FAYETTEVILLE — Not only did Arkansas gain bowl eligibility with its win over Louisiana Tech, but the Hogs also beat their second set of Bulldogs of 2024 after beating Mississippi State earlier in the season.
Up next is a rubber match or sorts against the Tigers, in the form of Missouri. The Razorbacks split their first two meetings against Tigers, beating Auburn on the road and losing at home to LSU.
Arkansas (6-5) has also never won on the road against Missouri (8-3) in six attempts, but how have the Hogs done against a Bulldog or a Cougar historically? As someone not from Arkansas, I am constantly reminded that not every school is as fortunate to be as unique as the Razorbacks.
Arkansas vs. Animals
It should come as no surprise that the most common mascot is some type of animal, each vying for its own unique level of supremacy. Who could forget the late Mike Leach’s epic rant on who would win in a battle of the mascots in the now-defunct Pac-12?
Intellectual debate aside, the Hogs have just won 35.1% of their games all-time (42-79-3) vs programs with Tigers as their mascot. Arkansas will play the entire quartet with the aforementioned trio and Memphis as part of the non-conference next year. The Hogs’ poor record is largely from losing at least two out of every three against both LSU and Missouri.
Prior to the Hogs beating Louisiana Tech 35-14 Saturday, the Hogs were a dead coin toss against a Bulldog (27-27-1), although the Hogs now better than .500 record is propped up by a 5-0 record against Louisiana Tech and a winning record against Mississippi State. Arkansas is 4-12 lifetime against the almighty Bulldog, a la Georgia.
Arkansas’ yearly matchup with a bear died in 1991 when Arkansas left the Southwest Conference and no longer played Baylor. The team hasn’t faced a bear since, although don’t forget about the 51-20 win the 1971 Razorbacks had over the Cal Golden Bears in their lone matchup between the programs. Arkansas is 36-33-1 (52.14%) lifetime against bears, golden or not.
The Razorbacks have similar records against a pair of old SWC rivals. The Hogs are 37-31-5 against the SMU Mustangs and 35-33-2 against the Baylor Bears.
The Hogs’ best historical matchup with an animal mascot involves schools that rep the cougar, although that may be hard to believe for fans still mourning a 38-31 loss to BYU that sent the 2023 season into a tailspin. The Hogs are 13-7 lifetime against the Cougars. Along with splitting the home-and-home with BYU, Arkansas is 12-6 all-time against Houston.
To the surprise of no one, the worst winning percentage is the Crimson Tide, whose mascot is an elephant. Arkansas is 8-24 (25%) and have lost 16 straight. Not far behind is the Texas Longhorns, where the Hogs are 23-57 (28.75%), following the most recent loss.
Other animals played more than once:
- New Mexico Lobos: 3-0
- Boise State Broncos: 2-0
- FIU Panthers: 2-0
- Northern Illinois Huskies: 2-0
- ULM Warhawks: 9-1
- Colorado State Rams: 4-1
- Gamecocks (Jacksonville State, South Carolina): 15-10
- Wildcats (Kentucky, Northwestern, Kansas State): 7-8
- Kansas Jayhawks: 1-2
- Georgia Tech Yellowjackets: 1-1
- UCLA Bruins: 0-1-1
- TCU Horned Frogs: 24-44-2
- Wisconsin Badgers: 0-2
Total Winning percentage – 361-382-17 (48.6%)
Arkansas vs. People
It turns out humans aren’t quite as frightening to the Hogs as fellow animals. Perhaps a Red Raider just isn’t as frightening as a Tiger, evidenced by Arkansas’ 29-8 series record against Texas Tech.
When the Hogs play a person, like an Aggie, historically Arkansas has had a much better track record of success, although the yearly tussles in Arlington don’t make it feel that way. Arkansas 51-36-3 against the Aggies, with the winning percentage slightly boosted from going 9-0 against Utah State and New Mexico State.
There are only two other sets of duplicates that Arkansas has played at least once. The Rebels (UNLV {1-1} and Ole Miss {38-31-1}) and the Trojans (Troy and USC). As one might expect, not all Trojans are created equal. Arkansas is 1-3 against USC and 4-0 against Troy.
Other people mascots played more than once:
- Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns: 5-0
- UTEP Miners: 3-0
- Navy Midshipmen: 2-0
- Vanderbilt Commodores: 7-3
- Tennessee Volunteers: 7-13
- North Carolina Tar Heels: 0-2
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights: 0-2
Total Winning percentage – 174-113-5 (60.5%)
Arkansas vs. Mythical/Inanimate Objects
This section might as well just be renamed the “dominance over Tulsa” section, where in the SWC days, the Razorbacks would stem the Golden Hurricane as an annual tune-up, accumulating a 55-16-3 win over nearly a century. Because of that, inanimate objects are unquestionably the Hogs’ strongest type of mascot, but in recent times is home to some of the more painful losses, such as the 2015 loss to a rocket (Toledo), or a 2022 loss to a flame (Liberty).
Other non-people/animals played more than once:
- UAB Blazers: 2-0
- Arizona State Sun Devils: 2-0
- Tulane Green Wave: 3-0
- North Texas Mean Green: 9-1
- Miami Hurricanes: 0-3
Total Winning percentage – 73-24-3 (74.5%)
Arkansas has one more chance this year to improve on its subpar record against animals. The good news is for the second straight season in 2025, the marquee non-conference matchup is against a mythical creature (Notre Dame Fighting Irish) and not a pesky animal.
Especially of the non-Bulldog variety.
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