The myth of the September slug

A myth being perpetuated on Hogville is bugging us.

That is, and we have seen it over and over, that Arkansas has a history of starting out sluggish.

It is being used as a justification for worrying about freakin' Troy in the opener.

It simply isn't true.

It is true that the Hogs took an ass beating from USC last year, but the 4 years before that, they won by 49-17, 63-13, 45-13 and 41-14. Only once before last year did they fail to win the opener by at least 3 TDs.

Of course, we're dealing with Hogvillains, the majority of whom have the memory and mental acumen of an inbred dachshund. They're lucky to recall last year's opener.

But this is a perfect example of how statements become the "truth" there just by being said over and over.

The real crusade, if there is to be one, is against the way we finish: Nutt's record after Thanksgiving is 5-13 (3-6 against LSU, 2-5 in bowls, and 0-2 in the SEC Championship Game).

Troy is not a bad team, for a lower-level Division I-A team, but Saturday's game should be at least a 3-touchdown win even if we don't play well.