Arkansas Cotton Bowl Notes
DALLAS — Like his teammate, Darren McFadden, Arkansas junior running back Felix Jones was evasive Tuesday when asked whether he will turn pro or return for his senior season.
But whereas McFadden’s future already seems predetermined, there is a possibility that Jones would come back to be the Hogs’ feature tailback.
“I don’t know,” Jones said after Arkansas’ 38-7 loss at Missouri. “I will sit down with my family and I will talk to my coaches. I will make a decision and let you know.”
Jones, who rushed for 1,162 yards this year as McFadden’s sidekick, has already met with Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino.
Taking a page from Jones’ playbook, McFadden also refused to reveal whether Tuesday’s game was his last as a Razorback.
“That’s something I’m going to sit down with my parents and decide here in a little while,” said McFadden, who is projected as a top pick in the 2008 NFL Draft after rushing for 1,830 yards this year.
Junior center Jonathan Luigs, on the other hand, has already made up his mind about his plans for next season
“I am coming back,” said Luigs, an All-American. “I don’t think I am ready. I just wanted to come back. The NFL will always be there.”
Bronze busts
The main subplot in the Arkansas-Missouri game was the battle between two of the four 2007 Heisman Trophy finalists — Tigers quarterback Chase Daniel and Razorbacks running back Darren McFadden. Both players didn’t live up to the hype Tuesday. Daniel completed 12 of 29 pass attempts for 136 yards — statistically his worst performance of the season. McFadden’s output — 105 yards on 21 carries was also underwhelming.
“I don’t know about Darren’s game today, but Darren McFadden is a great football player and a great competitor,” Arkansas interim coach Reggie Herring said. “He had his moments. People gained and got on him, but I don’t ever question Darren McFadden. I don’t think any Razorback would.”
McFadden scored Arkansas’ only touchdown of the day on a three-yard run late in the third quarter. But his longest carry went for only 19 yards. Daniel was also held in check.
“They were dropping 9, 10 guys into coverage,” Daniel said. “It’s hard to throw the football through that. I had a lot of throw-aways today. Just didn’t have a good day.”
Trick play backfires
It should have worked. It did work. But Arkansas fake-punt play didn’t produce a positive result. Instead, the Hogs handed Missouri some momentum late in the first quarter when a strange sequence of events unfolded.
Facing a fourth-and-four situation at Missouri’s 35-yard line, wide receiver Reggie Fish took the handoff on a reverse and gained seven yards and a first down on a fake punt. But the Razorbacks called a timeout the moment before the ball was snapped, and the gain was negated.
After the timeout, the Razorbacks ran another play out of the same fake-punt formation. Fullback Farod Jackson got stuffed for a one-yard loss and Missouri took possession.
“You know the ball was, what on the 35 or so?” Arkansas interim coach Reggie Herring said. “You know, in that area, that really was the deal where we probably either should have gone for it into the wind or you punt or you fake it. We faked it. It was early in the game. I was trying to create something. It didn’t work out.”
Quick Hits
•Arkansas senior strong safety Matt Hewitt didn’t play much in his last game as a Razorback.
“Matt didn’t seem to be himself,” Arkansas interim coach Reggie Herring said. “I know that he didn’t move around very well in pregame and look himself.”
Hewitt was left out of Arkansas’ dollar package, which is loaded with defensive backs.
•Missouri tailback Tony Temple’s 281 yards rushing was the most ever yielded by Arkansas in a bowl game. The Tigers gained more rushing yards — 323— than any other opponent has piled up against Arkansas this season.
“You can’t win a football game and give up 300 and something yards rushing,” Herring said. “We just didn’t play well defensively.”
•Arkansas running back Darren McFadden is now the second on the all-time career rushing list in the Southeastern Conference. He passed LSU’s Kevin Faulk after gaining 105 yards Tuesday. He has 4,557 career rushing yards.
McFadden’s 1,830 rushing yards this season is the second-highest total ever accumulated by a running back in the Southeastern Conference.
•Arkansas is now 11-22-3 in bowl games and is 3-7-1 in the Cotton Bowl.
This was Missouri’s year, they had a point to prove, and they proved it today. Arkansas didn’t have the athletes on the defensive side of the ball to compete against the tigers today. I don’t think Missouri is 31 points better than the hogs, maybe a touchdown. We obviously didn’t play our best game, this was worse than the Tennessee game.
