Here  are a few football tidbits to help Arkansas fans take their minds off the basketball team’s tough loss at Ole Miss last night.

  For starters, Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino will meet with the media at 1:30 p.m. Friday. Plenty of news will likely come out of this, including an update on Petrino’s search to replace secondary coach Lorenzo Ward. A lot has happened since the last time Petrino spoke to the media on Dec. 3 – a few players transferred and one assistant left for another job.

  Meanwhile…

 Former Arkansas cornerback Jamar Love and offensive tackle Jose Valdez will participate in the Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Challenge on Jan. 31 at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

  The game matches top collegiate players originally from Texas or who play in the state against players from around the country. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be televised by CBS College Sports Network.

  Love and Valdez are two of three Razorbacks competing in postseason all-star games. Center Jonathan Luigs is representing Arkansas in the Under Armour Senior Bowl on Jan. 24, in Mobile, Ala. The Senior Bowl will be televised by the NFL Network.

  Hope that works for now. By the way, where has all the snow gone?

In case you hadn’t heard, cornerback Jamar Love is going to undergo surgery for a thumb injury and will not be on the field for the Razorbacks this weekend. Without him, backup Ramon Broadway will start.

Love is the second cornerback and third defensive player to go down in the past two weeks. In addition, Jerell Norton (hamstring) and defensive tackle Ernest Mitchell (knee) are out. That’s never a good thing for a young defense that is struggling to stop opponents this season.

Here is what Bobby Petrino had to say about Love on the SEC Teleconference this morning:

“It’s hard on him in particular because he’s put so much into it. He did a lot of extra work in the summer. When other people had their breaks and left, he stayed and lifted weights and worked on his technique and quickness. So I feel bad for him.

“Now, we’re hopeful that the good news comes out. They can either go in and put a couple of screws in it and he might be back in two weeks. If they have to put a pin in it, then it could be up to six weeks. So we’re hoping that it’s a two-week deal.”

“Broadway has played a lot. We’ve rotated him and he’s played a lot. He really understands what we’re doing. So he can step in there. We also have Shedrick Johnson and Tramain Thomas.”