NWADG College Football

2018

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Gators agreed to move the teams' games in 2016 to Baton Rouge. The Tigers' leading re- turning rusher, Nick Brosette, had just 17 car- ries for 96 yards last season. But LSU has a lot of talented receivers. The key will be finding a good starting quarterback with sophomore Miles Brennan and junior Joe Burrow — a graduate transfer from Ohio State — being the leading candidates. GAME 11 MISSISSIPPI STATE DATE Nov. 10 PLACE Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Miss. 2017 RECORD 9-4, 4-4 SEC COACH Joe Moorhead (first season at Missis- sippi State, 38-13 in four seasons at Fordham) RETURNING STARTERS 9 offense, 8 de- fense 8 KEY PLAYERS QB Nick Fitzgerald, RB Aeris Williams, DT Jeffery Simmons, S Mark Mc- Laurin 2018 SCHEDULE Sept. 1 ..................................Stephen F. Austin Sept. 8 .................................... at Kansas State Sept. 15 ............................ Louisiana-Lafayette Sept. 22 ......................................... at Kentucky Sept. 29 ................................................. Florida Oct. 6 .................................................... Auburn Oct. 20 ...................................................at LSU Oct. 27 ............................................Texas A&M Nov. 3 .......................................Louisiana Tech Nov. 10 ...........................................at Alabama Nov. 17 ..............................................Arkansas Nov. 22 ................. at Ole Miss (Thanksgiving) OUTLOOK New Bulldogs Joe Moorhead, who helped Penn State go 22-5 the previous two seasons as the Nittany Lions' offensive coordi- nator, is coaching in the South for the first time. His previous head coaching experience was in New York City at Fordham, but he comes to Starkville, Miss., loaded with confidence. After being hired to replace Dan Mullen — who after nine seasons of leading the Bulldogs moved on to Florida — Moorhead told his new play- ers to find out their ring sizes. The point being Mississippi State is going to win a champion- ship. Mullen did leave a talented roster, led by senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who has fully recovered from an ankle injury he sus- tained against Ole Miss last season. Fitzgerald figures to do more passing and less running in Moorhead's offense, which should help him stay healthy. GAME 12 MISSOURI DATE Nov. 23 PLACE Faurot Field, Columbia, Mo. 2017 RECORD 7-6, 4-4 SEC COACH Barry Odom (11-14 in two seasons at Missouri). RETURNING STARTERS 9 offense, 9 de- fense KEY PLAYERS QB Drew Lock, RB Damarea Crockett, DE Terry Beckner, LB Terez Hall 2018 SCHEDULE Sept. 1 .................................Tennessee-Martin Sept. 8 ...............................................Wyoming Sept. 15 ............................................ at Purdue Sept. 22 ............................................... Georgia Oct. 6 ....................................at South Carolina Oct. 13 ............................................at Alabama Oct. 20 ............................................... Memphis Oct. 27 ............................................... Kentucky Nov. 3 ................................................at Florida Nov. 10 ............................................. Vanderbilt Nov. 17 ....................................... at Tennessee Nov. 23 . Arkansas (Friday after Thanksgiving) OUTLOOK Derek Dooley, the former Tennes- see head coach, is back in the SEC as Mis- souri's new offensive coordinator. Dooley was the Dallas Cowboys' receivers coach the pre- vious five seasons and will be adding an NFL look to Missouri's offense. Senior quarterback Drew Lock —who earned All-SEC first-team honors last season when he set a conference record with 44 touchdowns, including five against Arkansas — said he's excited about what Dooley will bring to the offense. Running back Damarea Crockett, a junior from Little Rock who rushed for 481 yards last season before missing the final seven games because of a shoulder injury, is fully recovered and will add balance to the offense along with Larry Roundtree, who rushed for 703 yards last sea- son. The defense will be led senior tackle Terry Beckner, who had 7 sacks last season. 36 Arkansas Football Sunday, August 26, 2018 Opponents v Continued from Page 35 THE ELEPHANT I N T H E R O O M Saban is the dean of SEC coaches FAYETTEVILLE — Nick Saban is the SEC's longest-tenured coach going into his 12th season at Alabama, and it's not close behind him. Auburn's Gus Malzahn and Kentucky's Mark Stoops, going into their sixth sea- sons, are tied for second behind Saban in terms of being in their current jobs at SEC schools the longest. "I think that made my heart drop," Stoops said when informed of that stat at SEC Media Days. "I can't believe you mentioned that. That's not a good feeling. "I've only been here six years. And to have that kind of turnover, obviously, the way it is right now, it's the sign of the times." It's also a sign of Saban's domination of the SEC since he returned to the confer- ence from the NFL, where he coached the Miami Dolphins for two seasons. Saban had a 48-16 record — including 28-12 in SEC games — in five seasons at LSU from 2000-2004 and won a share of the national championship in 2003. That's a nice record, but it might get Saban fired at LSU today if he couldn't beat the Alabama version of himself. Saban is 132-20 in 11 seasons at Alabama — including 75-13 in SEC games — and since 2009 has won five national cham- pionships. Les Miles, who replaced Saban at LSU and won the 2007 national champion, was fired during the 2016 season despite having a 114-34 record while leading the Tigers. BOB HOLT ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE AP File Photo Alabama coach Nick Saban is the SEC's longest-tenured coach, and four current SEC head coaches were assistants for him at some time. v Continued on next page

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