Arkansas Pitchers Strikeout 16, Beat Kansas

by ArkansasSports360.com Staff

FAYETTEVILLE — Freshman center fielder Brett Eibner provided just enough offense while the Arkansas pitching staff fanned 16 Kansas hitters in a 2-1 Razorback win in front of 1,334 fans at Baum Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

The 16 strikeouts were the most by a UA team since Jess Todd fanned 17 by himself against South Carolina in the 2007 SEC Tournament, setting the tournament’s single-game record. The win ran the Razorbacks’ record to 4-0 on the season while the Jayhawks fell to 2-4.

“Most mid-week games are a little crazy,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. “We did a good job of putting the bat on the ball. However, I give all the credit to our pitching staff. It was exciting to see [James] Mahler have a good outing.”      

The Razorbacks only managed four hits on the afternoon, but fanned just three times, as the two-through-five hole hitters all collected one hit each.

The Arkansas bats finally dented the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning when Eibner ripped a two-out, two-RBI single past the third baseman for the first runs of the game for either team. Eibner finished the game 1 for 3 and is hitting .500 through the first four games of his rookie campaign.

“[Brett] Eibner has shown me over these last few games that he’s not scared,” Van Horn said. “Usually, when you come into this league from high school or even junior college, you have to be fearless, and I don’t see any fear at all.”

Ryan Cisterna led off the sixth inning with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Logan Forsythe then reached on an infield single in the hole between shortstop and third base moving Cisterna to third. After a walk to Andy Wilkins loaded the bases, Eibner laced a 3-2 pitch off the glove and past the KU third baseman Tony Thompson.

The Razorbacks used six pitchers who held the Jayhawks to just four hits. James Mahler started and threw well over 3.1 innings, striking out six and allowing just one hit. Sophomore lefty Stephen Richards came on for Mahler and struck out the only two hitters he faced in the fourth inning.

Mike Bolsinger pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth inning to earn his first win as a Razorback. He faced just seven batters and struck out five of them while allowing just a single hit. Cliff Springston pitched a perfect seventh inning with one strikeout.

Justin Wells was tagged with the Jayhawks’ only run in the eighth inning when he issued a walk and surrendered a single before being lifted for closer Travis Hill. After a walk, Hill got John Allman to ground out to second base, but the Hogs’ could not complete the double play allowing a run to score.

Hill got out of the eighth inning and finished off the ninth to close out the win and his second save of the season.

The Arkansas bullpen continued its outstanding work with another 4.2 innings on Wednesday, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out 10 and issuing just two walks. For the season, the Arkansas bullpen boasts a 0.72 ERA over 25 innings of work with 33 strikeouts and just eight walks.

Arkansas travels to College Station, Texas, this weekend for the Domino’s Pizza Classic at Texas A&M’s Olsen Field. UA opens with Louisiana Tech at 12:30 p.m. Friday and then faces host Texas A&M on Saturday and closes out the tournament with Ohio State at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Sophomore left-hander Dallas Keuchel will get the nod on Friday vs. the Bulldogs with freshman right-hander Kendall Korbal going on Saturday and junior Shaun Seibert on Sunday. 

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LONGHORNS FOOTBALL

Texas-Arkansas football game for 2009 likely to be postponed

Razorbacks request swap to soften non-conference schedule; UT agrees to change, awaits final word.

By Kirk Bohls and Suzanne Halliburton
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, February 25, 2008

Texas has agreed to accommodate Arkansas’ request to move their 2009 football game scheduled for Fayetteville back until at least 2014.

The deal hasn’t been officially completed and could still unravel if Arkansas has a change of heart, but the Longhorns are awaiting a final decision from the Razorbacks. That could come this week.

“They’ve asked us,” Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said, “and we’ve said yes.”

A source with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Arkansas does not want to play both Texas and Texas A&M in the same non-conference season, on top of its Southeastern Conference slate.

The Aggies and Razorbacks recently agreed to play a neutral-site game at the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium in Arlington. The series starts in 2009 and will guarantee each team $5 million.

The Texas-Arkansas game in Austin still is set for Sept. 13 of this year, and there have been no discussions about moving it.

