Arkansas and LSU are reeling with interim coaches in place and plans for bigger prizes at the end of the season long since scrapped.
One of the SEC rivals will claim their first victory under an interim head coach when they meet Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.
The Razorbacks (2-7, 0-5 SEC) are 0-4 since firing Sam Pittman and replacing him with offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
The Tigers (5-4, 2-4) fired Brian Kelly two weeks ago and replaced him with running backs coach Frank Wilson, then lost at Alabama 20-9 in Wilson’s debut last Saturday.
LSU’s offense struggled under Wilson just as it had under Kelly, and Wilson benched quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and replaced him with Michael Van Buren during the loss to the Crimson Tide, but the team still managed just three field goals.
Wilson said Nussmeier “was a great teammate” after being removed from the game and “stayed engaged.”
Van Buren is a much better runner than Nussmeier and using both creates more challenges for the opposing defense.
“I think it makes them account for him,” Wilson said. “I think there’s tremendous validity to having a guy that can extend plays with his legs or have direct quarterback designed runs that they have to account for.”
Wilson hasn’t named a starter for this week, but said both quarterbacks will continue to play.
“I thought both of those guys did some good things,” Wilson said. “I thought both did some things that need to be improved upon.”
The Razorbacks had an open date last week after losing at home to Mississippi State 38-35 on Nov. 1
Petrino knows what Wilson is going through as an interim coach, though no longer has potential bowl eligibility as a motivating factor the way that Wilson does.
“I think the biggest challenge is to just keep the players motivated and keep them working together and keep them preparing individually to get better,” Petrino said. “I think it’s a challenge sometimes when you get beat to come to work with a smile on your face and attack the day. That’s kind of what we’ve been focused on is let’s make sure when we come in the building we’re enjoying what we do.”
