Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

11/19/2011 at 11:17pm

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas can’t delay the LSU talk any longer. Not that the Razorbacks want to put it off now.

A 44-17 victory against Mississippi State on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium has set up the matchup that has for weeks been on the minds of many who follow college football. Arkansas, currently No. 6 in the BCS and likely to climb into the Top 3 when the standings are released, will travel to Baton Rouge for a matchup with the top-ranked Tigers on Friday.

For weeks the Razorbacks (10-1, 6-1) have done their best to avoid talking about the possibility of playing for a share of the SEC West title or securing another BCS bowl berth. They’ve followed their coach’s lead and remained focused on the task at hand.

No more of that.

Now Arkansas players can safely look at what is at stake Friday at LSU after they clinched a second consecutive 10-win season and the first undefeated record at home since 1999. They can join the fans among the 55,761 at War Memorial who began chanting “We want LSU” as Broderick Green’s two-yard run pushed Arkansas up 44-10 with 3:20 remaining.

“Now it’s time to focus on what everybody has been talking about; going down to Baton Rouge and playing No. 1,” senior linebacker Jerico Nelson said.

Arkansas looked zeroed in from the start against Mississippi State, taking a 7-0 lead with 12:42 left in the first quarter and growing it to 24-10 by halftime. Mississippi State (5-6, 1-6) gave up 30 consecutive points to the Razorbacks during a stretch that spanned the second, third and fourth quarters.

This looked nothing like the team that trailed double-digits to Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. Mississippi State was outgained 539-211 and the Razorbacks forced six consecutive three-and-outs.

Coach Bobby Petrino has been reluctant to talk BCS positioning the past few weeks or politick for his team through the media. Each question about postseason possibilities was met with the same predictable response about keeping a narrow focus and letting the process play out for the Razorbacks.

But with seven consecutive victories since a 38-14 loss at Alabama and the final week of the season before him, Petrino didn’t hold back from endorsing his team. He didn’t hesitate to promote what Arkansas had accomplished in knocking off the Bulldogs.

Arkansas scored 40-plus points for a third straight game (the first time since joining the SEC in 1992 that’s happened) and put together another strong defensive outing, plus made plays on special teams. South Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi State have now been outscored 137-52 by the Razorbacks, who are arguably playing better than any team in the country as the regular season nears its end.

“I like the way we’re playing,” Petrino said. “I think we’re playing really good football. We’re running the ball well. We’re throwing it well. Defensively we’re doing a great job of stopping the run and getting after the quarterbacks. What can you say about our special teams, they’ve been strong all year long. I really like the way we’ve played the last three games.”

The Razorbacks have played well enough to put themselves in the conversation as the BCS debate reaches full volume. They finished undefeated at home, something not all the one-loss teams in the race can say (Alabama, anyone?) and Arkansas has a shot at being the only team to knock off a No. 1 at home this season.

There’s a lot on the line Friday. And thanks to the way the Razorbacks have handled their business of late, they don't have to avoid talking about it.

Asked earlier this week about all the Razorbacks could accomplish and what they could set up with a victory against Mississippi State, defensive Jake Bequette didn’t want to discuss it. He wasn’t about to talk as if it were a done deal with “if” being part of the conversation.

Bequette, who had two sacks and a forced fumble, wasn’t holding back on Saturday night. Of course, there was no reason to any longer.

“There’s no beating around the bush anymore, we have a huge game on Friday,” Bequette said.

Bequette is right. Arkansas-LSU is huge. It’s a game the entire country — including the Razorbacks — will be talking about all week.

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ArkansasSports360.com editor Chris Bahn has won several awards you’ve probably never heard of, but are kinda cool. Not, however, as cool as his two beagles, Hoops and Sugar, who you might occasionally hear join Bahn during his multiple weekly radio appearances in Fayetteville, Little Rock, Jonesboro and Fort Smith. For more details on those appearances follow CBahn on Twitter and check our Facebook page for ArkansasSports360.com.

Tagged: Mississippi State Bulldogs, Jerico Nelson, Tyler Wilson, Bobby Petrino, Jake Bequette, Arkansas Razorbacks