Arkansas may not be the favorite in its game Saturday against Texas, but the Razorbacks aren’t exactly massive underdogs, either.
ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Arkansas a 33 percent chance to know off its longtime rival.
That’s a much better chance than the FPI gave Rice to beat Arkansas last week. The Owls had less than a 6% to beat Arkansas in Fayetteville. And for a half, that six seemed to be coming up roses. So, the math works out that the Hogs have a five-times better chance to beat the Longhorns than Rice had to to beat the Razorbacks.
Too convoluted? Maybe. The game is ultimately played on the field, but algorithms and math have come to dominate the sport behind the scenes and, at times, out front.
The reality does, at least, remain that if Arkansas beats Texas, it’s a profound statement for coach Sam Pittman in his rebuild of the team on the field and its perception. Consider just about everyone who isn’t a Texas fan likely hopes Texas loses and Pittman and Hogs could be darlings for a week, anyway.
More importantly, they’d also be taken a lot more seriously as the tough part of their schedule hits full-bore in two weeks.
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