The Blog Hawgs

Arkansas Sports & Other Stuff

Posts Tagged ‘John L. Smith’

« Previous Entries

Blog Hawgs Twitter Style College Football Weekend Preview–10/26/12

Posted by Adam Butler on October 26, 2012

It’s Rebel Black Bear Week and we aren’t sure what to do with ourselves. Mississippi has a competent coach.

Arkansas’ modest 2-game winning streak hasn’t really stirred much excitement in a fan base that is just waiting on the next head coach to be named so it can work up a good mad.

There are a handful of intriguing games across the nation this week, but nothing spectacular. We will nevertheless forge ahead with the Blog Hawgs Twitter Style College Football Weekend Preview.

The only rules for this column are that the fake user names can’t be longer than 15 characters (but may or may not be registered, already), the Tweets cannot exceed 140 characters, and I have to end each one with a smarmy hash tag.

Let’s get to the 140-character nuggets of goodness.

Cincinnati at Louisville:  @Butchmade: This Fri. game may be a loser leave the Arkansas Coaching Search Match #GoRed!GoBlack!Go Bearcats!Fight!Fight!Fight!

Tennessee at South Carolina: @HungryHipBroke:  The Ole Ball Coach vs. a Soon-to-Be Former Ball Coach #RockyFlop

Texas at Kansas: @SorryCharlie: Even the Longhorns D will handle Can’tsas. #WeisisDas?Kaput

Kentucky at Missouri: @WeToldYouSo: A Joker v. A Smoker #DGBIsGonnaGetYouHigh-phenatedToday

Mississippi at Arkansas: @JohnLLLLSmith: Mississippi has improved, but don’t forget the Rebel Black Bears have added the same # of silly mascots as SEC wins in the last 17 games. #freetheLandShark

Colorado at Oregon: @Buffaloes,Hello: Oregon is a whopping 45.5 point favorite and the Ducks could cover it if CU had a 5th down. #oneverypossession

Florida at Georgia: @UGhA: Richt needs a big win in the World’s Largest Cocktail Party to soothe the ever-anxious Bulldog fans. #ItsaRuffCrowd

Texas Tech at Kansas St.: @Tommy Boy: If Tuberville can take a bite out of the Little Apple, he may be Calling the Hogs in December. #JimGrobeagreesthatwecoulddomuchworse

USCW at Arizona: @TusconPoint: Lane Kiffin is due for an unexpected bed soiling. #Big&RichRod

Kent St. at Rutgers: @FloodAlert: Remember when Arkansas’ loss to the Scarlet Knights was embarrassing? #NoSchianoNoProblem

Michigan St. at Wisconsin @WarmMilk: These teams are geared up for the World’s Largest Outdoor Sleep Study. #firstteamwithaTDwins

TCU at Oklahoma St. @EskimoJoe’s: Fort Worth v. Net Worth. #CouldGarybeJeffLong’sAceintheHole?

Texas A&M at Auburn: @ByeGene: Chizik is 16-17, 7-14 without Cam Newton at AU. #FamilyFallIn

Notre Dame at Oklahoma: @HeisMantiTe’o?: I’ve never rooted for ND. I have now. #justthisonce

Michigan at Nebraska: @TMagicShoelaces: Brady Hoke is excited about being so close to an infinite supply of high fructose corn syrup. #inhisownpantry

Mississippi St. at Alabama: @Scantron: This is MSU’s first test and it won’t be Saved By The Cowbell in Tuscaloosa. #undefeatedseasoncomestoaScreechinghalt

Oregon St. at Washington: @SparkSark: Sark needs a win. He was a hot name but may soon be on the hot seat. #puttheWbackinUW

Posted in Commentary, Sports | Tagged: , , , , | 4 Comments »

BlogHawgs Razorback Rewind–Free Fallin’ Edition

Posted by Adam Butler on September 24, 2012

In hopes of making a fresh start, the reeling Arkansas Razorbacks eagerly welcomed the return of injured All-SEC quarterback Tyler Wilson and turned back the clock by donning white helmets Saturday night at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

But, thanks in large part to a green secondary and a continuing pattern of committing costly mental errors the Hogs were again left red-faced after falling 35-26 to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights of the Big East Conference in front of a near sellout crowd.

Arkansas (1-3, 0-1) became the first preseason Top 10 Team to lose 3 September games since Alabama did so in 2000.

With road trips to College Station and Auburn on the horizon, the Razorbacks are staring at a 1-5 start and, given the preseason expectations and coaching staff uncertainty are in the midst of a Season of Discontent unlike any in program history.

What We Saw:

–Once again, Arkansas couldn’t get out of its own way.

Off to a promising start fueled by the first TD catch in a record-setting night from wide receiver Cobi Hamilton (who had  3 touchdowns and a SEC single-game record 303 yards receiving) Arkansas led 10-0 early in the 2nd quarter and held Rutgers to a field goal after the Scarlet Knights had driven to the Arkansas 11-yard line.

The rare defensive stop was a jolt to a beleaguered Arkansas defense, particularly since it came after Rutgers extended the drive by converting a 4th-and-2 at their own 33-yard line with a trick play in a punting situation.

