Early bowl projection pits Razorbacks against familiar faces
Even though last bowl season is closer to the present than the upcoming one, it is never too early to start thinking about it for some.
Action Network college football insider Brett McMurphy released a list of 2023-24 bowl projections Monday — 110 days from away Week 1 — and he paired the Arkansas Razorbacks with what would be their second Big Ten opponent in three years.
The location is Nashville, Tennessee, for the Music City Bowl, and the other team is the Illinois Fighting Illini, whose head coach is none other than Bret Bielema. Also on staff as a graduate assistant is former Razorback linebacker Grant Morgan.
Entering year three in Champaign, Illinois, Bielema is on his first head coaching job since being fired from Arkansas minutes after the 2017 season ended. Five years in Fayetteville resulted in a 29-34 record, including two wins in three straight bowl games.
Between gigs, Bielema served in various roles under head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots for two years before joining Joe Judge's New York Giants staff in 2020 as the outside linebackers coach.
Bielema's tenure at Illinois began with a 5-7 effort in 2021, but an 8-4 record last season was good for second in the Big Ten West and a trip to the ReliaQuest Bowl, formerly known as the Outback Bowl.
The meeting would be his first against the Razorbacks since being fired. Bielema has also never coached against Sam Pittman, who served as his offensive line coach during his first three seasons at Arkansas.
McMurphy lists the Hogs as 1 1/2-point favorites against the Fighting Illini in the hypothetical matchup, which would come in the closing days of December at Nissan Stadium, the home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans.
Illinois has never made an appearance in the game's 25-year history. Arkansas met Minnesota in the 2002 iteration, falling 29-14 to the Golden Gophers behind MVP Dan Nystrom's five field goals.
The Razorbacks will begin their quest for a third straight bowl appearance — Music City or otherwise — Sept. 2 at War Memorial Stadium against the Western Carolina Catamounts.