Bottom Dweller Bowl – Arkansas and Mississippi State 

No, it is not bowl season yet.

It is week ten of college football. With this, we welcome you to the SEC’s dumpster fire derby. This week, we will find what we at Last Word are calling the “Bottom Dweller Bowl” between Arkansas and Mississippi State. Both teams hail from the conference that “Just Means More,” yet this game features two bottom dwellers. In this preview, we will provide a historical look as well as tackle some topics surrounding this game.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs and Razorbacks will meet for the 36th time, with Arkansas leading 19-14-1, after the 2018 game —a 52-5 win for Mississippi State —was vacated. In games played in Fayetteville, the series is tied at four games apiece. If you delve deeper into this series, you find that two conference foes began meeting in Fayetteville in the 1997 season. Added to this series are contests that took place in the capital city of Little Rock.

In these games, Arkansas has not fared well as it trails 1-6-1 in games that began in 1933 and last occurred in the 2013 season. In the Pittman era, since 2020, Arkansas holds a 3-2 advantage in this series, and we expect the 2025 edition to be much of the same. Will we see magic on Razorback Road in Fayetteville?

Is this the week the bleeding stops? To be blunt, nothing we have seen on this losing skid tells us yes. The issues have not been fixed as turnovers continue to haunt the Hogs. In the losses, Taylen Green has not been what the Razorbacks needed as he is forcing throws, which are being intercepted, and has missed many open receivers throughout the season.

What was a bright spot in the Auburn loss, according to Petrino in the postgame, was that the defense for Arkansas played well enough to win. As the offense stalled and gift-wrapped the game for the Tigers, the defense played well. Despite Petrino firing the entire staff as his first decision, this unit is slowly coming together, and this week is another opportunity to shine. Arkansas has failed to defeat an “P4” program this season, as they defeated Alabama A&M and Arkansas State in the opening two weeks. Now, the Hogs find themselves tied for last in the SEC.

As the Bulldogs enter Fayetteville, the optics of their program are somewhat better than Arkansas’s. While both teams are searching for a conference win, Mississippi State comes in hungry. All four of their losses in conference play, by a combined 25 points, have been entertaining until the very end. Just last week, in Starkville, the Bulldogs took Texas to the brink. If not for a meltdown in the fourth quarter that blew a 17-point lead, we might be discussing a win.

For Jeff Lebby, he continues to preach process, not panic, as he maneuvers his second season as a head coach. The Bulldogs have been battle-tested this season, but cannot seem to get over the win-hurdle. In the game versus Arkansas, the season trends of the Bulldogs failing to close teams out will be tested. A win for Mississippi State would be the fifth of the season and second straight at Arkansas.

In closing, we know one thing for certain: in the end, someone has to win. A game that many describe as a “pick ’em” who will win is anyone’s guess. On Saturday afternoon, beginning at 3 pm local time, two teams are searching for success together. Yet, they are trending in opposite directions. The “Bottom Dweller” Bowl is here, and some eyes will be on it.

Main Photo: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images