FAYETTEVILLE – “I hate Auburn.” Bret Bielema famously said those words four months ago. It immediately made the Arkansas-Auburn game the most anticipated on the Razorbacks schedule.
Independent of all things before for both teams, an Arkansas loss to Auburn would have been, at best, disappointing considering those three words. Take real life into consideration, with Arkansas’ and Auburn’s disappointing starts, and a loss to Auburn would have been near-catastrophic.
When Arkansas finally came through victorious, 54-46, in four overtimes, the school’s athletic director Jeff Long was emotional. Bielema was, too. But unlike times before, the coach didn’t let loose tears.