What bowl game will arkansas play in

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — According to college football insider Brett McMurphy, #23 Arkansas football was selected to the Outback Bowl where they will take on Penn State. The game will be played on January 1st at 11 a.m. in Tampa Bay. 

ESPN will carry the game from Raymond James Stadium. Arkansas has never played in the Outback Bowl. 

This will be the first time the Razorbacks are playing in a bowl game since the 2016 Belk Bowl.

The Hogs were selected to the 2020 Texas Bowl but the game was cancelled due to Covid-19 issues with TCU.

FAYETTEVILLE — Whether No. 22 Arkansas goes the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl or the Vrbo Citrus Bowl they are going to face a quality opponent.

The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl will pit a team from the ACC against an SEC squad which appears to be Arkansas or Texas A&M. The most likely opponent will be No. 20 Clemson (9-3) or possibly No. 16 Wake Forest (10-2). No. 22 Arkansas and No. 25 Texas A&M are both 8-4 on the season.

It seems Clemson is probably the more likely opponent since the Peach Bowl might take Wake Forest though Pittsburgh may be the pick from the ACC. But if No. 8 Ole Miss (10-2) falls from Sugar Bowl to Peach Bowl then No. 11 Michigan State (10-2) or No. 15 Pittsburgh (10-2) could push Wake Forest to the Gator Bowl. It seems Ole Miss is a lock for the Sugar Bowl if No. 3 Alabama (11-1) qualifies for the playoffs. If not the Tide will drop to the Sugar and Ole Miss to Peach.

Alabama plays No. 1 Georgia (12-0) on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game while Pittsburgh faces Wake Forest in the ACC title game Saturday as well.

In the Vrbo Citrus Bowl it appears No. 13 Iowa (10-2) is the likely opponent. Iowa takes on No. 2 Michigan (11-1) in the Big Ten title game Saturday night. If Michigan wins that game they are headed to the playoffs.

If not Iowa in the Citrus Bowl then look for it to be Minnesota or Wisconsin, both 8-4 on the season. Ohio State is likely headed for the Rose Bowl.

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Arkansas’ Outback Bowl bid is a big deal among Hogs fans. After enduring disappointment and utter misery for 10 years, Sam Pittman is righting the ship and surpassing expectations with an 8-4 regular-season record and a New Year’s Day bowl in sunny Florida. 

It’s definitely worth celebrating. The only blemish on the accomplishment was the announcement that junior star receiver Treylon Burks is opting out of the bowl game and declaring for the NFL Draft. Not great news, but it could be worse. 

And, in fact, for other programs it often is worse. Just look across the college landscape to see how many programs are losing multiple key players to opt outs. Notre Dame will be without highly regarded safety Kyle Hamilton and running back Kyren Williams in the Fiesta Bowl matchup with Oklahoma State. SMU will be without receivers Reggie Roberson and Danny Gray when the Mustangs play Virginia in the Fenway Bowl. 

Projected No. 1 NFL Draft pick Kayvon Thibodeaux who will skip Oregon’s Valero Alamo Bowl games with Oklahoma. Michigan State star and Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III opted out of the Spartans’ Peach Bowl game against Pitt, as did Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett. There are plenty more, but you get the idea. 

There was a time when a star player wouldn’t think about missing a game as important as a postseason game. Back then, the swag bag filled with clothes and a video game console was impressive. I remember one former Arkansas football player told me he carpooled with a few teammates to collect extra travel money instead of flying with the team. 

Now, with the introduction of NIL deals, I’m sure more than a few players already have the hard-to-get PS5. Plus, a sweatsuit with the Cotton Bowl logo in it barely moves the meter when your closet is full of trendy clothes. 

I imagine former Hogs tight end Jeremey Sprinkle, who now plays with the Dallas Cowboys, wouldn’t have had to shoplift at the team shopping spree ahead of the Belk Bowl five years ago because an NIL deal would have kept his wallet full. 

While standout lineman Tre Williams did recently join Treylon Burks on the short list of notable Razorback opt outs, it appears his reasoning was mostly to save face after a DUI arrest. So, had that not happened, he likely would have still played. On the whole, Arkansas has probably had less opt outs because this sudden success is so welcomed and new. Most of the players on the roster haven’t played in a bowl game. It’s exciting and novel. But, what happens next year if the Hogs’s tough schedule knocks them to 6-6 or 7-5 and the game isn’t as exciting? What about the year after that?

I know what you’re likely thinking: “The Hogs will be even better and play in a New Year’s 6 Bowl.” That very well could be and – spoiler alert – I will pick Arkansas to beat Cincinnati in the season opener next year. But there were all kinds of reasons for Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral to opt out in the Rebels’ upcoming Sugar Bowl against Baylor so the notion that if the bowl game is higher-tiered players won’t opt out isn’t necessarily true. A player will at some point. 

Burks’ declaration also didn’t go unnoticed. There are many players on this team who look up to him. The fact that a respected player like him left sets the precedent for others to follow in the future knowing that Burks is a highly respected for his loyalty to the program, but still thought of himself and an NFL career instead of staying at Arkansas through the Outback Bowl on January 1.

The opt outs are exactly why bowl games should be replaced by an expanded playoff format. A 12-game or 16-game playoff would mostly prevent them and make postseason games way more interesting. I have heard the arguments that the games wouldn’t be as competitive and that players would miss too much class. Nonsense. The games would be much more intriguing than watching two 7-5 teams play in Shreveport, La. in mid-December. And since when has anyone cared about academics? How many classes do NCAA Tournament teams miss? Plus, many of these games would take place during Christmas break. 

In the new climate of college athletics where players aren’t exactly “amateur” anymore, a trip to a warm place and going to amusement park and zoos and eating a steak with the opposition isn’t much of an incentive. There is more money to be made, and maybe lost. Unless there is a wad of cash in the swag bag, more and more players will opt out and less and less fans will travel and opt into watching on television instead.

College football is rapidly changing. Unless administrators and powers that be more quickly change with it, fans, including the Razorback faithful, are going to be very disappointed. 

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