2014 Hog football schedule has 7 home games

The 2013 Razorback football season has yet to begin, and already the buzz has begun over the Hogs having seven home games for the 2014 season. The season also marks a departure from the traditional post-Thanksgiving game with SEC rival LSU.

The University of Arkansas football team’s 2014 schedule was released Wednesday and features five games in Fayetteville and two in Little Rock, with specific home game locations to be announced at a later date.

“The 2014 football season will mark a new chapter for Razorback football in the Southeastern Conference,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said in a statement released Wednesday (Aug. 21). “From opening the season with an SEC game to concluding the regular season against new conference rival Missouri, the 2014 schedule will provide Razorback fans plenty of intriguing matchups throughout the season, including seven home games in Arkansas.”

Head Coach Bret Bielema said the 2014 season will also include the college football playoff system, but he’s ready to begin the 2013 season.

“Next season marks a new beginning in college football with the addition of the College Football Playoff,” head coach Bret Bielema said. “Our 2014 schedule features quality non-conference opponents in addition to a strong slate of SEC games, which will be a positive for us and allow us to focus on one game at a time. We are excited about the challenge the 2014 schedule brings but are more excited to start the 2013 season next week.”

Arkansas opens its 2013 season Aug. 31 against Louisiana inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. (Link here for the 2013 schedule.)

2014 SCHEDULE
Arkansas opens the 2014 season Aug. 30 at Auburn, marking the first time since joining the SEC the Razorbacks will open with a conference opponent. It also will be the first time since 1999, when Arkansas opened at SMU, that Arkansas will play its season opener on the road and the first time since a 1980 matchup at Texas that the Razorbacks will begin the season with a conference game on the road.

The Razorbacks begin the home portion of their schedule the next week by hosting Nicholls State on Sept. 6 before hitting the road again to play at Texas Tech on Sept. 13, renewing the series with their former Southwest Conference rival. Arkansas is playing Nicholls State for the first time in program history and facing off with Texas Tech for the first time since 1991. The Razorbacks lead the all-time series with the Red Raiders 28-7, including a 15-2 edge in Lubbock.

Arkansas then hosts Northern Illinois on Sept. 20. The teams have met once previously, an Arkansas victory in Fayetteville in 1994. On Sept. 27, the Razorbacks return to AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, to renew a neutral-site agreement with Texas A&M. The Razorbacks and Aggies played in Arlington from 2009-11, all Arkansas victories, before moving to a home-and-home agreement for 2012 and 2013 when Texas A&M joined the SEC prior to the 2012 season. The 2014 game is the first in an 11-year agreement between the schools to meet in AT&T Stadium.

After a bye week, Arkansas begins a stretch of three straight home games by hosting Alabama on Oct. 11. The next week, Oct. 18, the Razorbacks host Georgia and on Oct. 25 Arkansas plays UAB, coached by former Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee, for the first time in program history.

The Razorbacks open November on the road with a Nov. 1 date at Mississippi State before their second bye week of the season on Nov. 8. Arkansas then hosts LSU on Nov. 15 and Ole Miss on Nov. 22 to wrap up the home portion of the schedule.
 
Arkansas ends its season with a new crossover opponent as Missouri replaces South Carolina, which has stood as the Razorbacks’ annual opponent from the Eastern Division since 1992. The Razorbacks and Tigers will play in Columbia, Mo., on Nov. 29, meeting for the first time as SEC members and for the sixth time in a series that dates back to 1906.