Unfortunately, as has been the case all season, prosperity was fleeting for the Hogs. UA defensive tackle DeDe Jones was ruled offsides on Kyle Federico’s 32-yard field goal attempt.

First-year Rutgers coach Kyle Flood tempted fate by taking points off of the board and was rewarded when the floodgates opened and Arkansas’ porous defense succumbed to the Scarlet Knights and quarterback Gary Nova, who was nearly flawless from that point forward going 25-35 and posting an eye-popping 397 yards passing and 5 TDs.

–Rutgers targeted freshman cornerback Will Hines and senior linebacker/safety Ross Rasner and had its way with them. I understand that senior cornerback Darius Winston has been a major disappointment during his Razorback career, but to continue to leave Hines in the game Saturday night well after it was clear he was a complete liability was a major coaching error.

Unless Winston was injured or in the doghouse for disciplinary reasons, he should have been given a shot in the 2nd half Saturday night. Hines was an easy mark and Rutgers abused him repeatedly.

–Arkansas’ offensive line was impotent again. The Razorbacks’ first play from scrimmage spoke volumes about the problems the unit has had this season and would again have Saturday night. When attacked by two Rutgers defenders on the edge of the line of scrimmage, Arkansas tackle David Hurd, a former walkon, took on neither defender, and instead blocked down. The result was a sack and another avoidable bump for Wilson (Hurd was also penalized twice on the night).

Later, with Arkansas down 11 points late in the 4th quarter and desperately needing a touchdown, Rutgers blitzed a safety from 20 yards off of the line of scrimmage. Arkansas center Travis Swanson spotted the blitz and received help from a running back to pick it up, but the blitzer still managed to bull rush Swanson and company and disrupt Wilson, resulting in a key incompletion.

–Arkansas freshman wide receiver Mekale McKay had a night to forget. First, he dropped a touchdown pass in middle of the 3rd quarter that would have drawn the Razorbacks to within 4 points of Rutgers (instead they had to settle for a FG and a 21-13 deficit).

Then, with Arkansas down 28-13 with 20 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, McKay ran a lazy route, failed to finish it, and rewarded Wilson’s confidence in him (Wilson gave him a 1-on-1 shot for a touchdown minutes after his huge TD drop) by failing to compete for a risky Red Zone pass and gift-wrapping an interception for Rutgers’ Logan Ryan.

What We Didn’t See:

–A supposed team strength, Arkansas’ defensive ends were terrible Saturday night. Chris Smith put up a goose egg–zero tackles–and Trey Flowers wasn’t much better. Flowers had just 2 tackles–including the sack he was credited for on a Rutgers intentional grounding penalty. Rutgers ran 74 offensive plays and threw the ball 35 times.

–Arkansas’ commitment to the running game seems to last only as long as its first unsuccessful drive.

The Razorback brain trust is failing the team by not getting Dennis Johnson more touches. He only had 6 carries Saturday, but averaged 7.8 yards per carry for a team that again struggled mightily to run the ball. For the season, Johnson is averaging 6.7 yards per carry but has only been given the ball 22 times.

What You May Not Have Seen:

Even when things seem to go right for Arkansas interim head coach John L. Smith, they eventually go horribly wrong. With his team down 9 points and facing a 4th-and-10 from its own 48-yard line with just over 6 minutes left in the game, Smith made the head-scratching decision to punt and place his confidence in a Hog defense that was hemorrhaging points.

Dylan Breeding’s ensuing punt was downed at the Rutgers 1-yard line by Arkansas special teamer, former backup placekicker and 2012 team MVP Cameron Bryan (I am sort of kidding, but the season has been so bad that I could make the argument).

A play later, Arkansas looked to be in business when it hemmed Rutgers’ Jawan Jamison into his own endzone and looked poised to record a safety that would have cut the deficit to 7 points and given Arkansas the ball back with good field position and plenty of time on the clock to drive for a game-tying TD.

If you are reading this you already know that Jamison bounced to the outside for 24 yards and effectively ended the game. What you may not have noticed were the reasons Jamison was able to do so.

First (and foremost) Arkansas defensive tackle Robert Thomas, who had blown the play up by bolting into the backfield, was blatantly held. He was unable to make the tackle because both of his arms were wrapped up by a Rutgers lineman.

A few feet away, UA defensive end Trey Flowers was held, too, as he attempted to pursue from the backside. Additionally, Hines overpursued and was blocked in the back, setting the edge for Jamison.

I am well aware that the preceding paragraph reads like sour grapes. It isn’t. Arkansas’ defense was awful all night. Period.

But, the non-calls on this particular play were equally brutal. Chris Smith and Hines compounded the officiating errors with poor technique as both bit inside rather than maintaining containment.

If Smith had done his job, he would have tallied a key safety in spite of the non-calls. Instead, he took a selfish false step and missed a chance to step up big for his team and help it overcome poor officiating on a key play in the game.

What We Hope To See Next Week:

Arkansas desperately needs to find a way to pull an upset at Texas A&M. To do so, the Hogs will have to come up with an answer for freshman phenom and dual threat Johnny Manziel, who is more talented than the quarterbacks that the Hogs have turned into seemingly Heisman-caliber signal callers so far this season.

The Razorbacks defined 2011 with their effort against TAMU and they could begin to redefine their imploding 2012 season with a rousing, completely unexpected win in hostile territory Saturday morning at Kyle Field.