If the deal goes through, Texas will have to scramble to replace Arkansas on its 2009 schedule. Marquee opponents usually are scheduled years in advance.

One source said Texas will consider playing a different opponent in an away game with the promise of two home games in Austin down the road.

Rather than play on the road, the Longhorns could add a seventh home game to the 2009 schedule. UT still is looking for a home opener for 2009. Without Arkansas, it’s non-conference opponents are Central Florida and Texas-El Paso. A third option would be to find an opponent for a game to be played at a neutral site.

kbohls@statesman.com;

shalliburton@statesman.com

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The talk surrounding McFadden throughout the week had focused on off-field issues while at Arkansas, but faster than you can say “40-yard dash,” McFadden quieted his critics and cemented his ranking as the elite athlete of the 2008 draft.

The Razorbacks tailback’s effort was the dominant story of the Sunday’s workouts, but with several other eye-popping results among the skill position players, it proved to be the combine’s most exciting day.

It wasn’t just the 40 time that McFadden used to impress scouts. He posted a 33-plus inch vertical jump and a 10-8 in the standing broad jump.

Arkansas RB Darren McFadden made a statement with his sensational combine workout on Sunday. McFadden officially ran his first 40-yard dash — the faster of his two attempts — in 4.33 seconds. In addition, he jumped 10 feet, 8 inches in the broad jump and 33 inches in the vertical leap. Comparatively speaking, McFadden’s overall workout was stronger than Adrian Peterson’s a year ago, which included 40 time of 4.41, a 10-7 broad jump and a 38.5-inch vertical.

McFadden and Peterson have very different running styles, though. Peterson is clearly the more powerful back and was better suited to carry a full NFL load coming out of Oklahoma a year ago. McFadden, on the other hand, is more versatile and explosive but lacks Peterson’s physicality. The more apt comparison is their exceptional combination of size and athletic ability. McFadden’s workout verifies his big-play ability and status as Scouts Inc.’s No. 1 overall prospect, adding to the list of reasons teams should not pass on him come April 29.

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 Looks like they pulled one out this year. Key recruits like Joe Adams helped to solidify a transitional recruiting class. Just think what they could do if they had a whole year!

———————————-

From ESPN.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/columns/story?columnist=luginbill_tom&id=3233826

Love him or hate him, Bobby Petrino is back in college football, and from an offensive standpoint, particularly in the passing game, this is the best thing that could have happened for Arkansas fans — hence QB Ryan Mallett’s transfer to Fayetteville from Michigan. Running back De’Anthony Curtis (Camden, Ark./Fairview) and QB Tyler Wilson (Greenwood, Ark.) headline this class along with Jerico Nelson (Destrehan, La.), the nation’s No. 21-rated athlete. Wide receiver depth is a need and Arkansas more than hit the mark in this area with Jarius Wright (Warren, Ark.), Greg Childs (Warren, Ark.) and Cruz Williams (Little Rock, Ark./Pulaski Academy). Top to bottom, the Hogs should consider Petrino’s first class a big success. No. 2-rated athlete Joe Adams’ (Little Rock, Ark./Central Arkansas Christian) commitment on signing day over USC was instrumental for the program and its in-state recruitment.

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From ESPN.com

Arkansas hired its second defensive coordinator in about a month Wednesday, introducing Willy Robinson at the team’s news conference for national signing day.

New coach Bobby Petrino initially brought in Ellis Johnson, but Johnson left Jan. 24 to join the staff at South Carolina.

Robinson, who turns 52 Sunday, was the secondary coach for the St. Louis Rams in 2006 and 2007. He’s also coached for the New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.

On the college level, he’s coached at Oregon State, Miami, Fresno State and San Jose State.

“I have a great desire to get back into college,” Robinson said. “Having the ability to teach, working with people that don’t think they know everything.”

Robinson’s last college job was with Oregon State — he was defensive coordinator and secondary coach there in 1999.

Robinson said he’ll coach safeties in addition to his responsibilities as coordinator.

“We are extremely fortunate to add Willy Robinson to our coaching staff,” Petrino said. “He is an excellent coach and teacher of the game. He has extensive experience as a coordinator and an assistant coach on the collegiate level and in the NFL. His wealth of knowledge and experience will be a tremendous asset to our staff.”

