The Alabama Gateway
By Ronald Sitton
NORTH LITTLE ROCK (Sept. 24) -- After Arkansas escaped its second-consecutive hair-graying game, I’m sure Houston Nutt just wanted to bask in the diminished heat on his backside following the win over Alabama. Not many people expected the Hogs to be in a tie atop the SEC West after getting to 2-0 in conference play for only the second time in Nutt’s nine-year tenure as Head Hog.
How could he expect such good fortune on a night when his freshman quarterback tossed three interceptions? At least Mitch Mustain provided a touchdown pass that allowed sophomore kicker Jeremy Davis to atone for a missed PAT. Last year, the Razorback nation sat in stunned silence as ‘Bama scored without anybody covering their receiver. I empathize with the ‘Bama faithful - I can only imagine their collective jaw dropped further than mine watching wide right, wide right … wide right.
The game makes the West standings look odd when examining more than the won-lost column. Auburn sits in the catbird seat with a perfect slate, having scored 95 points more than its opponents, including a 38-point advantage against SEC teams. ‘Bama and Arkansas sit tied at 3-1 overall, with the Hogs now holding the tie-breaker. Yet while the Tide has scored 44 more points than its opponents, the Hogs have scored 13 fewer points thanks to a five-turnover performance against Southern California. That’s why they play the games.
While some point to Alabama as Arkansas’ bell-weather game, the records reveal otherwise. According to the Arkansas media guide, that distinction would belong to the Tigers of both Auburn and Louisiana State.
Arkansas improved to 8-9 against the Crimson Tide with Saturday’s win, including an 8-7 record since the Hogs joined the SEC. Arkansas’ record against the SEC West since joining the conference also comprises a 5-8-1 record against Auburn, a 8-6 record against Ole Miss, a 10-3-1 record against Mississippi State and a 5-9 record against LSU. Yet something must be said about the Alabama Gateway as far as the Razorbacks’ fortunes.
Joe Kines led the Razorbacks to a 3-7-1 mark in his only year as head coach of the Razorbacks, following the Citadel debacle in Jack Crowe's last game. All the wins came in Southeastern Conference play after he brought in Danny Ford to help. Kines lost the job to Ford the following year, then moved on to defensive coordinator positions at Georgia and now Alabama.
In Danny Ford's five seasons, his 26-30-1 record included a 1-4 record against Auburn and a 3-2 record against Alabama, his alma mater, aided by a win accrued via NCAA sanctions. In two of the three years he beat Alabama, Arkansas posted a winning record. The only year he beat both teams, Arkansas won its first SEC Western Division title. After losing Madre Hill in the team's first SEC championship game appearance in 1995, Ford watched the Hogs lose their only bowl game in his tenure. Consecutive 4-7 seasons and some untimely comments pushed him out the door.
Houston Nutt's 60-41 record at Arkansas includes a 5-4 record against Alabama, a 4-4 record against Auburn, a 5-3 record against Ole Miss, a 7-1 record against Mississippi State and a 3-4 record against LSU. The only year Nutt beat both Alabama teams, Arkansas won its first SEC-West co-championship in Nutt's first year. Nutt added a second co-championship in his fifth year despite losing to Alabama early in the season. Last year marked the first time Nutt lost to both Alabama and Auburn in the same year.
If Arkansas plays a bell-weather game, the records show it’s against Auburn. Kines lost to Alabama in Arkansas’ first year in the conference, but the tie with Auburn gave the program a hint that it might compete in the SEC. Ford’s only win against the Tigers helped him lead the Razorbacks to its only outright SEC West championship.
Auburn enjoyed a 4-1-1 advantage over Arkansas prior to Nutt’s tenure, but split since then. The Razorbacks beat the Tigers in four of the six years Nutt led the Hogs to a bowl game. While Nutt’s 3-1 against Mike Shula, he’s 4-4 against Arkansas native Tommy Tuberville, the coach he beat out for the job in 1998. One of Nutt’s wins came while Tuberville coached at Ole Miss.
Tuberville turned the Auburn program around, leading the university to an SEC Championship, five Western Division titles and a 13-0 season since arriving seven years ago. His Auburn record stands at 60-27 and his overall record is 85-47 (.644) in 11 years, compared to Nutt’s 93-62 (.600) overall record in 13 years.
Though Auburn has a winning record against its three biggest rivals - LSU (5-3), Georgia (5-2) and Alabama (5-2) – during Tuberville’s reign, the Tigers are only 4-3 against Arkansas during the same period. The Tigers won the last three years, which helped achieve consecutive season-ending Top 10 BCS rankings the last two.
Truly, the toll road runs through Auburn if Arkansas plans to take the Alabama Gateway to the SEC West Championship. If Nutt boosts his record to 5-4 against Auburn and Tuberville when the Hogs travel to the Plains in two weeks to take on the nation’s No. 2-ranked Tigers, the Hogs will return to the Top 25 and the fickle faithful wanting Nutt’s job will likely cease their moaning for a little while.