Posted in Commentary, Sports | Tagged: , , , , | 12 Comments »

Arkansas: A State of Disarray

Posted by Brett Kincaid on September 17, 2012

Entering the 2008 football season, Arkansas fans merely wanted to win more than we lost. After a dismal end to the Houston Nutt Era in Fayetteville, Bobby Petrino was hired and presented with a monumental task. We asked him to take a program spiraling to the bottom of the SEC – devoid of talent at multiple positions – and stop its descent. The expectation was that he would do just that and create a program built to compete for titles. While the Hogs finished 2008 with a 5-7 record, just two seasons later he did it – Arkansas had a team ready to compete for SEC and BCS championships. The 2012 Hogs were supposed to be the team that could finally get Arkansas over its 47-year drought and win a national championship.

Instead, athletic director Jeff Long is faced with finding a new miracle worker.

Arkansas has 9 more games on its schedule, and none of them look like walks in the park. Rutgers arrives in Fayetteville next weekend off a Thursday night road win. They have more time to heal and prepare for their first foray into SEC country in the BCS era. After that it’s back-to-back road trips at Texas A&M and Auburn. Neither of those teams looks like world beaters. Of course, neither does Arkansas. John L. Smith and his coaching staff have enormous challenges facing them this week, and those only grow with another disappointing performance this weekend. With his confused, rambling press conferences one has to wonder if John L. Smith has the ability to rally this team on any level.

Petrino drove his career, marriage, and Razorback football into a ditch.

On several levels it really is hard to believe this is happening. An ill-conceived relationship, a motorcycle accident, and – the capper – multiple lies to his boss all forced Bobby Petrino out the door. A short-term hire designed to keep as much continuity as possible in the program has backfired, and now the Razorbacks face the bleak prospect of merely fighting to make the postseason. With how far and fast the program has fallen, I have to wonder whether or not the last 2 years have been a mirage. Is it possible that Arkansas had a “soft” 21-5 record in Petrino’s final two years? With the startling lack of talent & depth on defense and confused offensive system, I believe that’s a question worth asking.

In the blink of an eye, the Razorbacks program has gone from national relevance to conference irrelevance. The long-held belief was that when Bobby Petrino left Arkansas – and we all knew he would at some point – the program would at least be in better position than it was when he found it. Looking at the current state of the program, that belief may be hard to defend. The fan base has growing fractures, there is in-fighting amongst major boosters, and the talent level does not appear to reflect that of a contending program. Sounds a lot like 2007, doesn’t it? I certainly believed that the Arkansas head coaching job would be a very appealing one, able to tempt the most discerning of coaches. I now fear that may have been an overly optimistic assessment.

Jeff Long has 10 more weeks to scout talent and gauge interest. I certainly hope John L. Smith finds a way to turn things around and create a 10-win team. The problem, of course, is that is about as likely as Smith keeping the job even if he did manage a 9-game winning streak. Even with a healthy Tyler Wilson calling the shots on offense, it’s hard to imagine the Razorbacks re-emerging in 2012 as a team worthy of national relevance.

As a fan, it’s hard to feel anything other than enormous disappointment right now. Those emotions, for me, have quickly been followed by anger, humiliation, and hopelessness. Today, on another dreary day in Arkansas that reflects the mood of Razorback Nation, marks the unofficial beginning of the Who’s the Next Razorbacks Head Coach season. We asked in the preseason whether or not John L. Smith was the right hire. The only thing that unites Razorbacks fans right now is our collective, unanimous response: No. He was not the right hire. Jeff Long cannot afford to make that same mistake in December. The stakes have never been higher.

Posted in Sports | Tagged: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Fight or Flight?

Posted by Adam Butler on September 12, 2012

While the College Football World is clamoring to stick a fork in the 2012 Arkansas Razorbacks after their historic 34-31 overtime loss to 30-point underdog Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday in Little Rock, the program has reached a fork in the road.

Just four (4) days (or about 88 hours) ago, Arkansas was a Top 10 team in the eyes of most college football pundits–a team with a legitimate chance to knock of the #1-ranked, defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide this Saturday in Fayetteville.

One of the most calamitous games in college football history changed all that.

Arkansas is suddenly seen as a pretender, again–a tough pill to swallow for a frustrated and long self-deprecating fan base that has responded to the shock of the loss by resorting to cyberspace cannibalism.

But has this Arkansas program changed that much from the last few seasons, particularly if Paul Petrino can prove that the gag reflex he exhibited Saturday was an aberration?

The first two games of the 2012 season suggest that this edition of the Arkansas Razorbacks is one with a potentially lethal offense that is struggling to consistently protect its quarterback and run the football. On the other side of the ball, Arkansas has been solid up front thus far, but weak in the back 7.

Couldn’t the same have been said of the Hogs on September 12, 2011, September 12, 2010 and September 12, 2009.

I pose the question not to sugarcoat the Hogs’ current depressing plight, but to examine whether the loss of Tyler Wilson, the God-Awful playcalling and clock management of Paul Petrino and the deer-in-the headlights 4th quarter from backup QB Brandon Allen last Saturday has caused Arkansas fans and the College Football World in general to overcorrect in reformulating their opinion of the Hogs.