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3234133

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thats all it takes for BP to get quality recruits. I just wish Joe Adams would turn around this fast.

“North Little Rock defensive lineman Zach Stadther waited months to say ‘yes’ to Arkansas. He got his chance Tuesday morning (1/29/08) when Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino and assistant Tim Horton offered Stadther a scholarship. The UA coaches met with Stadther and his mother, Christie.

Christie Stadther says Petrino will decide in August during two-a-day practices if Stadther will redshirt. He plans an official visit this weekend (2/1/08) to UA. Stadther racked up more than 100 tackles, including 35 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles as a senior, earning all-state and Associated Press Super Team honors.”

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let me apologize for the lack of updates as of late, but things have been crazy. I will give some proper updates later. for now read this

“Installing the Power Spread at Arkansas
by T.J. Carpenter (Contributor)
Bleacher Report

New Arkansas Razorbacks head football coach, Bobby Petrino, faces a daunting, yet potentially delightful task over the next few months. That task is installing his trademark power spread offense at Arkansas. For fans, that means waiting the grueling months leading up to the beginning of the new football season.

For the players, it means living through the grueling months of training and development it takes to fit into an offensive system that has never seen the turf of Arkansas. Reports are, Petrino has them exercising like cavemen, lifting rocks and dinosaur bones and the like. I’m guessing they will all be ripped like a loin cloth in four months. Hey, you can go HGH or you can go pre-historic, right?

For the past four seasons, Arkansas’ offense has been described as everything from a ground game juggernaut to kindergarten whiffle ball. Ask any Arkansas fan and they will tell you it has been feast or famine in the truest sense of the word. Fans hope that is about to change, and the power spread is an offensive system that can turn that hope into an offensive reality.

Essentially, the power spread is a balanced attack that spends about two-thirds of a game in modern spread formations, and the other third running traditional power-I football. That basic system allows Bobby Petrino to utilize his “FTS” (feed the studs) philosophy. Petrino was quoted back in 2005 in referring to the philosophy behind the power spread as saying:”The first thing our offense is about is utilizing our weapons. We have a philosophy that we call ‘FTS’ — feed the studs. We want to get the ball to our best players and make sure we utilize the guys who can go out and make plays.”

At Louisville, Petrino recruited excellent talent at nearly all offensive positions. The one position that Petrino put the most emphasis on was quarterback, a position that the Hogs just haven’t had much recent talent or success at. But Arkansas’ outlook on the position took a huge turn upward when former Texarkana quarterback, now former Michigan Quarterback, Ryan Mallet transferred to Arkansas. Still, his presence won’t be felt until 2009.

Arkansas still has options however, in Freshmen Nathan Dick, and incoming recruits Youngblood and Wilson. They aren’t any Brian Brohm (not yet anyways), but the one that buys into Petrino’s system the quickest will leave a mark in the SEC. Although Casey Dick is the upperclassmen in the group, don’t expect him to see much playing time.

One common thread among all the starting QB’s in Petrino’s system is that they make excellent decisions, not just excellent throws. And aside from having the personality of a street cone, the elder Dick hasn’t exactly proven himself a “thinking man,” often making his favorite target the ground in crucial situations over the past two seasons.

While the fireworks of an eloquent passing attack will be a welcomed change, expect Petrino to run the ball A LOT in the SEC. In his last tenor in the SEC at Auburn, his interest in the power running game was piqued by the strategy’s ability to control the clock and wear down a defense’s pass rush.

In the SEC, the athletes are stronger, faster, and smarter. So the grind of the game and the toll it takes on a player’s mind and body are vital elements to success. In Petrino’s stints in the NFL as both a coordinator and a head coach, he used elements of play action out of bunch formations and power I formations to keep the offense from becoming pedestrian.

The spread elements of the offense most resemble the Indianapolis Colts. At the college level, creating space for athletic receivers turns five and six yard passes into huge gains and points. Part of the reason Petrino has been so successful in the college ranks is that he thinks ahead of the curve. Now you may wonder just who those “studs” are going to be next season. At Louisville, Petrino managed to lead the nation in total offensive yards and points. In 2004, Louisville was the only team to rank in the top 10 in both pass offense (288.6 per game) and rush offense (250.4 yards per game). Balance indeed!