We need to improve our defense, especially at corner. SEC offense’s are moving towards the spread. In a few years everyone will be running some version of the spread…….except for Ole Miss ofcourse.
Coach Petrino had a lot to soak in as he watched the Cotton Bowl. My predictions for the Hogs in the remainder of ‘08 are this:
*Bobby Allen and Tim Horton will be the only coaches retained from the current staff
*Casey Dick will not be the starting QB next year
*Felix Jones will opt to play his senior season for the Razorbacks
*The ‘08 recruiting class will change in rank to within the top 20 nationally as a few more unexpected and extremely talented athletes change their commitment to Arkansas
*The Hogs will not contend for a SEC title next year but will score a MAJOR upset sometime during the ‘08 regular season
Re: the fake punt. STUPID!
It was great the first time — why our coaches called timeout before the play is anybody’s guess. But you CANNOT run a fake punt out of that formation following the timeout. You might as well line up and go for it with your base offense. I’ve watched football for 40 years and never seen any coach do something that ridiculous.
I think that Reggie might have coached himself out of any future HC job.
pig poop with this effort. I am embarrassed to leave the house. I almost put up razorback logos and stuff in front of my house in Allen, TX. Thank god I didn’t!!!
Traditional razorback “how can I loose with embarrassment” effort. This was a poor game plan and no player focus. Typical muff after muff. Lee, Herring, and the players get an “F+” for this game strategy and plan.
I was there! I was embarrassed. for the most of the first half the line looked completely lost. The Razorbacks were completely unprepared. I really feel the fans are Due an apology from the coaching staff for that performance.
wow! I saw it from the 45-yd line right in the middle of a bunch of Missouri fans. That was not fun!
Besides Herring, the blame rests on the off and def lines coaches. They dominated us. There was no place for DMac and the Cat to run. Conversely, any running backs can pile up huge numbers with the holes Temple had. I don’t know what happened!
I agree qonbige. For those that might want to lay blame on Casey or anyone else….
I think the blame lies entirely on the offensive line and the coaches. You could have Joe Montana back there, but the line still has to give you time. You have to have time to go through the progressions. I may agree with the argument that Casey is not going through them quickly enough. But, the fact remains, this game was lost in the trenches on BOTH sides of the ball, which was perpetuated by the turnovers.
We got outplayed in the trenches and outcoached on the sideline. We chose to not disguise any of our blitz packages, which Chase Daniels was able to see coming at the 24-second mark of the playclock and call the adjustments on every play. The staff really got outcoached by Chase Daniels, technically.
To Missouri’s credit, they showed the ability that Petrino seems to adopt…”throw when you need to throw; run when you need to run”. Missouri displayed the perfect use of their offense; the offense that Petrino brings to the table. In 3 years, this should be the Razorbacks offense, also having the capability defensively, from an athletes standpoint, to comepletely stifle the opponent. Offensively, we should be able to move the ball up and down the field and win the battle in the trenches on most plays.
The Razorbacks showed that we are not even close to BCS material b/c of our one-dimensional philosphy, which has been consistent, dating back throughout the last 20 years. Being able to do the opposite of what the defense gives you offensively IS the game of football.
We sat back and chose to take the whoopin’ we received and showed no passion or will to change it before it started snowballing.
Wow…was that painful to watch, especially for us Hogs fans on the west coast who got up relatively early on New Year’s Day to watch it. I can’t imagine actually getting up and going to the game. Who would have thought that Casey Dick would have passed for more yards than Chase Daniel….and we still get hammered. Gotta love the so-called experts who are not only saying that Tony Temple is better than D-mac, but also saying D-mac’s draft status is slipping. He had 100 yards and a touchdown…against basically 8 and 9 man fronts with really no threat of a passing game. Something has to be done about the lame duck coaches who already have other jobs and are trying to do two jobs at once…like our 5 coaches who were between Oxford and Fayetteville. It only hurts the kids on the field. In the end… with or without D-mac next year… i am excited about 2008…only 8 months to wait!!
Well, what did we expect - Herring was the defensive coach this year for the Hogs and you see what we got.
Now, as “interim” HEAD Coach of the Cotton Bowl effort - no defense AND no offense. What was offensive coach David Lee doing? Were they both so busy getting their resumes ready, that the scouting, gameplan and preparation got short shrift.
