Welcome to the barnyard with Steve Robertson. As always, I am your good friend and host, Steve Robertson here on the Maroon Friday edition of the yard. Hope things are well with you wherever you are today. I will be at the ending Ola Pecan House later today doing a book signing. My first time visiting there. I'll be there today from two to four. So if you're in the area, come on out, get signed books for all the bulldogs on your list. I'll give you a bigger schedule of the weekend later in the show. But that's where I'm going to be today. Matter of fact, that's one of the reasons I'm recording earlier today. So we can go ahead and get this handle and get going. It is an off week for Mississippi State, as you guys are well aware, an unscheduled open date. You know, it's just kind of part of the deal. And, you know, I wish we could have played because I feel like the last couple of weeks we have played pretty well, and I felt like Missouri was a game that certainly was a winnable game for us. They've run the football exceptionally well here as of late. And I think we're kind of a bad matchup for them. I think their secondary is a little bit shaky, and I think their pass rush is decent. But I believe we would have been able to score against them. I think we could have made them somewhat one-dimensional. They can run the football, and I really like Beatty a lot. I really do. I think he's kind of an unsung hero on that team, kind of a third downback for them.

But we want to... the football and I really like Beatty a lot. I really do. I think he's kind of an unsung hero on that

team. Kind of a third downback for them, but we won't get to play them yet. We expected to play

them on the 19th, even though there has been no official announcement of that. And let's go ahead and

change the order of things right now. Let's go ahead and maybe jump to preview in the league this

weekend since we're not playing.

Even though we're not playing, there's some good games this weekend.

I mean, it's a pretty good schedule.

I mean, if you're going to have a weekend off and have a chance to sit home and watch some college football,

it's a pretty good weekend, for sure.

Let's run it down here real quick for you.

A&M is on the road at Auburn, and that's number five A&M and the FBS playoff, Paul. It's how crazy is that to think about that A&M is right there? Kind of gives you some hope for the future, right? It's like Alabama absolutely destroyed A&M, but now A&M would have a chance to potentially play for a national championship. I mean, it goes to show you that one game doesn't define a season.

Auburn has been so hit or miss, but they've been pretty good at home. I just think that I don't know that Auburn has the defensive ability to slow down Isaiah's pillar.

I think Kell in mind has improved so much as a passer, being able to read defenses and understand

protections and see where the blitz is coming from and to work the hot reads.

I think he's going to have a good ballgame.

I really do.

And I think A&M wins this ballgame.

It's probably a very competitive game, but I think A&M's going to win. Moved along here. Arkansas is at Missouri. I'm taking Arkansas in the game. Again, I think the Missouri running game is very formidable. But I think Barry Odom and that Arkansas defense has been very, very good. That's secondary to Arkansas, very good. I like Arkansas in the game. Missouri, again, kind of a difficult place to play at home. It's not even like an SEC venue. If you've been up there, you know, we were up there in 15 and it poured down rain. It was awful. But we found a way to win the ball game. And, you know, Drew Locke, of course, was just kind of coming into his own there at Missou, but it is a different deal. And then you're going to play them earlier in the day.

And so it kind of even takes even more of the atmosphere out. But I do like Arkansas. I think they're headed in the right direction. Florida is at Tennessee. Did you hear this about Jeremy Pruitt that some fan called into the calling show and said, hey, coach,

when are you going to figure out you're not a ball coach and going back to Alabama?

You know, here's the deal. I mean, it's like, you know, I understand asking people the tough questions,

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