Many fans expected the Battle for the Golden Boot to be another high-implication matchup prior to the start of the 2012 regular season with both LSU (9-2) and Arkansas (4-7) highly ranked in the preseason polls.
But when No. 8 LSU travels to Fayetteville, Ark., it will take on a Razorback squad that fell into an abyss early in the season and never fully recovered.
“[Looking at] Arkansas, I think they’re a talented team,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “We watched the film, and you can see why they were ranked in the top 10 to start the season.
The Tigers are looking to finish the 2012 season on a high note, and with a BCS bowl game on the line, LSU needs to be victorious Friday.
“Overall, we need to finish,” Miles said. “That’s still the goal. We don’t control our destiny, but there’s some destinations out there that this team would love to be a part of.”
Arkansas, who was ranked No. 10 in both the USA Today and AP top-25 preseason polls, only had one week to maintain that status. After a 49-24 blowout against Jacksonville State, the Razorbacks hosted the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
It was a contest that blew up every sports media outlet.
Unranked ULM marched into Little Rock, Ark. and conquered the Razorbacks, winning 34-31 in overtime.
The mighty fell, and they fell, and then fell some more.
The Razorbacks have since lost seven games, and now the Tigers will see an unusually poor Arkansas squad heading into the 2012 season finale.
Miles isn’t buying into his opponent’s record this week, though.
“They’re still there,” Miles said. “They are quality players, and they play hard. John L. Smith is in a tough position. It’s his last game, but I’m sure he’ll have them ready, and I’m sure this Arkansas team will play inspired.”
The Razorbacks have given the Tigers trouble in the past.
Since 2005, LSU is 4-3 against Arkansas, but three of the four victories were by a margin of five points or fewer. The Razorbacks have won their last two home contests against LSU, putting extra pressure on the Tigers to finish the season on a high note en route to a BCS bowl game.
“For us, we want to finish out the regular season strong and let the rest take care of itself,” said junior safety Craig Loston. “We are preparing to do our best to get ready for these guys, and they’re not going to be an easy group. They have talent, and we’ll have to be ready for what comes our way.”
Senior quarterback Tyler Wilson, who has completed 218-of-349 passes for 3,028 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, leads a potent Arkansas offense.
Wilson has thrived at home in 2012, where he has completed 61.8 percent of his passes and thrown 15 of his 20 scores.
The Tigers’ secondary will be looking to contain him Friday.
“They have a great quarterback,” said sophomore safety Ronald Martin. “You know that’s a challenge when you’re going against a very experienced quarterback in the [Southeastern Conference]. All the receivers in the SEC are good, so you have to go out with the mindset at practice each day that you want to get better.”
The Razorbacks’ passing attack accounts for 71 percent of the squad’s total offensive yards.
Wilson has found success throwing to senior wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, who broke the SEC single-game receiving record with 303 yards against Rutgers.
The LSU defensive back corps will be looking for any and all opportunities to add to its SEC-leading 17 picks in 2012.
“We focus on getting turnovers,” said redshirt freshman cornerback Jalen Collins. “It’s something we like to do, so of course we’re going to go in there and try to pick it off and create fumbles and get our offense the ball back.”
LSU then-sophomore defensive end Barkevious Mingo (49) goes to tackle Arkansas then-junior quarterback Tyler Wilson (8) in the Tigers' 41-17 victory over the Razorbacks on Saturday Nov. 25, 2011 in Tiger Stadium.