Herring said after the Razorbacks practices for the Cotton Bowl that they were READY to play - his observation or generalizations.
After Nutt left (was fired) Herring has mumbled about how Nutts’ assistants must find places to go. I don’t wish Herring (and Lee) bad luck in finding a new position - but they both must go somewhere else where they can be under a program where their sometime meager efforts are managed.
The Razorbacks cannot continue to have dismal failure of coaching duties, philosophy, or rationale (Nutt, Herring, Lee) while many stand by and pat these coaches on the butt and say “Good game” or “Good try” – in too many cases they have been neither .
Obviously, in the Cotton Bowl game, our OFFENSE was dismal because our coaches couldn’t bring themselves to see that MU was stuffing everything up the middle, Casey Dick is still not ready to play big-time football at QB and could not create the passing offense necessary to help our running game, we only opened up when we ran the Wild Hog (unfortunately too late), and … were we trying to signal the fake kick to MU by running it twice and screwing it up the first time with a coaches timeout? (I’m sure that at least 10 out of the 11 MU defenders knew exactly what to do the 2nd time.)
As for DEFENSE, Herring gave us MUCH more of the same as all year. Our players weren’t prepared for the cutback running of the MU RB’s whom tore off huge chunks of yardage, nor were effective adjustments made. Same with the pass defense. I thought that this was part of the coaches job – to scout and watch film to understand the strengths (and weaknesses) of the other team – PRIOR to the game – (Or make meaningful adjustments at the half-time) to help our guys better prepare for them.)
The Razorback players had proven that given a reasonable amount of preparation that THEY could beat even the best team (LSU).
Sorry, I leave this huge loss at the feet of these coaches.
I’m looking forward to the new breath of fresh air and promise for 2008. Good luck, Coach Petrino.
Let’s at least look and play professionally – like other big-time NCAA football programs. Go HOGS!
Like I said a week or so ago…I’m new to this message
board stuff…but it looks and sounds to me like you
experts are still doing alot of coach bashing..just the name or names have changed. I think you all need to sit back and just take it as Missouri having a better team this year and the Big 12 being at least equal to the SEC in strength this year (that doesn’t happen very often)…plus, they can say what they want but the Arkansas kids were confused and addled after all that has gone on since Thanksgiving weekend.
Its going to be the same ball game next year. The coaching will not make any difference…the program will still have trouble recruiting quality athletes to compete against level at which Hogs play (SEC).
Petrino will do no better than Nutt, Holtz, Hatfield, or Broyles and you guys will be wanting to run him off in just a few short years (if he stays put that long)>
wow! ua65, who’s bashing who here? That’s pretty gloom and doom for a Razorback fan, at this point. You just dimissed your own point.
Bobby has his work cut out, no doubt. But, he is already proving he can do some things in the recruiting world that Nutt was unable to do in getting commitments from better athletes. Recruiting is where it starts, and we are already seeing improvement.
You are sound a bit gloomy and doomy to make the blanket statement, “It’s all going to be the same ball game next year.” It may be the same record the next couple of years. But, the upside is a little better seeing the guy’s proven track record as an offensive guru.
Everyone you named in your coaching list there all has one thing in common. They were very married to running the football, and had a tough time throwing it when it needed to be done.
You saw at Louisville that Petrino will “throw it when you need to throw; run it when you need to run”. Those coaches you listed couldn’t do that consistently. That has to at least change your perspective in him being just one of the same coaches that have been here. I don’t think that is an accurate or well-thought out statement…just my humble opinion.
Folks,
ua65 is NOT a hog fan, or is probably one of those fakers who acts like he knows or likes the Razorbacks and is actually for a team OTHER than the Razorbacks.
Either way, his comments are irrelevant and just plain mis-leading.
Sorry, ua65 - you’ve been outed.
GO Coach Petrino - GO HOGS!
Now, I am just a mom, but I was at the game and found the AR plays were at times, predictable. For instance, when McFadden took the snap, you knew one or two possibilities were going to occur. The Mizzou fans were definitely outnumbered 2-1 yesterday and I have to say I was amazed at how quickly the Hog fans left, not even staying until the fourth quarter. None of the big players on either team were steller, except for Temple. I think Mizzou just called their plays better. AR needed to mix it up more and involve more than the two runners…..
