Let’s take our weekly spin around the SEC. Arkansas is a program you should keep an eye on as Bobby Petrino and his system is a proven winning commodity in college football. Last year, the Razorbacks were extremely young while learning new schemes. They also played a brutal early schedule that saw them take on Alabama, Texas, and Florida in three consecutive weeks. They were out-scored in those games by a whopping 139-31 margin. And following those games, Petrino realized that not one guy on his team possessed any leadership skills and the team lacked any real chemistry. So he mapped out a plan that he put into action this past summer.

Petrino started Wednesday morning leadership seminars where his brother and offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, would teach attendees how to be a leader by reading motivational books aloud to the group. They would go chapter to chapter, and break down each and every important and meaningful aspect of the qualities needed to be a leader. And they did it in the same manner as if they were watching and breaking down a game film. This process was a way to build a foundation of routine so when the season rolled around, the guys who were selected for the leadership group would know how to lead their respective units on and off the field.

But this weekly seminar wasn’t open to the whole team, but instead selected individuals and coaches were chosen by Petrino. From all accounts, this summer get together was very, very effective. As a result of the seminars, the Arkansas football team has put their complete faith and trust into what Petrino is doing. That was not the case a season ago when the team was divided amongst themselves and the coaches. Now, the players that participated in the group have started their own support system for the rest of the team as a way to prove to Petrino that they learned a lot from their Wednesday meetings.

And just before the season began, Petrino took all of his coaches away for a weekend retreat. There, they set out their seasonal goals and kicked around general philosophies and ideas as a way to get everyone on the same page. Like players, coaching staffs can have different agendas and make things ugly throughout a season. But Petrino lessened that possibility for the whole team by implementing an unconventional strategy of team building, not only with players, but also the coaches.

Things like this are never heard about, but exactly the type of stuff we look for to get an edge on the pointspread. Arkansas won 48-10 in their opener over 1-AA Missouri St. The Razorbacks racked-up 591 yards of total offense and now get two weeks to prepare for Georgia. They will be a home underdog in that game, so do not forget about the above on September 19th.

Next week we will reveal an exclusive and in-depth pointspread autopsy on a very good college head coach that went from under the radar to the national stage over the past year. And the results we’ve uncovered will point us to some solid pointspread winners going forward.