Arkansas and Petrino have moved on from the situation, so this weekend’s game against Missouri State should be a good way for all parties to reunite and bury the hatchet.
Except this is college football, where head coaching returns can be very personal and nasty, and I think this will be that kind of game.
Missouri State sits at No. 5 in the FCS coaches poll, and Petrino is credited for the surging bears. Petrino was hired as the Bears’ head coach in 2020 and has a 15-9 record. The Bears are undefeated, already defeating an Arkansas school team to open the college football season. They’ll be entering Fayetteville with some momentum, defeating Tennessee-Martin, 35-30, thanks to a 14-point fourth quarter.
Jason Shelley was named national player of the week after his performance. The senior quarterback out of Frisco, Texas, threw five touchdowns, including the go-ahead touchdown in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter.
Petrino’s success with quarterbacks isn’t something new. In his previous job, he helped a game name Lamar Jackson become the first Heisman winner in Louisville history. That guy Jackson went on to do some good things.
“I’m focused on helping the players and developing them,” Petrino said about his goals at Missouri State. “I’m focused on developing the coaches and helping them get better. Not worrying so much about just winning games every day. It’s the process we are going through that has helped us win games.”
For the Razorbacks, this is not a game to overlook. While they are not an FBS school, Missouri State is the second-ranked team the Hogs will play so far this season.
Saturday’s matchup has all the ingredients to be a trap game for the Razorbacks.
And not as a pit stop before College Station.
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