NWADG College Football

28 NWA COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW | 9.20.2020 GAME 3 AUBURN DATE Oct. 10 PLACE Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala. 2019 RECORD 9-4, 5-3 SEC COACH Gus Malzahn (62-31 in eight seasons at Auburn, 71-34 overall in nine seasons) RETURN STARTERS 3 offense, 4 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Bo Nix, WR Seth Williams, LB K.J. Britt, DE Big Kat Bryant 2020 SCHEDULE Sept. 26 ........................................... Kentucky Oct. 3 ..............................................at Georgia Oct. 10 ............................................. Arkansas Oct. 17 .................................at South Carolina Oct. 24 .......................................... at Ole Miss Oct. 31 ..................................................... LSU Nov. 14 ............................. at Mississippi State Nov. 21 ............................................Tennessee Nov. 28 .......................................... at Alabama Dec. 5 ............................................ Texas A&M OUTLOOK The Razorbacks will see their old head coach, Chad Morris, when they play at Auburn. Morris, who was fired at Arkansas with two games left last season after falling to 4-18 while leading the Razorbacks, is now the Tigers' offensive coordinator. Gus Malzahn and Morris have been friends for several years, going back to their high school coaching days in Arkansas for Malzahn and in Texas for Morris. Despite the Razorbacks' problems, Malzahn trusts Morris enough to have turned over play-calling duties to him. Previously as an offensive coordinator at Tulsa and Clemson, Morris had a lot of success, and he'll have talented players to work with at Auburn. GAME 4 OLE MISS DATE Oct. 17 PLACE Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville 2019 RECORD 4-8, 2-6 SEC COACH Lane Kiffin (First season at Ole Miss, 61-34 overall in eight seasons) RETURNING STARTERS 5 offense, 4 defense KEY STARTERS QB John Rhys Plumlee, RB Jerrion Ealy, LB Lakia Henry, LB Jacquez Jones 2020 SCHEDULE Sept. 26 ............................................... Florida Oct. 3 ............................................at Kentucky Oct. 10 .............................................. Alabama Oct. 17 ..........................................at Arkansas Oct. 24 ................................................ Auburn Oct. 31 ........................................ at Vanderbilt Nov. 14 .....................................South Carolina Nov. 21 ...................................... at Texas A&M Nov. 28 ................................. Mississippi State Dec. 5 ................................................... at LSU OUTLOOK Ole Miss Athletic Director Keith Carter, a former Rebels basketball player from Perryville, felt he needed to instill some excitement in the football program. So Matt Luke was fired as coach — he replaced Sam Pittman as Georgia's offensive line coach – and Carter brought Lane Kiffin back to the SEC for his third stop. Kiffin can say and do things that get him in hot water, but there's no doubting his skills as a play caller and molder of quarterbacks. Kiffin, 26-13 the last three seasons at Florida Atlantic, previously was in the SEC as Tennessee's coach in 2009 and Alabama's offensive coordinator from 2014-16. GAME 5 TEXAS A&M DATE Oct. 31 PLACE Kyle Field, College Station, Texas 2019 RECORD 8-5, 4-4 SEC COACH Jimbo Fisher (17-9 in two seasons at Texas A&M, 100-32 overall in 10 seasons). RETURNING STARTERS 8 offense, 7 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Kellen Mond, RB Isaiah Spiller, LB Buddy Johnson, S Demani Richardson. 2020 SCHEDULE Sept. 26 .......................................... Vanderbilt Oct. 3 ............................................ at Alabama Oct. 10 ................................................. Florida Oct. 17 ............................. at Mississippi State Oct. 31 ............................................. Arkansas Nov. 7 ...................................at South Carolina Nov. 14 ........................................ at Tennessee Nov. 21 .............................................. Ole Miss Nov. 28 ..................................................... LSU Dec. 5 .............................................. at Auburn OUTLOOK Instead of the Arkansas-Texas A&M game being played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, this season's game is at Kyle Field. A change of scenery – even playing on the road – probably can't hurt the Razorbacks considering they've lost eight in row to the Aggies. That's every game between the teams since Texas A&M joined the SEC. Arkansas will play at Kyle Field for the first time since 2012 – the Aggies insisted their first two games against Arkansas in the SEC be home and home – when Johnny Manziel ran wild and Texas A&M won 58-10. Five of the last six meetings have been decided by seven or fewer points – with three overtime games – but the Aggies keep winning. Next season's game will be in Fayetteville. AP Photo/Sam Craft Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond (11) passes against Auburn during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, in College Station, Texas. Opponent n Continued from Page 27 See OPPONENT, Page 30

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