Arkansas having opening test? This ain't going to be that against Alabama A&M

Kickoff at Razorback Stadium is supposed to mean something. It's a chance for a new team to show what it is, a first look at what might be possible.

Arkansas fans might be wise to temper expectations about uncovering truths that actually matter. The script for this one is already written and it’s not going to tell us anything worth knowing.

The Razorbacks’ matchup with Alabama A&M at 3:15 p.m. on the SEC Network is the first-ever meeting between the programs.

The context of this game really is all that matters. Arkansas is a Power Five team facing an FCS opponent, a game scheduled more for logistics than for any real hope of learning anything beyond if they can do the same things in practice in front of the band they've done in preseason.

As Missouri showed Thursday night with a 61-6 win over a Central Arkansas team that was ranked in the FCS at the end of last season. They'll be fine this year.

The talent gap against the Bulldogs will likely overshadow any schematic intrigue or personnel drama fans might hope to see. Anybody looking for revelations about Arkansas football’s progress under Sam Pittman, they won't get much beyond a lopsided scoreline.

Pittman has dutifully previewed the opener in his public appearances, but even he isn’t hyping the matchup as a big indicator for his team’s identity. The reality is he probably just doesn't want to get anybody hurt.

The Razorbacks are expected to rotate liberally, keeping the playbook and packages basic. The game’s structure is almost designed to obscure rather than reveal, protecting future plans from SEC opponents far more dangerous than Alabama A&M.

Because the kangaroo court called the NCAA allows it to count towards bowl eligibility is the  real reason it's played. Even offensive Bobby Petrino before a game with UAPB to open last year said nobody gets anything out of playing an opponent like that.

Petrino hasn’t used the phrase “waste of time” in public remarks about this opener, he’s all but signaled that games like these serve more as glorified walk-throughs than as any sort of legitimate test.

If the Razorbacks really want to find out anything, schedule a game against the schools from the Dakotas or Montana. They've shown in the past few years they can compete with SEC teams very well.

Considering the College Football Playoff and television networks control things these days, it's probably going to be used to pad schedules. That will be helped by the SEC adding a ninth conference game and requiring at least one big-time matchup.

Giving a monetary gift to smaller schools is probably doomed if a team wants to really run a risk of not being in the playoff at the end of the season.

Fans and the media will try to read too much into a one-sided contest. They are either buying or trying to help generate excitement for a schedule that's one of the toughest in the nation.

A breakout run or a defensive stand might look impressive, but these moments prove absolutely nothing in the end. The coaching staff knows it, the players know it, and — if history is any guide — so should the fans.

That’s why Pittman and Petrino’s public comments have been so measured. They’re not promising fireworks or grand revelations. They’re promising a first step, nothing more.

Nobody has brought up the last time the Razorbacks lost to an opponent at that level the coach was fired the next day. That was 1992 when the Hogs opened the season with a loss to The Citadel and Frank Broyles dumped Jack Crowe the next day.

There will be a temptation to judge new faces, whether it’s a quarterback taking over the huddle or a transfer making his debut, based on their performance against Alabama A&M.

The reality is the talent level of A&M will have little resemblance to what’s coming when the real gauntlet begins.

It will be some little things football nerds will try to read and dissect, but as coaches have told me in over 50 years of covering the Razorbacks, they don't really even know that much after these.

Arkansas is basically playing this one for the same reasons NFL teams play preseason games they use to determine who they cut first. Colleges aren't cutting anybody at this point, but it's another step in evaluations.

The high-profile matchup against Arkansas State is looming next week and that's got some importance. Lose that game and everybody may get fired.

In other words, why show your hand against Alabama A&M when tougher tests lie just around the corner?

The best approach is to simply resist the urge to overanalyze. The opener is a necessary formality, not a verdict on the program’s progress or on Petrino’s new offensive wrinkles.

If recent comments from the coaching staff are any indication, Saturday’s game is about managing expectations as much as it is about managing the scoreboard.

Coaches want to see how a team reacts when things get tough. This opener ain't that.A

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