FAYETTEVILLE -- The last game that the Arkansas Razorbacks won in Little Rock they nearly lost.
And like Alcorn State, which Arkansas hosts at 11 a.m. Saturday at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium, the Razorbacks almost fell to a team from a lower division (formerly I-AA, now called FCS for Football Championship Subdivision).
Arkansas defensive line coach/kickers coach Rory Segrest remembers it well. For he was the Samford defensive line coach/kickers coach when Samford led Bret Bielema's 2013 Razorbacks in the second half before Arkansas prevailed, 31-21.
In fact, Bielema was so impressed with Segrest's Samford D-line and kickers that he hired Segrest in 2014 after predecessor Charlie Partridge became head coach at Florida Atlantic University.
So what's the attitude, Segrest was asked, of a FCS team like the Braves on the road against a Southeastern Conference team like Arkansas?
"It's just like any game you go into," Segrest said. "You don't schedule a game you don't feel like you can at least compete. We came in a couple years ago and obviously it was big. It was an SEC opponent. But at the same time, it all comes down to execution. I'm sure that's what these guys are thinking this week. They're going to come in with a great game plan and try execute it and get that win."
Is it like a bowl game for the division that plays playoff games but no bowl games?
"It's big for them obviously," Segrest said. "Some of them have a chip on their shoulder because they felt like they're Division I talent or maybe they're a Division I transfer. So they're out to show that they can compete with that caliber of athlete. They definitely going to give everything they've got."
Arkansas has lost three in a row in Little Rock and with the Razorbacks hosting No. 1 Alabama next week, some suggest Alcorn State is a "trap game" for the Hogs.
Arkansas linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves snickers at the suggestion. Arkansas'17-17 first half dissolved into a 45-24 SEC defeat to the Texas A&M Aggies at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium.
"We can't take anyone for granted right now," Hargreaves said. "We have no reason to take anyone for granted."
Granted, the Braves at 1-2 from the Southwestern Athletic Conference coming off league losses to Alabama State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (45-43 at home in triple overtime) aren't world-beaters though on their level they have been SWAC champions the last two seasons.
The 9-3, 10-3 and 9-4 records that former Alcorn State coach Jay Hopson posted from 2013-2015 netted him the head-coaching position at FBS school Southern Miss, a Conference USA team that last year's Braves played down to the wire in a 26-20 loss.
"Alcorn State is obviously a very successful team the last two years winning titles and everything that they've done," Bielema said.
Quarterbacks coach Fred McNair was promoted to Alcorn State head coach with Hopson moved on.
All-everything quarterback Alcorn quarterback John Gibbs has graduated, so McNair plays both junior Lenorris Footman, recovered from early-season injury, and redshirt freshman Noah Johnson.
"I think they are similar," Bielema said of Footman and Johnson. "I don't think the offense changes depending on which quarterback is in. I think both those guys can run around a little bit, which will be a challenge for us. We have to be sure that we will be able to adjust to the multiple personnel groupings that we see in the formations that they come out within those groupings."
The Hogs weren't merely challenged, they were beaten by running Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight last week.
"They (the Braves) are going to look at this (Arkansas vs. Texas A&M) film and feel they can have success, so we have to get this cleaned up," Hargreaves said.
So far, younger quarterback Johnson has better stats than older quarterback Footman.
"The freshmen really gets it done," Arkansas free safety Josh Liddell said. "Watching his tape, the guy can really run. The other guy is pretty good, too. They know what they're doing."
Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos calls the Braves' defense "very well coached. Very physical. You see guys that play hard. They have some good athletes and they'll present a challenge from the multiplicity of what they do on defense."
Nobody at Arkansas pretends the Braves pose the challenge of currently No. 9 undefeated Texas A&M.
But like Hargreaves said, they "are not in position to take anyone for granted."
Sports on 09/30/2016