The single biggest question for me surrounding the reigning SEC West division champions is what effect will all the off-season drama (See: former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn leaving for Tulsa, Mitch Mustain and Damian Williams transferring to Southern Cal and a fan using FOIA to get head coach Houston Nutt’s cell-phone records) will have on this squad. Will they adopt an “us against the world” mentality and play with a chip on their shoulder or will all the drama of the off-season serve as a distraction, heap more pressure on the team and ultimately make Nutt a lameduck coach in what would be his last year in Fayetteville? We’ll see.

With his job on the line Houston Nutt has the benefit of having two of the best running backs in the SEC and in all of college football lining up in the backfield with Heisman front-runner Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. The Razorback offense should continue to benefit from the continued use of the Wildcat package in which McFadden lines up at quarterback with Jones at tailback. The more time that Casey Dick spends on the sideline the better. No position on this entire Razorback offense is more suspect than quarterback. With Mustain soaking up the sun in SoCal, junior Casey Dick has been named the starter, for better or worse. Dick will have to improve on a 2006 campaign where he posted a completion percentage of 49.2 and threw for 99.1 yards per game with nine touchdowns and six interceptions. If Dick struggles early, don’t be surprised if Dick gets the hook for junior Nathan Emert, who took some big steps during the spring. If you think the Razorback coaching staff has loads of confidence in Dick, consider this quote from offensive coordinator David Lee.

“Casey had an interesting spring at quarterback,” Lee said. “I thought he started off red hot and then really struggled for the middle part of spring practice and then came back and had a good spring game.”

“At the same time, the other quarterback (Nathan Emert) was really consistent, knew where to go and definitely pushed Casey for the first-team quarterback job with a great spring.”

The Razorbacks need something resembling a passing game to keep opposing defenses from lining up every down with 8 in the box to stuff the run. The teams wide receiver corps is a little thin with only 6′6″ senior Marcus Monk returning. Between converted quarterback Robert Johnson, London Crawford, Reggie Fish, Rod Coleman or Chris Baker, someone is going to have to step up and prove they can be a solid no. 2 receiver. The offensive line returns two starts including potential All-Americn center Jonathan Luigs. The performance of the line, especially its ability to effectively run block will be key to the success of the unit as a whole.

The Razorback defense is weak from front to back. Losing end Jamaal Anderson and tackle Keith Jackson and potentially losing tackle Marcus Harrison to injury could leave the Razorbacks with huge holes to fill on their defensive line. At linebacker, the Razorbacks will need Weston Dacus to do his best to fill the shoes left by Will linebacker Sam Olajubutu. In the defensive backfield, the Razorbacks are weak at the corners with what could be two of the SEC’s most underrated safeties behind them, in safety-turned-linebacker-turned-safety Matt Hewitt and free safety Michael Grant, who returns from a grisly knee injury in 2006. Freshmen could be expected to contribute in the defensive backfield, which could mean mistakes and some big plays. Expect this defense to finish in the bottom half of the conference in total defense.

Coming off their division championship, the Razorbacks face a hairy schedule in 2007 that seriously hinders their chances of making it back to Atlanta. They travel to Tuscaloosa, Knoxville and finish the season in Baton Rouge in the Battle for the Boot. Home tilts against Auburn and Kentucky could prove tricky but this team will live and die with how it plays on the road in hostile environments.

Bottom Line prediction: 8-4. I can’t imagine a universe in which Arkansas goes into Tennessee and LSU and comes out with a win. I’m also expecting the Razorbacks to drop two of three against Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina.

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