Oops, forgot my 3-4 teams to pick. If I was the schedule maker, and could re-pick the 3-4 non-conference teams Arkansas played, they would be...
1) Indiana - have former LSU coach Gerry DiNardo bring his new team here to Fayetteville. The Big 10 media and coaches, both of which make a large presence in their respective polls, will hear about us, while DiNardo's SEC ties keep the southern interest. DiNardo's a pretty good coach, despite the bad final year at LSU and the fiasco called the XFL. However, get his team this year, early, and with no Randle-El, and I'd think you'd have an Arkansas win over a Big 10 program.
2) Duke - sure they're a gigantic cream puff, but every team needs a softie, so why not get one from a decent conference? Duke will attract the East Coast attention, plus it sounds better on the schedule than Louisiana-Lafayette or any school with a direction in its name. We'd even play the game @ Durham....no worries, a solid HOG win and some East Coast attention to boot.
3) Southern Cal - now UA has a 2 game series with USC, starting in 2005. I think it's a good idea. SC isn't the program it used to be, but it's still SC, and brings loads of West Coast attention, a large fan base, and name recognition. Arkansas right now is a better program than the Trojans imo, so give us a win, in Fayetteville, and that takes care of the West Coast.
4) Missouri - We handle the Big 10, the East and West Coast areas. Time to take care of the prarie region. Missouri actually would make for a really good rivalry; a border state who's a little bit down in football right now. The basketball rivalry was a fierce one that I kinda wish we had back. I think Frank, who once coached at MU, should schedule a long-term deal with the Tigers. It'd be a great inter-conference border war that could really help recruiting in the Big 12 areas.
Anyways, my two cents. How about yours?
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