If Arkansas coach Bret Bielema is looking for a respite from the ribbing he is enduring for losing to Toledo just days after criticizing Ohio State for its weak schedule, the NFL isn't the place.
At least, not at 1 Bills Dr., Orchard Park, N.Y.
Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan was asked Wednesday about the difficulty of playing the New England Patriots twice in a season, and invoked Bielema's misstep as part of his response.
"Do I wish the Patriots were in a different division? I mean yeah, probably," Ryan said. "(We) could play somebody else. Not gonna mention any names. I'm not gonna pull the Arkansas coach."
As the former coach of the New York Jets, facing the New England Patriots twice in a year is nothing new to Ryan.
Bielema signed up for a tougher schedule when he left Wisconsin, joining an SEC West Division that boasts three different national champions in the last decade. After Texas Tech (2-0) brings its whirlwind offense to Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday, Arkansas' SEC schedule begins Sept. 26 against Texas A&M, followed by Tennessee and Alabama.
Ryan, for his part, has a home game Sunday against the Patriots for which to prepare.
And if talking about schedule difficulty brings Bielema-like luck, he'd just as soon have nothing.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
