifically tackling. The Dallas Morning News has posted some thoughts of Texas Tech head coach and Ryan Gosling look-a-like Cliff Kingsbury. One interesting note that might be overlooked is that Kingsbury still hasn't decided on a number one kicker just yet, which could loom large if the game is tight at the end.
The Razorback defense is getting a big challenge this week in the Texas Tech passing game and quarterback Patrick Mahomes who is on fire right now. He was been named the Big-12 offensive player of the week three weeks in a row dating back to last season. Mahomes has been putting up numbers most can't even reach on Madden. In those three games he's put up 1,384 yards and 14 touchdowns. Regardless if he's set the game difficulty to rookie or not, those are still some pretty impressive numbers.
Last week had a few nice SEC games, but this week is really the big kickoff for the conference slate, College Gameday is heading to Tuscaloosa to see if Alabama can get revenge for last seasons loss to Ole Miss, a battle of Tigers is happening in Baton Rouge. If you're into putting some money on the games this week CBS has a preview on all the match ups this weekend, complete with picks.