Ok, that headline isn't even the least bit true (as far as we know) but, given the furious speed at which conference realignment rumors are swirling around this offseason, it probably at least made you think for half a second.

The backstory: for the first time in about 20 years, it looks like the college football landscape is headed for a serious shift. Rumors are that the Big 10 is looking to expand and that the consequent domino effect could end up changing nearly everything. The fact is, no one knows quite what will happen and we haven't written all that much about it because it makes our collective heads hurt.

But, as you surely know, one of the hot rumors is that, as part of all the chaos, Arkansas will get in touch with its historical roots and somehow jump ship back to the Big 12 (i.e. the old SWC). Steve Spurrier himself floated this one, and even though Jeff Long quickly shot it down, the chatter persists. For example, a quick search on "Arkansas conference realignment" pulls up more than 39,000 links on Google.

Today "Mr. College Football" himself, Tony Barnhart, dedicated his column to the subject of why the Hogs won't leave the SEC. His logic is simple (SEC = way more money) and makes sense, but that hasn't stopped people from picking it apart (definitely check out the comments section on that article).

Although I personally believe that the Razorbacks will stay in their current spot (if anything, it seems likely that the SEC will expand to include other teams), there's a certain "where there's smoke, there's fire" quality that's hard to ignore. That is, if this many people are making a point of denying the rumors, there must be some substance to the rumors after all...otherwise, why talk about it so much? At least that's one thought...now my head is hurting again.

The other element to all this is the subtext that Arkansas isn't really a worthy member of the SEC. That we've never really been accepted into the club and that the snooty other schools/fans would be quite happy to see us, the dirty interlopers from the other side of the Mississippi, take our Hog calls elsewhere. KevinHog covered this earlier in the week, and I couldn't agree more. I'll write more about this particular element as the offseason drags on, but suffice it to say it will make kicking everyone else's butts this fall even sweeter.

In the meantime, what do you all think? Is the SEC the right home for the Hogs, or should we be thinking about leaving? Vote in the poll below, then let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

So, it seems that the defending champs aren't too happy about the way their schedule stacks up for next year. They play six teams coming off bye weeks, which definitely sucks (although you'd think Nick Saban could get some sort of software upgrade that allows his cyborg programming to adjust to such matters).

But, they also want other teams, including the Hogs, to potentially move their schedules around to accommodate a change. Jeff Long is saying no at the moment, but we'll see if that holds up. After all, we're just Arkansas and they're Alabama. Anything they want, right?

While we're at it, the SEC might as well make a few other last minute rule changes to make the Crimson Tide feel more comfortable:

* opposing teams' first scores of each game will be deemed "just for practice" and won't count on the scoreboard.

* Alabama will be able to reschedule any game it chooses if Greg McIlroy wakes up that Saturday morning and "isn't feeling all that into it".

* opposing student sections required to wear houndstooth hats at all times.

* Nick Saban is to be given a full copy of each opponent's offensive playbook no fewer than 21 days before the game.

* mandatory Bear Bryant back tattoos.

Our season-long SEC Power Poll journey has come to an end, and it is with heavy hearts that we present to you our final ballot. Not much has changed since the Week 13 edition, save for a bit of post-bowl shuffling around.

In the end, the story of the SEC this year was two really good teams at the top and a bunch of other ones far below. The Hogs fall solidly into the middle of that pack, having both beaten and been beaten by their fellow 5-loss teams.

The official Arkansas Expats ballot is below, and be sure to check out the final season results at Team Speed Kills. The comments over there are particularly interesting - suffice it to say, fans of our fellow SEC schools are not as optimistic about the Razorbacks' chances of standing out from the pack next year as many around these parts are.

Follow us after the jump for the ballot itself:

Continue reading this post »

In a bold last-minute bid to become the SEC's drama queen of the year, Urban Meyer decided to unretire roughly 24 hours after he retired.

We here at Arkansas Expats, Inc remain breathless with anticipation of his next move. Will he retire again? Decide to coach Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl? Move to Iowa and marry Tim Tebow? We'll keep you posted on every scintillating detail.

Earlier today we asked you to share your thoughts about who you want to with the SEC Championship game, and now we turn our attention to who you think will win. Vegas has listed Florida as nearly a touchdown favorite (see: the Tebow factor), but a lot of pundits are going with Alabama.

For what it's worth, we considered asking our own staff soothsayer, the famous Rasputin, to weigh in with a prognostication, but he's been in a dangerously depressed and irritable mood since the LSU game and actually threatened to cast one of his vintage Russian hexes on us should we approach him with such a frivolous request. So, we're letting him power through his stash of high-octane vodka in peace.

All of this brings us to the key question: who do you think is going to win? Vote below, then let us know why in the comments section.

Although the Hogs aren't playing this weekend, you football fans may be aware that there's another pretty big game tomorrow. It apparently features a couple of teams who haven't lost yet, and at least one player who may or may not actually be a divine being. Gosh, that sounds kind of exciting...how come there hasn't been more hype about it?

Sarcasm aside, we here at Arkansas Expats, Inc. are really looking forward to the SEC Championship game, even if the prospect of either Alabama or Florida having their hopes dashed by losing is a lot more appealing to us than the thought that one of them will emerge victorious. Seriously, maybe they could both lose?

Anyway, we're nothing if not scientifically-minded, so we'd like to take the pulse of the Razorback fanbase to see how you feel about the matchup. And, in a bold move that may leave you reeling, today we're presenting not one, but TWO, polls for your interactive enjoyment.

Here's the first one...please share your thoughts in the comments section, too, if you're so inclined.

Last week, we were pretty confident that we had the whole Power Poll thing figured out...the Hogs were moving up, teams all seemed in more or less the right places, everything was nice & orderly. Of course that was followed by a close Razorback loss, teams winning (or losing) games they shouldn't have, and a huge crop of 7-5 records as a result.

So, we'll be the first to admit that our week 13 ballot is rife with inconsistencies and oddities. One thing we're stubbornly insisting on, though, is keeping the Hogs at #5. While admitting a healthy amount of hometown bias, it feels right .The other Power Poll voters weren't as kind...you can see the results and their comments over at Team Speed Kills.

Here's our ballot, with last week's results in parentheses:

1. Alabama (1)
2. Florida (2)
3. LSU (4)
4. Ole Miss (3)
5. Arkansas (5)
6. Tennessee (6)
7. Georgia (10) 
8. South Carolina (9) 
9. Auburn (8)
10. Kentucky (7)
11. Mississippi St (11)
12. Vanderbilt (12)

Heading into the final week of the conference season, the Hogs are still on an upward swing...can they continue that trend this weekend? 

Below is the ballot that we submitted for this week's poll. The rankings from last week's ballot are in parentheses, and you can see where the Razorbacks wound up in the *official* poll over at Team Speed Kills.

1. Alabama (1)
2. Florida (2)
3. Ole Miss (4)
4. LSU (3) 
5. Arkansas (6)
6. Tennessee (7)
7. Kentucky (10) 
8. Auburn (8) 
9. South Carolina (9)
10. Georgia (5)
11. Mississippi St (11)
12. Vanderbilt (12)