We will find out soon enough because Saturday’s showdown with Bama will be a “Fight or Flight” situation for the Hogs.

Will Arkansas fight tooth-and-nail to take down the Crimson Tide or will the Hogs mentally check out and flee from the threat by laying down at the first sign of adversity? For that matter, which path will the Hogs’ home (un?)faithful take?

A lathered up home crowd can make a huge difference in the college game. Just ask Bama. In 2010, the Crimson Tide was steamrolled in Columbia by an inferior South Carolina team led by the mercurial Stephen Garcia.

On that day, the Gamecocks played inspired football before a raucous sellout crowd and slapped then undefeated, defending national champion Alabama with its first regular season loss in over two years (just a week after Bama had thumped Florida 31-6).

The Hogs will need a similar atmosphere Saturday in Reynolds Razorback Stadium to pull off what would suddenly be a stunner.

If sports talk radio, internet message boards, and the blogosphere are any indication, that need may be left unfulfilled.

And that’s too bad. These Razorbacks deserve better–much better.

The Arkansas roster is filled with guys who have fought back from unbelievable adversity in each of the last few years and provided us with some great memories.

They didn’t ask to have to bury a brother or for their coach to end up in a ditch.

They couldn’t have foreseen their unquestioned field general, quarterback Tyler Wilson would go down with a head injury, or their budding All-Star cornerback would be strapped to a back board and staring at potential paralysis, all in relatively short order.

But, rather than rallying around them, Razorback fans are jumping off the Hogs’ bandwagon en masse. Shame on you.

Some of these Razorbacks passed up millions of dollars to come back and play in games like the one they will play in on Saturday. Many of them have proven to be fighters when things have looked bleak (the Texas A&M and Vandy games from last year come to mind).

That’s why I am not ready to count the Razorbacks out for all of 2012 , just yet.

The Hogs have too much invested in this season to just lie down. They spent the entire offseason telling anyone who would listen that this is the same type of team that has gone 21-5 the last 2 seasons. Now is their chance to prove it.

While they may, I don’t expect the Razorbacks to win Saturday. To predict a victory for a 3-touchdown underdog would be foolish.

Wilson is not yet cleared to play. The Hogs’ secondary is depleted and their linebackers are a step slow. Too many question marks remain to confidently predict an Arkansas victory Saturday based on anything other than blind loyalty.

But, I do expect the Razorbacks to play much better and flip the script on the season.

The W/L record doesn’t have a column for moral victories, and it shouldn’t.

However, a valiant effort could give the Hogs a shot at a watershed victory or at least reestablish this team’s footing and pave the way for the type of long win streak that has highlighted the last few seasons.

In order to do that, the Razorbacks and their fans will have to resist the urge to curl up into the fetal position at the sight of mighty Alabama Saturday, and, instead, heed the command of a familar song and………fight….fight…..Fiiight! 

Get ready, Hog fans.

Posted in Sports | Tagged: , , , , , | 14 Comments »

It Will Be a Bad Season If…

Posted by Adam Butler on September 1, 2012

This is the 30th in our series 30 Thoughts on Razorback Football in 30 Days leading up to the 2012 Kickoff.

It was an easy decision, really. Brett and I decided early in Fall camp to eventually wrap up our series of 3o posts on the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 30 days leading to the kickoff of the Hogs’ 2012 season with a breakdown of what we thought would constitute a Good or Bad season for the Razorbacks.

I agreed to wear the Black Hat.

It was a no-brainer.

It’s not that I try to be a pessimist. I come by it naturally.

When the topic is potential pain and heartache, I am a soothsayer. Forget the “glass half empty” tag. I’m a “I just ordered a $15 drink and my glass fell off of the table and shattered” guy.

So, consider the above as a fair warning. This isn’t going to be a post for the faint of heart. It is my “worst case scenario”.

While in many ways this post will be the polar opposite of Brett’s fine and arguably as plausible “It Will Be a Good Season If…” post from yesterday, I dug his 4-quarter format so I am co-oping.

Hardcore Hog fans might want to lock away all of the sharp objects within arm’s length.

OK? Here we go…..

It Will Be a Bad Season If…

First Quarter

  • v. Jacksonville State
  • v. UL – Monroe (Little Rock)
  • v. Alabama

As I explained earlier this month, even I can’t talk myself into any hand-wringing over the possibility of former Arkansas Head Coach Jack Crowe coming full circle and Citadeling the Hogs with a FCS team 20 years after notching the worst loss in Razorback history. That was before I was told the mini Gamecocks’ defensive starters will include 3 walkons. Arkansas should win handily.

The following week, Arkansas will head to Little Rock to take on the University of Louisiana Monroe. The War Hawks are no slouch, they have a phenomenal nickname and Arkansas will undoubtedly be looking ahead to its Top Ten showdown (with ESPN’s “Gameday” on hand in the Ozarks) the following week.

But even in a “Bad Season” scenario, these Hogs are too good to lose to a Sun Belt foe. The Hogs will sleep walk through a 30-point win, clearing the path for one of the toughest tickets in Razorback history.