Arkansas returns a number of players who got considerable playing time last season at skill positions ,such as wide receiver London Crawford and running back Michael Smith. And still other players who sat out with injury, but showed promise early on such as tight end Ben Cleveland, and slot receiver Crosby Tuck.

The question next season won’t be who the most talented players on the team will be. We pretty much already know who those are. Instead the question will be, how quickly will the “studs” buy in to the power spread with Petrino as its architect?”

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How many times have we yelled “what was he thinking” at the TV when a particular play goes bad? Well the same happens sometimes in recruiting, we simply do not know what the thought process is for choosing players or positions. This really becomes apparent with the internet today and the fishbowl that coaches find themselves. Some cannot understand why the local kid is not being pursued as heavy as the locals think he should. But again a great HS player does not mean that they will be a great D1 athlete. For instance if the local QB throws for 3,000 yards every body in town would love to see him at the state college. But when this QB is 5′9″ and weighs 160 pounds there is a problem of transferring that size to major college football. When we see a WR that has 60 catches for 1200 yards and every body wants him a question comes up, who is throwing the ball to this kid and why is the QB not being mentioned? Probably because of the previously mentioned physical statistics. There are many questions concerning recruits that coaches need to answer, to many to get into here but we can explore what may be going on in the office on the Hill at this time.

Lets establish the fact that Coach Petrino is behind in the recruiting process. He is not familiar with the state and its HS coaches, we have 19 commitments to the former coaching staff that had a different philosophy, there are only 2 coaches working recruiting and one of those is preparing for a bowl game (now that Paul Petrino is on board will help), and it is tough to come in at this point in the process and change a kid’s mind about where he wants to go to school. Tim Horton has been a huge help for sure but the approach that Coach P takes is probably vastly different that what the former staff took. So there was and is a different philosophy in play here.

One thing that Coach P cannot do is pull an offer from any of the commitments at this time. But keep an eye out for a current commitment that is not pursued heavily and decides to go somewhere else. Also do not be surprised to see split scholarships, say between football and baseball, as this would open up another full scholarship. Also do not look for any current non-scholarship players getting a scholarship this year. Most coaches want their own players but not to the point of stupidity (Felix Jones comes to mind). No body will be run off but if someone gets into serious trouble well they could be gone.

Now we get to what the coaches look at and for in the recruiting process. The first thing they will do is list the scholarship players returning on a board by position. The best that we can do now is roster players so lets begin. This is probably what the board would like minus names:

OFFENSE

Centers 4 returning, needs 0

Guards 5 returning, needs 2

Tackles 5 returning, needs 2

Wide Receivers 11 returning, needs 4

Tight Ends 6 returning, needs 0

Running Backs 9 returning (including McFadden), needs 2

Tailbacks (half back) 5 returning, needs 2

Fullbacks 4 returning, needs 0    This is one place a difference in philosophy begins to take shape.

Quarterbacks 6 returning, needs 1

DEFENSE

Defensive Ends 6 returning, needs 2

Defensive Tackles 7 returning, needs 2

Linebackers 13 returning, needs 3   Again if a change in philosophy on defense happens this is where is will occur.

Corner backs 6 returning, needs 3

Safeties 6 returning, needs 3

This brings the needs number to 21. With around 25 scholarships available this will leave room for 4 other impact type players. It will be interesting to see what will happen during the days leading up to signing day. This is a small look into the mind of a coach and what really goes on behind the scenes. Keep up and see how close we are on signing day!!!!!

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Yesterday Coach Petrino addressed the media for the first time since his hiring. Several important points were made concerning recruiting. One was that he recruits to need and two he tries to sign one QB a year. This is a small window in which we can gaze to determine his direction with this process. Look for the possibility of scholarship offers being “pulled” with some of the current commitments, particularly the out of state players.

