With the SEC meetings taking place next week in Destin, Fla., some news for the upcoming football season will be released, including kick-off times for the Arkansas Razorbacks’ first three football games.
The Razorbacks will open the season with a tent contest on September 3 when the Cincinnati Bearcats arrive in Fayetteville at 2:30 p.m. to face the Hogs at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, televised by ESPN.
It is the first of seven home games at Razorback Stadium and only the second time in 91 seasons that the Razorbacks have not played a game at Little Rock. Arkansas did not play in the state capital in 2020 due to a reduced SEC-only schedule available due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Bearcats enjoyed an unbeaten regular season, becoming the first non-Power 5 team to play in the four-team College Football Playoffs, losing a first-round game to Alabama 27-6.
The Razorbacks, who were 9-4 last fall, will start the second week of the season early with an 11 a.m. kick-off against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sept. 10 for the Hogs’ SEC opener. The game will be broadcast by ESPN.
On September 17, former Razorback coach Bobby Petrino (2008-2011) will return to Razorback Stadium with his Missouri State Bears. The game starts at 6 p.m. and will be streamed by SEC+/ESPN+.
The Razorbacks also know the kick-off time for their last game against Missouri. The Battle Line Rivalry airs November 25 at 2:30 p.m. – the day after Thanksgiving – on CBS in Columbia, Mo.
Kick-off times for the remainder of the season will be announced two weeks to 10 days before games.
In perhaps the most challenging schedule the Razorbacks have played outside of the 2020 10-game All-SEC schedule due to Covid-19, the Hogs made their way to Arlington, Texas for their annual neutral on Sept. 24 Matchup to be contested with Texas A&M .
The Razorbacks will then play host to Alabama, who are expected to be No. 1 seeders at the start of the season, at Razorback Stadium on October 1st.
If that game wasn’t tough enough, Hogs’ October schedule is going to be brutal for coach Sam Pittman’s Hogs, with three road contests punctuated by an October 22 open date.
The Razorbacks travel to Starkville, Mississippi to face Mississippi State on October 8th, the jet flies to Provo, Utah to face Brigham Young on October 15th. The Razorbacks have an open date before heading to Auburn on October 29 to face the Tigers.
That’s a grueling six-game stretch midseason, with four of five games away from Razorback Stadium’s friendlies, and the only home game against Alabama, the program that has dominated college football for the past twelve years.
Even though the Razorbacks are a better football team than last season, the way those five games are stacked could make it difficult for the Hogs to match or surpass last season’s record.
I am not trying to be negative with this comment but rather realistic. As the Homer that I am, I hope I’m wrong. Some are predicting a 10-win season, and when that happens, I’ll be screaming “sooie” as loud and long as anyone.
Former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze is taking his Liberty Flames to Fayetteville on November 5th.
The Razorbacks will welcome LSU on Nov. 12 and their new coach, Brian Kelly, who is already causing a stir by reportedly saying he wants to hit Nick Saban. Playing ‘Bama a few times during his tenure at Notre Dame didn’t go too well for him or the Fighting Irish. Why does he kick a hive before coaching an SEC game, I’ll never know?
Ole Miss is visiting Razorback Stadium on November 19 for what looks on paper to be a fun barn fire between Pittman’s Hogs and Lane Kiffin’s Rebels.
As always since they joined the SEC, the Razorbacks have one of the toughest, most entertaining game schedules in college football, and I like others who can’t wait. Only 99 days until the start of the season.
Arkansas 2022 football schedule
3 Sept – Cincinnati, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)
September 10 – South Carolina, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
17 Sep – State of Missouri, 6 p.m. (ESPN+/SEC+)
September 24th – against Texas A&M, TBA
1 Oct – Alabama, TBA
8 Oct – in the state of Mississippi, TBA
15 Oct – at BYU, TBA
22 Oct – Goodbye week
29 Oct – in Auburn, TBA
5 Nov – Freedom, TBA
Nov 12 – LSU, TBA
Nov 19 – Ole Miss, TBA
Nov 25 – in Missouri, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