As we know all too well, Arkansas doesn’t just lose The Big One, it builds up the anticipation of a monumental win to a fever pitch and then rips our hearts out with a salad fork. This time, Arkansas will build an early 2-touchdown lead with Tyler Wilson and Cobi Hamilton hooking up for a few big plays exploiting Bama’s talented, but inexperienced defense.

But then, interim Arkansas Head Coach John L. Smith, a renowned special teams guru who has also been known to try anything once, will dial up an ill-fated (and unnecessary) “go for the jugular” onside kick that will fail, turning The Tide. From there, Bama will methodically wear down Arkansas’ defense throughout the 2nd half, ultimately prevailing 28-24.

At the end of the First Quarter of the season, Arkansas should have a 2-1 record and countless questions about the onside kick that will live in infamy.

Second Quarter

  • v. Rutgers
  • at Texas A&M
  • at Auburn

If this group of Hogs has proven anything, it is that they are able to shake off tough losses and refocus on the remainder of the season. They did it in 2010–with a 10-win campaign and BCS Bowl bid after giving away their tilt with Bama and having their game with Auburn taken from them.

Last year, the Razorbacks again looked to be in a world of hurt after being humbled in Tuscaloosa and “whoop”ed for 2 quarters by the Texas A&M Aggies the following week in Jerry World. They responded with a comeback for the ages that was the catalyst for a 7-game winning streak.

Similarly, the 2nd and 3rd quarters of the 2012 season should be Mother’s Milk for the Hogs. Sure, Rutgers could be a trap game. But, Greg Schiano isn’t walking through that door. The Scarlet Knights are a solid Big East Team (yes, that’s an oxymoron) but the Razorbacks have worked too hard and suffered through a much too tumultuous offseason to Piscataway a shot at a dream season in Week 4.

The Hogs will beat the Scarlet Knights, but it will be too close for comfort. From there, a 2-game road trip awaits the Razorbacks. BK has already detailed TAMU’s surprisingly tepid recent homefield advantage. What he didn’t mention is that the Aggies are transitioning to a 4-3 defense and they don’t have the tackles to match their new SEC brethren.

By Week 5, A&M should be riding high with a favorable early schedule and the ear-to-ear smile of the blissfully ignorant. And then, Arkansas’ Knile Davis will channel E.D “Extremely Dangerous” Jackson and have a record-setting outing at Kyle Field leading the Hogs’ to an easier-than-expected, double-digit win in College Station.

Arkansas will than head to the Plains knowing that if they can take down the War Damn Eagle Tigers they will still have all of their preseason goals intact. It won’t be easy. With a tough early schedule that could easily have Auburn sitting at 1-3 with Arkansas coming to town, Auburn will have 180,000 reasons to want to take down the Hogs.

But Kiehl Frazier will continue his virtuoso performance as a Kodi Burns imposter, leading to an Arkansas win. ESPN cameras will catch Frazier’s father mumbling profanities in the stands while wearing his “Malibu’s Most Wanted” Starter Kit– A white AU track/warm up suit (ie parachute pants) and matching backward lid.

Heading into the 3rd Quarter of the season, Arkansas should be 5-1 and with a manageable slate of games on the horizon, eyeing another sprint to the finish.

Third Quarter

  • v. Kentucky
  • v. Ole Miss (Little Rock)
  • v. Tulsa (Homecoming)

At this point in the schedule, Arkansas won’t have to worry too much about Big Blue. Even the UK football players will be looking ahead to basketball season.

Mississippi is so bad that its new coach, Hugh Freeze, when asked at SEC Media Days to compare his roster to the one he just left at Sun Belt Conference member Arkansas State, essentially said the Red Wolves were deeper and more talented than the Rebel Black Bears. (FILL IN STRAINED FREEZE/ICY OXFORD RECEPTION FOR THOSE COMMENTS JOKE HERE)

Tulsa will put points on the board in Reynolds Razorback Stadium–they always do. But TU”s defense wouldn’t run afoul of the rules in a standard flag football game. Arkansas should score at will and roll on to its 6th straight win and an 8-1 record at the end of the 3rd Quarter of the season.

Fourth Quarter

  • at South Carolina
  • at Mississippi State
  • v. LSU

By the 10th week of the season, the chances of USCE QB Conner Shaw being healthy (either physically or mentally) after taken a ton of hits to his body from opponents and even more to his psyche from the Ole Ball Coach are slim. If healthy, Gamecocks runningback Marcus Lattimore will be a major threat to an Arkansas defense that has struggled in the past with downhill runners.

But if Arkansas has had one team’s number in recent years it has been USCE. Arkansas is 7-3 in its last 10 versus South Carolina. In the last 3 contests with the Gamecocks, Arkansas, in going 3-0, has averaged 39 points a game and has boasted an 18-point margin of victory over Steve Spurrier and company.

Ellis Johnson, (a top-notch defensive coordinator against almost everyone not named Petrino) has moved on, but his protegé’ and former Arkansas assistant Lorenzo Ward has been on hand for the previous beat downs and there’s little reason to think he has more of any answer for the Hogs’ offensive assault than he has had in the past. The trend should continue and if so the Hogs will beat the ‘Cocks to notch their 2nd 7-game winning streak in as many seasons.

You must be asking…..”This is a bad season?” I get that.