Today we will forge ahead with an analysis of the defense and put aside Coach P’s comments for now. This is an area that needs upgrading fast and I mean now!!!! The positive here is that there are many uncommitted defensive players still available. Other than Joe Adams (who is not committed yet) and Lavuance Askew this class is not very impressive. Here is a quick suggestion, devious I know, lets go after ALL of Florida State’s defensive commitments!!!!!!!!!!! You never know……

The small LB mentality must go and be replaced by a larger player that can do the things that Coach P mentioned in his pressor yesterday, shedding blocks being the most important for a LB. Small fast LB have huge problems with offenses that run right at them like Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, and LSU. We are loaded with small LB and our two commits are both on the small side, talented but small.

 So lets start with the LB’s, we have 13 returning and 2 commitments. Here are some that are not committed:

Jerrell Harris and William Green from Alabama.

Or the committed ones like Marlon Walls, MS (Ole Miss), or Don’ta Hightower, TN (Alabama), or Chase Thomas, GA (Stanford) or Arthur Brown, KS (Miami).

The defensive line returns 13 with only 2 commitments at this point. I have combined the DT and DE in this group but there are quality uncommitted players out there right now at both positions

At DT the uncommitted are :

Stacey MaGee, Muskogee, OK. WE NEED THIS KID!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our recruiting success this year could run through Camden, Warren, and Muskogee!!!!!! Others here are Brandon Thompson, GA, Lawrence Guy, NV, and Bo Tillman, MS.

Two others that are committed are:

Templeton Hardy to Miss State and Rod Davis to Texas A&M.

We have one DE commitment and is very good. Some others that may be looked at include:

Nathan Lewis, La or Glen Harbin, AL or Jacquies Smith, TX. Then 2 kids from Hargrave Academy in VA, Quinton Couples and Leon Mackey.

The commitment kids would be the following:

All 3 to FL St., Everett Dawkins(SC), Toshmon Stevens (FL), and Keith Wells (FL). Gary Mason, TX (Baylor), Chancey Aghayere, TX (LSU), or Tony Jerod, TX (Texas A&M).

The secondary is very puzzling and scary, with only 12 returning and 2 commitments this is a huge cause for concern. We are not even 4 deep here so we need a minimum of 4 signees this year. Why does a school have 7 TE’s and only 16 DB’s? 

Well here we go, some of these are corners and some  are safeties, I mixed to keep it shorter. There many good DB’s still uncommitted but we have our work cut out for us. Here they are:

TJ Bryant, FL or Charles Mitchell, MS or Nieko Lipscomb, GA or Darrius Terry, TX or Rashun Dixon, MS or Victor Johnson, TX or PJ Smith, LA.

The committed are:

Joe Adams, AR (USC), probably have a good chance here. CJ Holton and Travis Arnold, FL (FL State).

Well that is the break down. What direction Coach P will go will begin to unfold during the first 2 weeks of January. Tomorrow I will summerize and expand a little more on what may be going on within the confines of the football office on the Hill.  

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Coach Petrino finds himself in a situation that could be tough to overcome. Arkansas has 19 commitments, 12 of those are on offense and only 6 are on defense. When we look at the current roster we find that there are 46 returning roster players on offense as well. This would add up to 58 offensive players or put another way 5 deep. Defensively there are 38 returning plus the 6 recruits bringing that side of the ball to 44 or 4 deep. This could be a problem for Coach P, time will tell as we get further along in the recruiting process. These are players on the roster and some are not on scholarship.

Today we will analyze the offense by position. There are many ways to look or approach this exercise. I have looked at this only from the numbers on the roster and the need to fill each position.

There 6 QB’s currently on the roster with 2 commitments thus far. That is enough, but I am probably the only person that feels that way. So for the argument sake lets add one more!!!!!!! Here are my picks to go after:

Blaine Gabbert, from MO and is a solid verbal to Missouri. Lets make a play anyway and try to sell him on the NFL (how many QB’s have gone to the NFL via Pinkel).

Nathan Stanley, from OK and wants to be a hog. Go for Stanley after Gabbert.

Casey Kelly, FL and a Duke commitment.

If Ryan Mallet from Michigan transfers forget the above.

At RB the hogs have 9 returning, this includes McFadden and Jones. The question now is what kind of RB does Coach P want? There are 3 RB’s committed all good ones but here are some that could be great also:

LaMichael James, Texarkana LE, Ken Davis, Mississippi, Jeffrey Demps, Florida, Ryan Williams, Virginia, or Cyrus Gray, Texas.  All of these are uncommitted at this time.

If we want to make a splash lets look at one of these:

Jermie Calhoun, Van, TX, is an OK commit, does he want to share time at RB with the stable that is there? Ditto for Desean Hales, Klein Oak, TX and a Texas recruit.

At REC there are 17 returning with 4 commitments to date. None of these commitments are TE’s. Here are some suggestions:

Jameel Owens, Muskogee, OK, likes Ark so what are we waiting on!!!!!!!! I really like this guy!

Chris Tolliver, Rayville, LA, likes Coach P and believes he can help him!!!!!!! lets go after him also!!!!!!!!

Another to consider is DeAndre Brown, Mississippi, a big receiver that could work the middle of the field. The TE’s are Tyler Edwards, LA, comes from good stock as his brother was the TE on LSU’s NC team and has played for 3 years in the NFL. Jake Byrne, Rogers, AR., and a Wisconsin commit because of family, but lets show him we would love to have him. Justin Horton, TX and a Oklahoma ST. commit.

In the offensive line there are 14 returning and this, at least on paper, is the best intact group on this side of the ball. We have 3 commitments Matt Hall will be a great one, Austin Eoff and Josh Tatum round out this class. I feel like we need at least one more so here we go:

These are the “lets beat Saban boys”, Matt Patchman and Antoine McClain both from AL and uncommitted. Then there is Barrett Jones from Memphis who is a commit to AL. Go after these and lets hope for one if not two.

Here are some that are not committed at this time, Zebie Sanders, OH, Ben Jones and Ricky Barnum from FL.

Or maybe wrest a commitment away here in David Snow, TX, a Texas commit. Or Osaze Idumwonyi, TX, a Kentucky commit. How about Ben Haburn, TX, a Oklahoma commit.

Well these are suggestions but really we do not have much room as of now for more offensive signatures. Tomorrow we will turn to the defense.

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I do not like to deal with rumors. The coaching search and all of the drama that was associated with it made TV soaps seem blase’. We got a good one in Coach Petrino and he has already shown that by his recruiting efforts. One of the main battle cries of many are “keep our boys at home.” Coach P is listening, as evidenced by his whirlwind trip through the state this week along with coach Horton. With that said, Coach P should really keep coach Horton around, he has kept this class together and deserves a huge thank you from everyone in the Razorback Nation.

The “dead period” is here. Sound ominous but that is the language that the NCAA uses to describe the next 3 weeks. This was implemented to serve the HS athletes academics and Christmas holidays. This will also allow Coach P to accomplish several things such as catching his breath. He can solidify his staff which will help put more people out recruiting and answer the questions of “who will be my position coach ?”. The current players can be evaluated to help determine which positions they should go after. Well the questions are endless and lets trust Coach P to ask and answer them professionally.

The main questions a coach needs to answer are simple- what, who, and why?-at least to some. What positions do we target based on need. Who will fill those needs. Why should we recruit or not recruit a specific player. To the rabid fan who keeps up with this the “what” and “who” is easy. It is the “why” that becomes murky because the fan is not privy to the same information as the coaches. For instance the oldest question a fan has during the recruiting season ” Why did we not go after this five star player but recruited two three stars.” Well the answer was and is grades, parents, trouble, law, commitment, personality, fit……………………………and many other possible issues that the coaches know but the fan doesn’t.

 The Razorbacks have 25 scholarships, give or take, this year. With the philosophy changing, particularly on offense, the “what” ; is now a huge issue. Making the transition from run first to possibly pass first could lead to a push for different skill sets. For instance the coaches could determine that for this year we have enough RB’s so we need more receivers. 

 However, a glaring problem is where are the defensive players.  Arkansas current commitment list shows 20 names, 12 are on offense, 7 are on defense and one listed as an athlete( which means he could be either ). But a quick glance at the defensive positions show that these kids are from out of state and more apt to be influenced by the negative publicity. Plus if one looks at the current roster they will see just about the same break down of talent. This is a huge problem that must be addressed and we will begin tomorrow.

Check back tomorrow for the offensive break down followed by the defense on Wednesday.

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Wooo Pig Sooie. Bobby Petrino, welcome to hog heaven.

and here is petrino in his hog hat.

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First ladies and Gents, I am certain you have all heard amidst the craziness of finding a new coach that we are going to be facing off against Missouri on new years day in dallas. This is great bowl for us! Ironic that we paved the way for them to be the number 1 team, they cant hold onto it and now must face us in a bowl game, but hey..oh well. We wont hold it against them during the utter beating we lay on them.

Also, Saturday is the Heisman Presentation. As it stands right now, Tim Tebow is sitting pretty on top of the voting, but I hope people recognize that Darren Mcfadden  is the best player in the country.

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There are only two statistics that count in football, turnovers and the final score. The rest is just details. Talk of throwing vs running is just talk, nothing more nothing less. As J Paul Getty once said in answering a question about how much is enough, he said ”just a little bit more”. If we threw “just a little bit more” we would be better. Well that would obviously lead to “just a little bit more” again and again and……………..until that is all we do. Results would not be better maybe even worse.

 In football it is better to receive than give. You can check if you like but the team that wins the turn over battle wins the war. When a team can turn the field in its favor at least once a game it usually wins. By the same token if a team can keep their opponents from taking from you, then you win. It is pretty simple. Yes there are other variables but it still is the same game it was since its inception. How often did the HOGS win the turnover battle?

There is another thing that determines whether you win or lose. CHARACTER!!!!!!!! You may be  undersized, slower, and lack some skills but if a group of guys ALL have character you will win far more than a super talented team lacking this trait. When no team member puts himself above the every one else then that group will succeed. That is what separates the overachievers from the underachievers. How then does a coach develop character is his team? That is simple also, just eliminate those that are not team players or are extremely self-centered. This is what makes Darren McFadden so special, he is a team guy through and through.

If it is so simple then why is there not a team out there that wins all the time. Because coaches are people too and sometimes coach from the heart and not the head. Also there is another team on the field. Making decisions on game day can be very dangerous for job security. The wise coach makes decisions on Thursday and reviews throughout the game. This is one area that I felt Coach Nutt was lacking.

What does this have to do with our beloved HOGS? Lets find a coach who embraces this simple philosophy along with a strong background and get behind him. We have suffered enough, the last chapter of the Nutt era has been written. Time to move forward together, haters and huggers alike. But lets all remember that even though we may hurt when we lose, it is nothing close to what those kids are feeling. They deserve our best.

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That was fast.

This from ESPN.

“JACKSON, Miss. — From one Southeastern Conference team to another, Houston Nutt was out of a job for about six hours.

Nutt agreed to a contract with Mississippi late Monday night, just hours after he announced his resignation at Arkansas. The hiring was confirmed by a person close to the program who didn’t want to be identified because the announcement had not yet been made.

Ole Miss was searching for a proven winner after firing coach Ed Orgeron on Saturday. The Rebels finished winless in the Southeastern Conference for the first time since 1982 and appeared to take a step backward after three years under the former Southern Cal assistant.

Nutt neatly fits the description of the coach Ole Miss was looking for. He is 111-70 in 15 years as a head coach, compiling a 111-70 record at Arkansas, Boise State and Murray State.

More importantly, he’s been a winner in the SEC. The Little Rock, Ark., native rebuilt the Arkansas program, going 75-48 since his hiring in 1997 to replace Danny Ford. He was 42-38 in conference with one of his biggest wins coming last week when the Razorbacks beat No. 1 LSU 50-48 triple-overtime win.

While Arkansas is likely headed to the Cotton Bowl, Nutt will be going to the homes of recruits to try to hold together the promising class Orgeron was assembling.

Nutt, 50, said Monday he left Arkansas to help mend a split among fans after off-the-field problems were compounded by a difficult season. The Razorbacks started the year ranked and were expected to contend for the SEC West title against the Tigers.

Arkansas lost its first three SEC games and dropped out of the poll in September, fueling fan discontent over last year’s transfer of quarterback Mitch Mustain. “

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