The Razorbacks have not played football in almost two weeks, but even so, it has been a busy couple of weeks on the Hill.
Coming off an embarrassing 56-13 loss inside Razorback Stadium to then-No. 22 Notre Dame on Sept. 29, the Hogs saw their head coach — Sam Pittman — fired, enjoyed a much-needed bye week last week and now head to Knoxville on Saturday to face the No. 12 Tennessee Volunteers. They will do so under the tutelage of interim head coach Bobby Petrino, promoted from offensive coordinator to finish out the season and essentially audition for the permanent job.
Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, on the SEC Network.
Petrino, of course, coached Arkansas from 2008 to 2012 and led the program to the BCS in 2010, and to a top-5 finish in 2011 before his infamous motorcycle controversy led to his dismissal. The Hogs have won the last four against Tennessee, including last year’s 19-14 win in Fayetteville, but trail in the series overall 13-7. As of Thursday, the Vols were 12-point favorites. Tennessee owns the No. 1 scoring offense in FBS at 51 points a game, while the Hogs, struggling of late, still sit at No. 22 nationally. Both defenses are struggling and occupy the bottom two spots in SEC scoring defense, with Tennessee one spot ahead of Arkansas at 29 points per game surrendered.
Petrino is officially a candidate for the permanent job, and his audition begins Saturday. Other rumored candidates for the job include Arkansas native, former Hog player and current SMU coach Rhett Lashlee; Tulane coach Jon Sumrall; former Mississippi State and Florida coach and current UNLV head coach Dan Mullen; and, if some Hog fans are to be believed, Super Bowl-winning, former NFL coach Jon Gruden.
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