At 9-1 with 2 of the leading Heisman candidates and a quirky quote machine of an interim coach, Arkansas will be one of the big stories of the college football season. All that will stand in the way of a date with destiny–a Top 5 matchup with LSU to end the season and crown a SEC Western Division (and a potential 2nd 2012 Fayetteville visit from ESPN’s Gameday) will be a scrappy bunch of Mississippi State Bulldogs and their cow bell-ringing fans.

THIS is when the Starkville will hit the fan in Arkansas’ 2012 season.

With 7 or 8 wins and a walk-over Egg Bowl against Mississippi remaining on his schedule, MSU head coach Dan Mullen will be extra amped to finish strong and pave the way for an exit stage left in advance of NCAA investigators and their wacky new old “heads or tails” infractions investigative approach.

Arkansas will struggle from start to finish and will be left with a myriad of “What Ifs”–chief among them a 38-yard missed field goal from sure-footed placekicker Zack Hocker that would have sent the game to overtime.

In the wake of the disastrous loss, Arkansas, Smith and all of the Razorbacks will say the right things about sending the seniors out on the right note and still having a lot–namely The Golden Boot–to play for against LSU.

But talk is cheap, and a group of guys can only bounce back from so many gut-punch losses on the big stage. A raucous Razorback Stadium will fall silent early when LSU’s Les Miles goes for a 4th-and-long conversion from near midfield and Tigers wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. takes a slant to the house after eluding Arkansas cornerback Darius Winston. LSU will never look back, vanquishing the Hogs 48-16 and sending them to the most disappointing 9-3 season in school history.

Overtime

After playing in the Cotton Bowl last year, and re-upping to make the annual trek to Jerry World to play TAMU every year (again) beginning in 2014, the Razorbacks will be sent to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech and its throwback offense in the Chick Fil A Bowl.

With a homefield advantage and a half-hearted opponent, Ga Tech will put an end to the John L. Smith era at Arkansas with a blowout win that will have national pundits wondering if Arkansas really was the plum job it seemed to be just a few weeks earlier when the Hogs were 2 wins away from playing for the 2nd National Championship in school history.

And that, BlogHawgs Nation, is how a 9-win season could be a “bad” season.

With no marquee win (ie neither Bama or LSU) this would be a a bad season considering where Arkansas has been, the opportunity it has (in terms of personnel, staff and schedule) and the potential step back with the national perception of program

If Arkansas’ gridiron journey of hope and would-be redemption turns south in such a gut-wrenching manner that only a tortured Hog fans can understand, in some ways, 2012 will be a season of misery.

But remember, this was a “worst case scenario”.

Let’s just hope the Football Gods don’t hate us that much.

Posted in Commentary, Sports | Tagged: , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

What Others Think of the Hogs

Posted by Brett Kincaid on August 24, 2012

This is the 22nd in our series 30 Thoughts About Razorback Football in 30 Days leading up to the 2012 Kickoff.

Let’s take a moment to see what others have to say about Razorback football this season. Leading things off we turn to CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson who sat down with starting quarterback Tyler Wilson for an extended preseason interview.


Sticking with CBS, they predict another strong season for the Hogs but not as strong as many of us would like. Arkansas enters the season at #11 in their poll. In house guru Jerry Palm predicts another Cotton Bowl visit for Arkansas in January. They pick up on a familiar theme:

The key will be how the defense performs. It looked good in the win over Kansas State, when new coordinator Paul Haynes took over. But it gave up a generous 167-yards-per-game rushing for the year.

“We know that to be a champion, in the past, all national champions have really stopped the run very well,” said linebacker Tenarius Wright, who spent last year at defensive end. “That’s our goal, to be able to stop the run and limit the big plays in the passing game.”

Over at the worldwide leader, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach examines the unique blend of attitude and football smarts John L. Smith brings to the table as Arkansas’s new head coach. According to Smith, he is eager to take on this season.

Like most everything else in his life, Smith has jumped headfirst into his latest challenge and expects to conquer it.

“Our football team has great expectations,” Smith said. “We know what we have to do. We have one goal and that’s to win in Miami and to be in the national championship game.”

ESPN.com also does a nice job of detailing the depth of high quality quarterbacks currently in the SEC. Arkansas’s Tyler Wilson leads the list, but there are several others – led by Aaron Murray of Georgia – that have elevated their games.

“This is always going to be known as a defensive league,” said Arkansas senior quarterback Tyler Wilson, who’s positioned at the head of the SEC’s quarterback class going into the season. “With the caliber of defenses we go against each week in the SEC, we’re not going to consistently put up some of the numbers on offense you see around the rest of the country.

…

Wilson was one of eight SEC quarterbacks invited last month to the Manning Passing Academy, which has showcased some of the country’s top quarterbacks for most of the past two decades.

 

Finally, we turn back to CBS to find an interesting crew – including Ron Zook, who may become an excellent commentator – take a look at the SEC and the teams/players to watch this fall.

 

Posted in Sports | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Oh the Humanity

Posted by Brett Kincaid on August 23, 2012

This is the 21st in our series 30 Thoughts on Razorback Football in 30 Days leading up to the 2012 Kickoff.

Imagine waking up on Sunday morning, September 16th, to this headline: “Tide Rises Again”.

