Arkansas Football 2019 Schedule Released

As is customary with the SEC, we have next year’s schedule while only a quarter of this year is completed. We already knew the opponents but now we have the dates.

Aug. 31 - vs. Portland State

Sept. 7 - at Ole Miss

Sept. 14 - vs. Colorado State

Sept. 21 - vs. San Jose State

Sept. 28 - vs. Texas A&M (in Arlington)

Oct. 5 - BYE

Oct. 12 - at Kentucky

Oct. 19 - vs. Auburn

Oct. 26 - at Alabama

Nov. 2 - vs. Mississippi State

Nov. 9 - vs. Western Kentucky

Nov. 15 - BYE

Nov. 23 - at LSU

Nov. 30 - vs. Missouri (in Little Rock)

The first notable thing is the inclusion of a second bye week. The placements of these are in pretty good spots for the Hogs in terms of consecutive games played. Both byes will come after playing five consecutive games, which should help with fatigue and injuries throughout the season. No stretch of an early bye followed by nine straight games this year. Also there is only one game this season (Auburn) where the opponent has a bye week before playing the Hogs.

The negatives include only two SEC games in Fayetteville. Following what is almost certainly going to be a historically bad year, a home slate of Portland State, Colorado State, San Jose State, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Western Kentucky won’t have people lining up for season tickets. The season is also pretty back loaded in terms of quality. The final six game stretch has to be among the toughest in the country and will not be fun for a team that could need 1-2 more games for bowl eligibility.

Still the schedule is navigable for the team. Any schedule with four home games against G5 opponents, and no Boise, UCF level teams, should provide opportunities to become bowl eligible.