Arkansas, LSU football teams expect another close one in Fayetteville

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FAYETTEVILLE — The protagonists for Saturday night’s Battle for the Golden Boot between No. 8 LSU and Arkansas feel like the clash will hold to a recent trend and be tight.

“I believe it’s going to be a close game,” Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said. “They have a really good team and so do we. I think it’ll come down to turnovers, or whatever....I think it’ll be one hell of a game to come watch.”

All the games between the Razorbacks (4-2, 2-1 SEC) and the Tigers (5-1, 2-0) since Pittman’s arrival at Arkansas have been nail biters and hellacious games to watch.

Each of the last four meetings has been decided by exactly three points, starting with the Tigers’ 27-24 win at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in 2020.

Arkansas returned the favor with a 16-13 win in overtime the following year in Baton Rouge, La., as the Ed Orgeron regime was winding up two years after a College Football Playoff championship win.

However, Coach Brian Kelly’s Tigers prevailed 13-10 in Fayetteville in 2022 and 34-31 last year in a shootout at home.

“Now we go on the road against a very solid Arkansas team, a team that historically over the past four years we’ve played games that were decided by three points or less,” Kelly said. “So we know what’s in store for us as we head up to Fayetteville.”

If the trend of tight games holds it would seem to favor the visitors.

Kelly has a 7-2 record in one-score games at LSU, including both his wins over Arkansas and last week’s 29-26 overtime triumph at home against then-No. 9 Ole Miss.

In his 15 seasons at Notre Dame and LSU, Kelly’s teams are 45-30 (.600) in one-score games. That stat is skewed by a 1-7 mark in 2016 when the Irish went 4-8. It was one of Kelly’s two losing seasons in 34 full years as a head coach.

Winning close games has not been a specialty for Arkansas, which is 65-78-2 (.455) in them since joining the SEC. Pittman is 7-16 (.304) in games decided by 8 points or less, including a 19-14 win over then-No. 4 Tennessee on Oct. 5.

Pittman, aware of his record in tight games, somewhat facetiously pointed out he was thinking about letting Auburn score late in Arkansas’ 24-14 win in Auburn, Ala., on Sept. 21 to create a one-score scenario. Then, after the big win over Tennessee, he reminded reporters to write about the one-score element.

Pittman thinks the confidence generated by the decision over Tennessee, his second in a row over the Volunteers by one score or less, can have a carryover effect.

“We didn’t have any turnovers, so that obviously helps and so that puts in their minds that if we can keep the ball and we can get turnovers then we have a lot better chance to win,” Pittman said. “So I think that was huge because we preached it and it became real and we were able to win.

“What it’s done for is give us confidence in that if we’ll do the process of weekly preparation and take it one day at a time and have a good Monday and have a good Tuesday and so forth that we’re able to play our best ball. And if we’ll play our best ball we’ve got a fine team. I think that’s probably more than even the confidence in winning. It was the confidence that we had in the process works if we’ll continue to do it in that right way.”

The Razorbacks could do with some of offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s prowess in tight games. During his tenure as head coach from 2008-11, Petrino’s teams went 13-7 in one-score games. That 65% winning rate that is the best among the Razorbacks’ 10 head coaches since joining the SEC.

Petrino’s record included a 2-1 mark against LSU, with wins in the Miracle on Markham II by a 31-30 count in 2008 and a 31-23 decision in 2010 that sent Arkansas to its lone Bowl Championship Series berth at the Sugar Bowl.

Pittman’s lone win in the Golden Boot series improved his one-score record to 3-4 at the time. Arkansas is 4-12 in those games since.

Arkansas won all its trophy games in 2021, beating Texas A&M, LSU and Missouri, then collected another trophy with a 24-10 win over Penn State at the Outback Bowl. Pittman was famously photographed superimposed on a throne surrounded by all those trophies plus Larry the Bowling Ball for the 2022 Arkansas media guide.

The Hogs are winless since then in regular-season trophy games, including a 21-17 loss to Texas A&M this season. Their lone trophy win since 2021 came in a 55-53 triple-overtime thriller over Kansas at the Liberty Bowl in 2022.

Both teams enter the weekend with strong momentum and recent hefty fines.

LSU never led Ole Miss last week until Garrett Nussmeier’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy on its only offensive snap of overtime, kicking off a field storming and a $250,000 fine.

The Tigers are among three SEC teams undefeated in conference play along with No. 1 Texas and No. 14 Texas A&M.

The Razorbacks incurred a $250,000 fine for fans violating the SEC’s access to the field policy after sixth-year senior Eric Gregory chased Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava out of bounds at the Arkansas 16 on the final snap.

Pittman said the night game atmosphere created by the crowd at Reynolds Razorback Stadium rivals that of any fanbase in the country.

“The people at the game are helping us win. I mean that’s just what it is,” Pittman said at his Wednesday radio show. “There’s no place in America that had a better atmosphere than we did last Saturday and I expect the same thing from this Saturday.”

Both teams received positive injury news during the week.

LSU receiver CJ Daniels is expected back from a one-week layoff and fellow wideout Chris Hilton could be cleared for the first time this season.

Arkansas should have the services of mobile quarterback Taylen Green, who was knocked out of the upset of Tennessee early in the fourth quarter after taking an illegal shot to his left knee. Additionally, defensive back Miguel Mitchell has been cleared for the first time along with tight ends Luke Hasz, Ty Washington and Andreas Paaske — a game captain with former LSU defensive end Landon Jackson, defensive back Larry Worth and long snapper Ashton Ngo.

Kelly sees Green as the key to the Arkansas offense.

“He’s big, physical, can run and makes plays with his arm and legs,” Kelly said. “This is a formidable offense.

“Bobby Petrino makes a big difference in their offense. It is diverse in the running game. I don’t know that I’ve seen as many schemes offensively in terms of, like, you can’t rep all the run schemes they have. It is diverse.”

LSU has largely held sway in the rivalry with a 44-23-2 overall lead, including a 5-2 edge in Fayetteville. The Tigers lead 19-9 since the introduction of the Golden Boot Trophy created by former Razorback linebacker David Bazzel out of 24-karat gold.

The long-time SEC West rivals played around the Thanksgiving weekend from 1992-2013, then LSU intentionally paired with Texas A&M and Arkansas was made to shift its season finale to SEC newcomer Missouri.

Though the season-ending intensity of the rivalry has waned, Pittman believes the game qualifies as a top rivalry for Arkansas fans.

“Any time you have a long history of playing each other … and the proximity, where we’re recruiting against each other, I think that puts a different feel toward the game,” he said. “And then you throw a trophy in there.

“Certainly we talked to our kids, and we had a bye week so we had more time, but we talked to our kids about the significance of the history of this game and what it means to the state of Arkansas.”

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Arkansas, LSU football teams expect another close one in Fayetteville

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