If that happens, there’s a good chance I will just go back to sleep. Another loss at home to Alabama – making three in a row – would be just about too much to handle. With so much focus this offseason (non-Petrino focus, anyway) on the fact Arkansas hosts both Alabama and LSU, losing to Bama in mid-September could easily undo the season. We discussed earlier this summer how the toughest week for John L. Smith as a coach will be the week after Alabama, regardless of the outcome. While that is true, it will be exponentially more difficult if he’s coaching the Razorbacks that week after coming off a home loss to their SEC West nemesis.

Can Coach Smith keep the team together if the Crimson Tide rolls out of town with another win?

With all the turmoil around the program the past several months, it would be very easy for the team to pack up early and go in the tank. Even if Arkansas sleepwalks through a win over Rutgers the following week, the Hogs then hit the road for back-to-back conference tests at Texas A&M and Auburn. If this team does fold after a home loss to Alabama, it is definitely possible the Razorbacks could host Kentucky sitting at 0-3 in the SEC West. That virtually guarantees nothing better than the Outback Bowl, where Arkansas would land only if it ran the table in its last seven games. (Pardon me while I sit in the corner and weep quietly for a few minutes.)

Okay … I’m back.

Let’s try to stay a little more positive. Let’s trot out one of my favorites and consider three scenarios. All of them are based on an Arkansas loss at home to Bama.

 

Scenario #1

The Hogs and Tide battle out a brutal SEC West slugfest similar to the 2010 game. Much like two years ago, Alabama recovers from a halftime deficit to pull out a victory late in the Fourth Quarter. They do this, though, with the aid of Mark Curles-esque officiating, highlighted by an interception by Eric Bennett that gets overturned by the booth. Arkansas and their fans are incensed, and even Nick Saban admits in the post-game press conference that Bama got very lucky and probably should not have won the game.

 

Scenario #2

After battling Alabama to a 13-13 halftime deadlock, the Razorbacks fold in the second half. The defense shows it hasn’t improved as much as expected, allowing the Tide to run roughshod in the Fourth Quarter en route to a 31-20 victory that could have been worse. Tyler Wilson suffers a rib injury that proves to be the type of nagging problem he simply cannot overcome without rest at the end of the season.  Players, coaches, and fans leave Razorback Stadium with the same sick feeling as the past three seasons, knowing the Hogs just aren’t quite an elite team.

 

Scenario #3

It’s a bloodbath from the jump. Alabama once again dominates Arkansas receivers at the line of scrimmage, the offensive line fails to keep defenders out of the backfield, and the running game never gets on track. The lack of depth at linebacker and defense back proves to be too much as Alabama puts together five scoring drives of 10 plays or more. When it’s all said and done, the Tide avenge their 1998 embarrassment by slamming the Hogs 42-6 in front of a national audience.

 

Assuming you haven’t stopped reading and started downing Jack Daniels like Nic Cage in Leaving Las Vegas, let’s unpack these three potential outcomes. If Scenario #1 plays out I think there’s a great chance the Hogs will rebound to finish strong. Every week after that will be a grudge match as they try to prove to everyone how they are the better team. This type of loss does not necessarily lead to a meltdown like the 2002 team experienced after a home loss to Alabama.

Scenario #2 actually frightens me more than the other two because it’s more reminiscent of how the Hogs have responded to similar situations for most of my lifetime. In addition to a deflating home loss because the team was physically overmatched, our stud quarterback would carry a season-long injury with him. Perhaps Tyler Wilson could play through the pain, but we all know he would be limited. Which means the team would be limited, inviting that 0-3 SEC start I mentioned. Let’s move on…

If things really go off the rails and we reach Scenario #3, it will actually create some relief. A humiliating home loss sends a clear signal that 1) expectations for the season take a bigger nosedive than Facebook stocks, 2) the Hogs will certainly hire a new coach for the 2013 season, and 3) we get to spend the rest of the year talking about who that coach will be while we watch the season go down like the Hindenburg.

For the sake of my liver and Adam’s psyche, let’s just hope we avoid any of these scenarios by watching the Hogs finally break their losing streak against the team that worships a native Arkansan.

Posted in Sports | Tagged: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Right Man for the Job?

Posted by Brett Kincaid on August 11, 2012

This is the 10th in our series of 30 Thoughts on Razorback Football in 30 Days

April 2012 is a month I have no interest in ever repeating. The vast majority of us were lazily daydreaming of a Razorback run to the BCS based on an elite head coach, All-American quality quarterback & lethal offense, and favorable – yet still difficult – schedule. By Tax Day the 2012 season and long-term health of the program had been turned upside-down with far more questions than answers. It’s hard to imagine a program encountering a more remarkable or less-expected upheaval in the spring.

Jeff Long handled the situation about as well as anyone could have expected, and made what we at BlogHawgs believed was an exceptionally strong, savvy hire in John L. Smith. A veteran of almost five decades in college football coaching, Smith also brought the added advantage of wide popularity with a team that already has very strong leadership among the players. I challenge anyone to name an available coach better suited to inherit the 2012 Hogs.

