Editor's Note: Judd Hall and Brian Edwards will be breaking down VegasInsider.com's top 25 all the way to No. 1, so be sure to check in and see the poll as it is unveiled.

2006: Arkansas enjoyed an outstanding season in 2006, winning the SEC West for the first time since 2002. Although the Razorbacks finished the year on a three-game losing streak, they still managed a 10-win campaign. Their only losses came to schools that finished in the top seven – Florida (1), LSU (3), USC (4) and Wisconsin (7).

Despite a toe injury that kept Darren McFadden out of pre-season drills and limited his playing time the first few weeks, the sophomore running back finished second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. McFadden ran for 1,647 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per carry.

After losing the season opener to Southern Cal, the Hogs won 10 in a row, including a 24-23 home win over Alabama in double overtime. They really turned heads in their next game, going to Auburn as 15-point underdogs and rolling to a 27-10 victory. Arkansas also thumped Tennessee in Fayetteville by a 31-14 count.

Advertisement

Strengths: Houston Nutt probably has the best player in America in McFadden. He has another outstanding back in Felix Jones, who averaged 7.6 YPC en route to gaining 1,168 rushing yards last year.

Arkansas has led the SEC in rushing in four of the last five seasons. The offensive line returns only two starters, but this unit is anchored by one of the nation’s best centers (Johanthan Luigs).

Nutt has yet another All-American candidate in WR Marcus Monk, who has 122 career receptions in 31 starts. Monk averaged 19.2 yards per reception and hauled in 11 touchdown catches in 2006.

Defensively, DE Antwain Robinson is one of the SEC’s best pass rushers. In ’06, Robinson recorded 8 ½ sacks, six tackles behind the line and seven passes broken up. Senior LB Weston Dacus is the leading returning tackler with 95 stops, including 4 ½ behind the line along with 3 ½ sacks.

Weaknesses: The major concern is junior QB Casey Dick, who has a 16/10 TD-INT ratio in nine career starts. Dick was injured early in ’06 and didn’t break into the lineup until replacing Mitch Mustain midway through the first quarter of the South Carolina game. Dick went on to start the next five games, but he was extremely ineffective in the loss to LSU.

When Nutt didn’t replace Dick with Mustain -- the heralded freshman who went 8-0 as a starter -- vs. LSU, a rift developed within the team and the fan base. You see, Nutt went to great lengths to sign Mustain and his high school teammates, TE Ben Cleveland and WR Damian Williams. To do so, Nutt hired the trio’s head coach at Springdale High School (Gus Malzahn) to be offensive coordinator.

Williams decided to transfer after the SEC Championship Game, literally quitting on his teammates. After the bowl-game loss to Wisconsin, Mustain also decided to transfer, eventually electing to go to USC with Williams. Malzahn bolted to become co-offensive coordinator at Tulsa. Cleveland decided to remain a Razorback.

But that doesn’t even cover the entire episode of drama. A group of fans conducted a witch hunt against Nutt, requesting his phone records through the Freedom of Information Act.

When a slew of calls and text messages were discovered between Nutt and a local female television anchor, the bush-league fans promptly passed along the information to every major media outlet in the nation that covers college football.

Nevertheless, Nutt remains happily married and most of the fan base still supports him. Although Mustain and Williams, two of the state’s most highly recruited players ever, are both gone, they take drama galore with them. I say good riddance as both players were obviously me-first chafes.

Arkansas Schedule Date/Game Sept. 1 Sept. 15 @ Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Oct. 6 Oct. 13 Oct. 20 @ Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 @ Nov. 17 Nov. 24 @

Players to Watch: FB Peyton Hillis missed the last four games of ’06 and the Hogs were 1-3 without him. Hillis is a serious threat catching the ball out of the backfield. He had 38 catches in ’05 and has 69 for his career. Also, senior WR Robert Johnson could emerge as a big-time playmaker. Johnson, who has started nine career games at QB, has 4.5 speed and is finally focused on the WR position.

Returning Starters: 6 offense, 6 defense, 1 kicker

Schedule: The non-conference slate (vs. Troy, vs. North Texas, vs. Chattanooga, vs. FIU) is a complete joke, although the Trojans are respectable with dynamic QB Omar Haugabook. The four SEC road games (at Alabama, at Ole Miss, at Tennessee and at LSU) will be difficult, but the Hogs should be favored in each home game. Auburn and South Carolina will be the toughest teams to invade Fayetteville.

Letdown: The Oct. 20 trip to Ole Miss could be a letdown situation after a crucial SEC West contest against Auburn the previous week. Ed Orgeron will have the Rebels ready to avenge a 38-3 loss to Arkansas in ’06.

Look Ahead: I think the LSU-Arkansas game on Nov. 23 will decide the SEC West. Therefore, the Mississippi St. game the prior week could be dangerous, especially for our purposes. That’s because the Hogs will probably be laying a big number against the Bulldogs.

Good Bets:

Nov. 3 vs. South Carolina… This game sets up well for the Razorbacks. The Gamecocks will be playing on the road for the second straight week following a trip to Knoxville. Meanwhile, Arkansas will be at home for the second straight week after facing FIU. Look to play the Hogs as single-digit favorites, especially if the number is less than seven.

Prediction: Considering the recent drama and the pending retirement of AD Frank Broyles, not to mention the fact that Arkansas might not have a player of McFadden’s skills for a couple of decades, this is an extremely important campaign for Nutt’s program. In his first season at the helm, Arkansas won its first nine games before venturing to Neyland Stadium to face the Volunteers.

Just like in ’98, I see the Razorbacks starting 9-0 before losing at UT. This time around, however, the Vols won’t need a miracle fumble from Clint Stoerner. Instead, they’ll avenge last year’s loss in Fayetteville by picking off Dick three times en route to a double-digit victory.

Arkansas will again fall two weeks later in Baton Rouge to finish second in the SEC West. But the Hogs will bounce back to win their bowl game, as McFadden (Eric Dickerson without the goggles) will go out in style by leading his squad to an 11-win season.

Brian Edwards can be reached via email at briane@vegasinsider.com.