Who the hell decided that we would wear the red freakin pants
Don’t they know about the red pants jinks
Holtz pulled out those red pants in 78 or 79 i can’t remember and we lost
Burn those damm red pants and never ever put them on our team again
You dumb asses
you are wrong ua65
38-7 wow i am embarrassed i blame the Coaches on this one. The young men were just not ready to play. Ole Miss coaches for 1 freakin month. We may not recover from this one for awhile. I don’t think we ever had a chance in this game. period!!!
Interim Coaches don’t work!!! They just lose
Especially those that already have jobs waiting for them! Ole Miss Coachs on top of that!
I feel bad for Coach Broyles to go out like that!!!
It is good to know that He will still be involed with the Razorback Foundation.
Go Hogs
CRAP! That’s what we looked like. Different bowl. Different “head coach”. Different oopnent. SAME DANG OUTCOME!
Remember when we asked Nutt if he could “just beat SMU?”
Well Bobby, “Can you just win a bowl game?”
I am so sick and tired of the total lack of prepardness by the Razorback Coaches for whatever the bowl game is. We made no adjustments at half time and were out of position on defense on almost every play - except for a few outstanding individual plays. Sure I want to win a NC, but how about just winning a $%^&$# Bowl Game!
I am very impressed with the perceptiveness of mizzoumom!! She absolutely hit the nail on the head on several fronts! A by product of a questionable system and/or coaching is predictability and given a good amount of time to prepare is bad news for that program. It’s also very sad to hear about the “Fair Weather Fan” as well. This is especially true after the miserable experience that these players had to endure throughout this turbulent season. On a seperate note, I honestly believe that both DMAC and FJ would be best served by returning and showing versatility in another less predictable (more balanced) football program such as what they would face in the pro game.
Baby steps, folks, that’s what it will take from here. This is one to put behind us and for Petrino and crew to build on. I, too, was amused by ua65’s comments, especially regarding recruiting.
Petrino has already proven that he can find someone in just four days (Tyler Green out of Greenwood, 42 TD’s, 3,900+ yds. passing his senior yr. of hs) that wasn’t even on Nutt’s radar screen.
Unlike the former regime he replaces, I think Bobby Petrino knows the definition of the words, “frequent flyer miles,” and will look to make out of state NCAA coaches and their staffs VERY nervous, while shutting the Natural State’s borders. I just don’t see future Kodi Burns’ or Lee Ziemba’s leaving for other SEC playing pastures anytime soon.
I also think you’ll see Arkansas take a stance somewhat similar to Texas. Any player coming out of Arkansas you see on a depth chart for say a team like Ole Miss will be a leftover that the Hogs didn’t want.
Thankfully, I was in an area without coverage or access to the game.
Happily, in reading the box score last night, I was lucky enough to miss the debacle.
Hopefully, James Shibest will be closely involved with special teams and David Lee will show Jevan Snead, the 5 star drop back passer, how to run the option next year at Ole Miss.
Rightfully, utilizing a modern day offense with some time and recruiting, Bobby Petrino will eventually take the Razorbacks to a higher level.
Other predictions: i) in and out of state athletes will flock to UA to be a part of Petrino’s winning program, ii) the Razorbacks will do better than expected next season in what should be a “rebuilding” year, iii) Casey Dick will be hard pressed to remain a starter, iv) Petrino will get this team to a bowl game next year, and in the process, be amazed at the undying, state wide fan support. GO HOGS!
I’ve been watching the Hogs for 35 years and I can’t remember a worse prepared Razorback team. I am glad that James Shibest (although a great Hog) will not be coaching our special teams next year. They were by far the worst coached group of players. Never in my 35 years of watching have I been more scared on punt returns. It’s been one dropped punt after another ever since he’s had the job. I’m down but not out……LET’S GO HOGS!!!!!!
Really nice to hear my hog “brothers’ with reasonable irritation about this years’ football season and bowl, but optimistic thoughts and comments about our HOGS and new recruits for the near-term future under new Coach Petrino.
Go Coach Petrino! GO HOGS!
Football games are won with defense and the kicking game. Any would who is a serious student of the game knows that. In this era, people want to be entertained so a flashy offense is what people demand. That is fine as long as defense and the kicking game are majored upon. If you play good defense and have a sound kicking game you can push it down the field with your nose and find a way to score. That’s what General Neyland had in mind when he became the “father of Southern football” and turned out the largest ‘coaching nest’ known to man.
I am bowing out of this since I am far too itelligent on the subject of football to try and educate you folks who need a real job…or probably have one and are drawing pay from your employer while you sit at his computer and do this stuff.
Yes, ua65, you are very “itelligent”, “as any would who” knows.
Thanks very much, snurdley, for your edju-cation for us mere mortals.
You’re very welcome, Tex. Glad to educate you if its
possible.
The Greenwood quarterback “is not” major D-1 material. Take my word for it. He has not seen what it takes to play at that level. He is overrated..just as the Mustain kid was. Mustain will never get off the bench at USC. Petrino was high on Nathan Dick when he was at Louisville. Well, now he’s got him and Nathan is no better than his brother. Louisville is a different situation than UA and the SEC. Petrino is in the Big Leagues now… He was in the Big Leagues at Atlanta, couldn’t stand the heat and ran full speed out of the kitchen. Will he stick around when he finds the going tough at Fayetteville? Time will tell.
Long is learning and he has made a terrrible hire.
ua65, you’ve got some questions to answer. Check your e-mail.
ua65:
Wow dude, you are quite the optimist. The glass just may be half full, man. Although I share your views on Mitch Mustain, Bobby Petrino should have the benefit of a few years before anyone starts calling for his head. In my opinion, if he can win big at [a basketball oriented school] Louisville, he can win [big] in Fayetteville.
And by the way, his incoming and future recruiting classes will be considerably more than half full.
GO HOGS!
Robyn,
You’re doing a fine job of policing this blog. Keep it up.
ua65,
What planet do you live on? Last time I looked, Petrino had to face teams like Rutgers and West Virginia and took Louisville to a BCS Bowl. Schaino is doing wonders at Rutgers and in case you didn’t notice last night, WVU won with an interim (now head) coach at the helm. ‘87 was my graduation year on “The Hill.” What does 65 signify for you??
Put Rutgers and Louisville in the SEC and led them play that “Murderers Row” schedule and then tell me what fine programs they are.
ua65 - you seem to have alot of opinions as to what is wrong with the program, coaching staff and administration. Why don’t you tell us what is “right” with the state of UA athletics these days?? If you cannot think of anything (which is what I am expecting to hear), please enlighten the Hog punditry on what you feel needs to be done to “right the ship”. We are all on pins and needles awaiting your valuable insight and wisdom…..
ua65 sounds like it should be University of Alabama or University of Auburn. The comments definitely do not sound like they are coming from a real hog fan.
They sound like the comments of someone trying to keep the pot stirred, instead of someone wanting a unified fanbase.
Look for great things from Petrino!!
In response to ‘ohiohawg’ and ‘txctryhog’:
There is alot right with the program. That is just my point. What troubles me is that all of you guys, most of you I should say, want to slam the football coach and the Director of Athletics. The majority of you make Frank Broyles out to be a bumbling idiot. Do you guys not realize what a credit he was to that program up there and how well respected he is all over the country? “A unified Fan Base” seems to you guys like a group who is all together in slamming everything up there if things don’t always go right.
I will be the first to admit that a major mistake was made in hiring a high school coach and giving him a coordinator’s position right off the bat…and this was done with the purpose of recruiting an overrated quarterback…(who was not ready to play full time as a freshman in the SEC). Nutt was wrong to hire Gus for the purpose of recruiting. You guys were and are wrong in trying to elevate Gus Malzahn to “Savior
Status” all at once. Gus is a good coach and has a chance to be a good college coach some day. But, he did not “invent” that offense he runs. Barry Lunney, Sr.
ran that at Southside high years ago and that’s where Gus, who was in college at the time, saw it for the first time. Gus just happened to write a book about the offense and got national attention.
Yes, alot if right up there. !8 football victories in two years and a basketball team that has a chance to be real good…plus the best track and field program in the nation and a nationwide competitive baseball program.
Alot is right on “The Hill”.
Just don’t think Petrino is going to make it a recruiting hotbed by waving a wand. It won’t happen. Thanks for taking time to let me air.
ua65,
There is something significantly flawed in your comments - you won’t make it clear where you are located - you seem to be clandestine - and don’t make it clear where (location in the U.S. and Hog inclination) you are coming from - kind of “distant” remarks - like an ESPN operative (Who enjoys digging at the Hogs program and the Arkansas fans).
If you are still trying to make a point FOR Nutt - He’s GONE - and he’s now definitely the enemy!
As for Coach Broyles, I like and liked what he has done for Arkansas - he helped to win a lot of games at Arkansas with his coaching skills, he has garnered a great deal of respect for the Arkansas sports programs, he has placed and mentored a lot of top-notch coaches across the nation’s NCAA programs - he has garnered a LOT of personal attention and awards - he has become a symbol and icon for sports to many people across the U.S., but, as he will plainly tell you - he was able to accomplish these things because of his successes at U.of Arkansas (Great History and Great sports records). Frank should have groomed someone to take his place and didn’t. He let this latest Arkansas coaching problem (Before Petrino) continue - it was easier to just pass the problem on to the next AD. Now Frank, at 83, has a really cushy job and can sit back and relax while being part of the Arkansas program and act in his capacity as an ambassador with Golf promotions nationwide. Good for him - but let’s let the new blood take over and produce and prosper at Arkansas. Good Luck and Many Thanks, Frank.
I know that I don’t like your style - and superiority complex.
You have a right to voice comments but to turn around and have opposing critical comments for and to most every Hog fan, on these posts, whom have made it CLEAR that they are talking with pride as HOG Fans! - then, balderdash, piffle, and hokum! to you.
Clear it up where you are REALLY coming from and your comments will make sense - otherwise, you are a quack! Quack, quack! We (Hogs and Fans) will do fine with or without you.
GO Coach Petrino! Go Hogs!
I still want to know who decided to outfit our Football players with the RED PANTS It is major bad luck!!!
Can Someone give me an answer?
Also, Will someone please inform Coach Petrino how important it is for us to BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF TEXAS NEXT SEASON.
The Future is bright!
Can’t wait for next season in our BRAVE NEW WORLD.
For my part - I never was a fan of the Gus hiring and was truly disappointed with the circus that followed. It was too much of a risk to place as many eggs in the basket as what occured with him and his Springdale recruits.
ua65 - in hindsight who did you support and would have classified as a “good hire” to replace the fractured Nutt regime?
Unfortunately, I was at the Cotton Bowl sitting and freezing in the shade of the upper deck.
I am NOT a fan of Casey Dick but he was under constant harrassment.
As for D-Mac, every time he got the ball, opposing players were all over him. These were the same plays off which I have seen him eat up chunks of yardage this season.
What happened can not be blamed on Casey Dick nor McFadden nor any other PLAYER. I personally think all the blame lies at the feet of the coaches we had left after Nutt departed. I also blame this on the administration because they need to share part of the blame for the way Nutt’s departure was handled.
Who ever heard of coaches working for 2 rival schools at the same time as these coaches were first permitted to do. As had been said, who can serve two masters? They are human beings and there is no way all of their thoughts were with this game. No one will ever convince me of that.
THEY were very prepared for Arkansas. As for the HOGS, I am not sure they showed up. Also, I would love to hear what “our” coaches did to adjust to Mizzou during the game because I must have missed it as did the Arkansas players. Our kids deserved more from the coaching staff than they got.
It seems everytime they looked like they were turing it around, they shot themselves in the foot and turned it back.
As for Frank Broyles, like D-Mack, we at Arkansas should be so lucky as to have another one like either of them. I doubt it will ever happen again unfortunately.
Don’t get me wrong, Broyles has done plenty to upset me over the years since I was at the UofA in the 60’s but he has certainly done more for the program than anyone on record.
Some HOG fan sitting behind me at the Cotton Bowl summed it up for all of us HOG fans there. He commented that it would be nice for all of us to see just one long run from McFadden especially since it was probably his last Razorback game.
For us older HOG fans,especially those of us living in the Dallas area, this was very special. Many memories of the old SWC,playing in the Cotton Bowl, Frank Broyles there, even Pat Summerall doing the announcing. For those of you unaware,Pat was a great kicker at U of A before having a great pro career. And, this was the next to last Cotton Bowl game that will be played in the actual original stadium since Jerry Jones has succeeded in getting it moved to his new stadium after next year.
Except for the score, this game was more Arkansas involved than anyone could have planned at the beginning of the year.
Petrino is not a GOD so I don’t expect a lot from him but I do expect us to at least compete his first year. Now, after he has had time to install his system and do some of his recruiting, I expect to at least be as consistant as Auburn,Florida,Tennessee, or even LSU.
I might point out, all of these schools have had down years plenty of times. Look at Phil Fulmer. He was about to get fired but he had more than a winning season based on anything about a 500 year.
Coaching,especially in the SEC, has to be one horendous nightmare even though they all do make very big bucks for doing so.
Win or lose, I am and will always be a Razorback fan. I have been thru the ups and downs and I wish we had more die-hard fans who supported the team and kept their mouth shut with all the negativity that hurts the program. And,yes, that does include the media.
GO HOGS !!!!!
Alhough I [thankfully] missed the game in Dallas, as a fellow Texan, well said 44. With Petrino and some time, the UA will rise again. GO HOGS!
Ditto texan44
My reply to ‘razorbackintexas’:
First of all you ask me to tell you where I live and vital personal information. I don’t feel that it’s necessary for me to do that. Robyn Green has assured me that my
comments are as welcome as yours.
Now, as far as where I am coming from as far as the Razoback program. I will, once again, try to explain.
I grew up in Memphis and my job took me to Western Arkansas for 37 years. I, due to family illness, have retired and settled back in Memphis area(north Mississippi.)
For the first 21 years of my life I was an Ole Miss fan.
But, while living in Arkansas for all those years and having access to press passes and closeness to the Razoback program, it was easy for me to evolve into a Razorback fan without even realizing the change that had taken place. I loved and still love the Razorbacks.
I followed them throught the final 8 years of Broyles, all of HoltZ, all of Hatfiled (whome I blame for their current problems), the Crowe, Kines, and Ford years, and all of the Houston Nutt era. I have watched the UA struggle in recruiting (especially since joining the SEC) due to those three factors:Location, Location, and Location. You and I all know what a great area and booming area Northwest Arkansas is. Rival coaches don’t want kids to know that. Recruiting is still tough and it want change for Bobby Petrino.
My anger with the situation is not entirely with the program. My anger is with the powers that be on the Hill bowing down to a small group of fans that wanted to blame all of their problems and whatever there plight in life on Houston Dale Nutt. Sure, he made some mistakes, but everything that happended on the Hill was not his fault. He and his staff won 18 ball games the past two seasons. He and his family were treated like lowly dirt. That is what angers me more than anything. The fact that Chancellor White and the board let the minority rule the majority (sounds like the good ole USA doesn’t it). Houston Nutt deserved better than he got. He’s a good football coach and a better man.
In reference to Hatfield: He left them high and dry. He tired to blame Coach Broyles for all his trouble (He really had no troubles). Hatfield, like Nutt, was slammed by a group of fans who wanted the excitement of wide open offense and would glady sacrifice wins for the entertaining offense.
But for Hatfield to leave without ever seeing the place he left for and intentionally hurt the UA (his alma mater)did not line up with all his holy claims to a near perfect life that he claimed to be living. I also am a christian but I can assure you that I, by a long shot, am not perfect. Neither was and is Ken Hatfield and neither was and is Houston NUtt.
‘razorback in texas’…I hope that explains “where I’m
coming from” as you put it. Like I owed you and explanation or something.
Have a great day. Excuse misspelled words. I was in a hurry since I do have a part time real job. Ha!.
Hear hear ua65. I tend to agree with much of what you just described! I cringed at hearing all of the laughing going on up here in Big Ten Country where I live (but don’t embrace) when Mama Mustain and the other belly achers went up on the hill because they didn’t agree with the way the football program was keeping their precious offspring from gaining individual profs thus future NFL consideration (obviously). I got similar laughs from pics of the airplanes circling the stadium saying to fire HDN (how absolutely pathetic and childish). All I can say , is those “few” got their wish (minus the return of most of the Fab Springdalers and the almighty Gus). Best to keep the traps shut for a while, let the football program run as it will and hope for the best!!
Thanks, Ohiohawg. Its good to know that someone on this site more or less agrees with what I have been trying to say. It is not necessary for people to agree with me…but at least I know someone else out there basically feels the way I do and I am not ‘crying in the wilderness’.
Just because I don’t feel the same as others on this site does not mean I am not for the Razorbacks. I am for them VERY MUCH..but I am also realistic.
[...] suggested … the slophouse - Last Updated - Sunday January 20 Request a Trackback Arkansas Cotton Bowl Notes DALLAS — Like his teammate, Darren McFadden, Arkansas junior running back Felix Jones was [...]