The question remains, though: how will Razorback Nation take to John L. Smith? While there are plenty of fans that share our optimism and faith in the hire, many more question whether this out-of-the-norm coach can lead an SEC team to the Promised Land (which is Miami this season). While JLS undoubtedly has a proven track record of success, he has never reached the upper echelon of coaching. He paved the way to Bobby Petrino’s run at Louisville, and showed great promise in his first year at Michigan State. The Spartans plateaued, though, and he eventually lost the confidence of his players and the MSU administration. After a few years away from the game, Smith returned to Arkansas to assist his former protege – building a formidable special teams unit in his three years in Fayetteville.

Can he call upon on his lessons learned and rich coaching experience to lead a team that is poised for a very special season in the toughest football conference in America?

I believe we will find our answer to that question on September 22 in Fayetteville. While most fans point to the Alabama game as the most important weekend in the first third of the season, the contrarian in me believes the following week against Rutgers will finally reveal to us the merit of hiring John L. Smith. Regardless of the outcome against Alabama, the following week will challenge the Arkansas coaches more than any other in the first half of the season. Win or lose, the Razorbacks will face an enormous emotional letdown. The truly great coaches keep their teams together during those weeks. They lead the players and assistant coaches through a practice week that is impossible to match the intensity of the previous week. That week of preparation, coupled with the decisions made on game day, will amount to the most important 7 days of the John L. Smith regime in Fayetteville.

As for me, I still have faith. Feel free to ask me again on September 23, 2012.

Posted in Sports | Tagged: , , , , | 5 Comments »

Lease with an Option to Buy

Posted by Brett Kincaid on August 9, 2012

This is the eighth in our series of 30 Thoughts about Razorback Football in 30 Days

Will he be this happy in December?

The 2012 season hasn’t even begun, and it seems one of the fastest growing subjects of discussion across Arkansas is who the 2013 head football coach will be. When John L. Smith was hired to replace Bobby Petrino, he was only guaranteed this season. While every coach in America can easily find his way to the unemployment line with one bad fall, the nature of John L. Smith’s contract suggests he has to submit a Remember the Titans type of year if he hopes to stay on as head coach next year.

The questions we’ve kicked around the BlogHawgs World Headquarters are these: Just how many games does he have to win? Or is there even a number at all? Is John L. Smith a dead coach walking?

My initial reaction to this question was immediate: all or nothing. If JLS doesn’t win every game this year, he’s out on his arse. Then I considered it a while longer. I don’t know that it’s as cut-and-dried as I first thought. With so many questions unanswered right now about who would even be available this winter, I believe Smith has a chance to keep the job for a year or two beyond this season. While the chance is remote, I believe it exists.

Suppose the three scenarios…

In Scenario #1 the Hogs run the table. Everything finally falls into place, the breaks bounce our way all season, and Arkansas defies the odds to bring home a BCS title. It seems obvious that Smith would have the options deserved a coach that wins the title. He gets to stay if he chooses. At his age and station in life, perhaps JLS decides to go out on a high note and spend the next 20 years as a coach emeritus at the Broyles Center. For my money, he can do what he wants if the Hogs go 14-0 this season.

In Scenario #2 the Hogs go 10-2 in the regular season but get pushed out of the BCS by LSU or Alabama. In that case Arkansas would very likely go to the Capital One Bowl after going to the Cotton Bowl last season. Maybe the Hogs face Michigan in Orlando and knock off the Big Ten runners up. Smith ends the year at 11-2, has a strong recruiting class building, and has performed all other aspects of the job in an above-average manner. Do you keep him? I think the better question would be, how don’t you keep him? While next year’s team will not return the talent of the 2012 Razorbacks, there is enough talent on campus to think that some continuity in coaching could keep the team competitive in the upper-half of the SEC and ready to challenge for a title again in a year or two. Does a change disrupt that momentum if you come off a successful (yet unfulfilling) season?

In Scenario #3 the Hogs manage only 8 wins during the regular season before cramming Syracuse in the Music City Bowl. Tyler Wilson, Knile Davis, and Darius Winston all miss a combined 14 games in this scenario, creating a situation even Bobby Petrino would find difficult to overcome. But after a shaky year, the recruiting class the coaches have managed to hold together begins to fracture. Donors hint that they are worried about the direction of the program. But despite the turmoil, Smith’s team avoids off-field brushes with the law and turns in its best academic semester of the past five years. John L. Smith is emphatic that he has a plan, and he can keep the staff together to help shore up the recruits. What now?

The likely answer is that only in Scenario #1 does John L. Smith keep his job. I think it’s possible he could retain the position in Scenario #2 but unlikely. Scenario #3 certainly appears to be the least likely one in which Smith can remain the head Hog.

The question, of course, then becomes: Who’s next? Hmmmm…. Perhaps this is a subject for another day.

Posted in Sports | Tagged: , , , | 15 Comments »

Smith Announces 3 Hogs Won’t Return to Team

Posted by Adam Butler on July 18, 2012

Arkansas Head Coach John L. Smith announced today at SEC Media days that Arkansas Wide Receivers Marquel Wade, Maudrecus Humphrey and tight end Andrew Peterson will not return to the team.

The three now former Razorback were arrested in May and charged with burglary. Their cases have not yet been adjudicated.

Posted in Commentary | Tagged: , | 3 Comments »

« Previous Entries
 
%d bloggers like this: