Arkansas Razorbacks

[strmchsr77]

Yeah it's certainly been pretty rough halfway through this four game period. With Florida getting upset this week I expect them to be focused and have something to prove. So could be another rough week for Razorback fans. In two weeks it's Auburn and so far their offense has really struggled. But as bad as our defense has been you wonder if Auburn might finally get going on offense when they play us.

I am having trouble finding another game on the schedule that we have a chance of winning. Generally we don't have that much trouble beating Tulsa but they are really good this year. Anyone think that we will win one or two more games? I just don't see it.

Yes, the upsets were great...especially the USC lost on Thursday night. Putting my Sooners in the #1 spot! Hopefully they can keep it going.

[Mith242]

I am having trouble finding another game on the schedule that we have a chance of winning. Generally we don't have that much trouble beating Tulsa but they are really good this year. Anyone think that we will win one or two more games? I just don't see it.

Yes, the upsets were great...especially the USC lost on Thursday night. Putting my Sooners in the #1 spot! Hopefully they can keep it going.

I keep hoping we'll slowly improve as the season moves on as players get used to the system and freshman get used to the college game. But if we don't improve the only game I see us having much of a chance at might be Miss St. They haven't looked too good so far.

[Mith242]

Some interesting info has come out of all the Kiffen/Al Davis breakup over at Oakland. Al Davis says Kiffen was interested in the Arkansas job and I know his name was being mentioned for a while. Al Davis said he wasn't going to let Kiffen go till the end of the season though. He also implied that's why Petrino left early at Atlanta to make sure he got the job before Kiffen might have gotten it had they both waited till the end of the season.

[Mith242]

Well it still wasn't a very impressive score in the end. But to be honest overall I thought we played better. I was also surprised that Florida didn't seem to play with more intensity. After their loss last week I sorta thought they'd be fired up. 38-7 is a bit of a blow out, but Florida scored 21 of those points in the 4th quarter. Two touchdowns came late in the 4th on big runs we gave up. We actually had around 50 more yards of offense at halftime although we were down 14-0. But a lot closer game than the two previous weeks. We seem able to move the ball but just stall out when we get close to the scoring area of the field. our kicking game has been bad so we've been going for it on 4th downs instead of going for some long to average field goals. I'm still hoping this is a good sign that we're showing some improvement as the season goes on. Perhaps we can pull out some wins later on in the season and have something to build on for next season.

[akahogfan]

So I know that this is a while after the fact, but a lot of my friends have been talking about it recently. When Long came aboard, he really didn't like the program having pep rallies. He has cut the total number down to 3 this year. One was for all the freshman, an introduction if you will, there was one last friday, and there will be one for homecoming. I don't know how much non-alums will know about it or if this was the way it was in the past, but pep rallies have been huge here for the greeks, appx. 20% of the students. While there are other reasons as well, a lot of students are royally pissed at Long. He seems to have "northern" approach to things that just rubs some people the wrong way.

Are students the only ones thinking this? What about the rest of Hog nation?

[Mith242]

So I know that this is a while after the fact, but a lot of my friends have been talking about it recently. When Long came aboard, he really didn't like the program having pep rallies. He has cut the total number down to 3 this year. One was for all the freshman, an introduction if you will, there was one last friday, and there will be one for homecoming. I don't know how much non-alums will know about it or if this was the way it was in the past, but pep rallies have been huge here for the greeks, appx. 20% of the students. While there are other reasons as well, a lot of students are royally pissed at Long. He seems to have "northern" approach to things that just rubs some people the wrong way.

Are students the only ones thinking this? What about the rest of Hog nation?

Just going from reactions from people I know, I haven't heard too many complaints about Long. Long does do things differently but to me most people seem to be giving him the benefit of the doubt. He doesn't do things like Broyles, but I also think Broyles was stuck in the past about a number of things. Honestly the complaints I tend to hear most out of people is how the U of A let Nutt out of his 'golden handcuffs' and gave him the extra money and then for him to end up at a rival team. This seems to be the general attitude I've come across from the fans I know.

[bubba72704]

Just going from reactions from people I know, I haven't heard too many complaints about Long. Long does do things differently but to me most people seem to be giving him the benefit of the doubt. He doesn't do things like Broyles, but I also think Broyles was stuck in the past about a number of things. Honestly the complaints I tend to hear most out of people is how the U of A let Nutt out of his 'golden handcuffs' and gave him the extra money and then for him to end up at a rival team. This seems to be the general attitude I've come across from the fans I know.

My issues with the guy are purely financial. Raising ticket prices for football and basketball by around 20% in your first year as the A.D. isn't going to help build a loyal following. Especially when teams in both sports are probably going to finish near the bottom of the conference.

Also, these price increases came just before the announcement of a multi-billion dollar deal to broadcast SEC games on CBS and ESPN. I'd like to know how much of those billions will trickle down to the U of A...

[Mith242]

My issues with the guy are purely financial. Raising ticket prices for football and basketball by around 20% in your first year as the A.D. isn't going to help build a loyal following. Especially when teams in both sports are probably going to finish near the bottom of the conference.

Also, these price increases came just before the announcement of a multi-billion dollar deal to broadcast SEC games on CBS and ESPN. I'd like to know how much of those billions will trickle down to the U of A...

I can't speak on the increases to the basketball games. But it's not too hard to guess part of the football increases. We shelled out a nice amount just to get rid of Nutt then also ended up paying a hefty sum to lure in Petrino. Some coaches have gotten raises since then but at the time we hired Petrino he was the third or fourth highest paid coach in the SEC. But having said all that I can understand some not being thrilled with Long. Like you said raising ticket prices your first year isn't going to endear you to anyone. And it does also make it hard when the teams this year aren't going to be spectacular. I'm not sure that the basketball team will be near the bottom. But it's obvious by now that the football team is going to struggle this year. The bad thing is that honestly I think the football team is likely to have problems next year as well. We might have to be happy if our team can manage to not have to fight to be at the very bottom. It's really looking like it's going to come down to the Ark-Miss St game this year.

[Mith242]

I did eventually hear about our big win while I was out west. I did say I'd be happy if we were able to win one game out of the four. Although Auburn clearly was overrated and not as good as what people thought. But still a win against an SEC team is a big improvement. I hope we can keep improving as the season moves on. Not sure what to expect from Kentucky today. They seem to be one of those teams that could be pretty good. They're the only ones so far to even give Alabama a challenge. But they haven't looked quite as impressive in other games.

[Mith242]

Tough loss for the Hogs last night. For a change they actually started scoring earlier in the game scoring almost all their points in the first half. For a while it looked like they had it and looked the better team. But they still have problems squandering scoring opportunities. They really should have scored more points and that ended up losing the game for them. They let Kentucky hang around and they finally came around late in the game and took it. Really frustrating to see them lose a game they should have won. But despite the loss I do think they are still improving in some aspects. Wins might not be easy to come by but at least it feels like they should be able to pull a win or two before the season is over. I also don't feel we're the worst team in the SEC. Although all the SEC teams now have at least one conference win after last night.

[Mith242]

Another rough game for Razorback fans to swallow. I admit I'm not an impartial observer. But isn't the home team usually the one who gets the breaks from official's calls? Just seemed like the officials had it in for us, especially at the end of the game.

[strmchsr77]

Another rough game for Razorback fans to swallow. I admit I'm not an impartial observer. But isn't the home team usually the one who gets the breaks from official's calls? Just seemed like the officials had it in for us, especially at the end of the game.

It seems that way more often than not for me.

We have been making these games close at least. Are we actually getting a little better as the year has gone by?

[strmchsr77]

Another rough game for Razorback fans to swallow. I admit I'm not an impartial observer. But isn't the home team usually the one who gets the breaks from official's calls? Just seemed like the officials had it in for us, especially at the end of the game.

It seems that way more often than not for me.

We have been making these games close at least. Are we actually getting a little better as the year has gone by?

[Mith242]

It seems that way more often than not for me.

We have been making these games close at least. Are we actually getting a little better as the year has gone by?

I'm not sure if it's we're getting better or we're just playing teams closer to our level or maybe some of both. It's not too hard to see potential with the team. They still just have a hard time always following through it seems. Our chances to go to a bowl took a big hit in the past weekend's loss. But considering how things have been going I was necessarily expecting a bowl game anyway. I don't want to set goals particularly low, but mainly I'm just wanting us to not finish last in the SEC West like most people had predicted us.

[Mith242]

The Hogs pulled out a nice win in this wild and weird season. After looking so good early in the game Tulsa managed to come back and I was getting worried we'd blow another game at the end like we had the past couple of weeks, but they held on. Second week in a row that a former coach came back to Fayetteville to coach against the Razorbacks. Although I don't think the drama was there this week like it was for Nutt last week. A nonconference win that won't help our SEC record, but Tulsa was ranked and it's nice to win against the local teams as well. Really a shame we couldn't have pulled out at least one win out of Ole Miss or Kentucky. Then we'd only need one more win to be bowl eligible. But as it stands we need two more wins out of our last three games. Most likely looking like it would be South Carolina and Miss St. I don't know about SC though. Granted we have had good luck in beating them in recent years overall. But that could be a tough battle. I suppose there could always be an upset over LSU. But that seems much less likely. Although LSU hasn't been as good as many people thought they would this year. They're still a decent team and I think they'll be fired up to play us after the way we beat them last year.

[Aporkalypse]

I think we have a better chance of beating LSU in Little Rock than South Carolina in Columbia, but both could be winnable with some good breaks.

[Mith242]

Well talk of a bowl is a moot point now. Of course we ended up losing to South Carolina and also missed out at Miss St. I really thought we'd at least pull out a victory there. With Miss St and Tennessee winning we now have the worst record in the SEC. I'm not sure what to expect against LSU. I know we played well in LR under Nutt. But not sure if that will translate to the same success under Petrino. I also figured LSU would be fired up with the way we beat them last year. But LSU has been pretty lackluster the last couple of weeks, so who knows.

[Stormcrow]

In some better news, there IS a Razorback team doing well this season and looking like an SEC contender. That would be the Arkansas Razorback Ice Hockey team! They are 5-1 with their only loss so far coming yesterday against North Texas. They are 4-0 in SEC play with BIG wins over Miss. St. and Vandy. They're off until January though when they tangle with LSU at the Jones Center. The team has 6 Arkansans rostered with 3 from Little Rock and 3 from the NWA area.

http://www.razorbackhockey.com/index.htm

[Mith242]

In some better news, there IS a Razorback team doing well this season and looking like an SEC contender. That would be the Arkansas Razorback Ice Hockey team! They are 5-1 with their only loss so far coming yesterday against North Texas. They are 4-0 in SEC play with BIG wins over Miss. St. and Vandy. They're off until January though when they tangle with LSU at the Jones Center. The team has 6 Arkansans rostered with 3 from Little Rock and 3 from the NWA area.

http://www.razorbackhockey.com/index.htm

When the heck did the U of A get a hockey team? For that matter when did the SEC branch off into hockey as well? Seems like a really odd thing for the SEC to get into. The few SEC teams that play soccer have to play in another conference because the SEC doesn't do soccer. I would have thought soccer would be accepted into the SEC well before hockey was. I'm not trying to slam hockey or anything. Just seems like a really odd fit for the SEC.

[Stormcrow]

When the heck did the U of A get a hockey team? For that matter when did the SEC branch off into hockey as well? Seems like a really odd thing for the SEC to get into. The few SEC teams that play soccer have to play in another conference because the SEC doesn't do soccer. I would have thought soccer would be accepted into the SEC well before hockey was. I'm not trying to slam hockey or anything. Just seems like a really odd fit for the SEC.

The Razorback hockey team came into existence last year. Bear in mind, this a club sport only! How that works with the SEC I don't know. I wouldn't be too surprised if it isn't just SEC school clubs calling themselves the SEC in a very impromptu manner but I don't know that for sure. All of these clubs are members of the ACHA (Amateur Collegiate Hockey Association) Southern Division. That division includes schools as far north as Gettysburg, PA and Baltimore! But regardless, they DO exist and they ARE winning!

[Mith242]

The Razorback hockey team came into existence last year. Bear in mind, this a club sport only! How that works with the SEC I don't know. I wouldn't be too surprised if it isn't just SEC school clubs calling themselves the SEC in a very impromptu manner but I don't know that for sure. All of these clubs are members of the ACHA (Amateur Collegiate Hockey Association) Southern Division. That division includes schools as far north as Gettysburg, PA and Baltimore! But regardless, they DO exist and they ARE winning!

That makes much more sense. I guess I was confused because the website mentions the SEC and other SEC schools as well. Because if they added a sport like hockey then they'd also have to add another women's sport as well to balance it out. Either way, it's still interesting to know they exist and are doing well.

[Mith242]

The Razorbacks ended up pulling out a close win over LSU over the Thanksgiving holiday. It looked very good early on but then LSU came back and it was starting to look like we were going to get blown out before we started making a game of it in the end. Too bad we couldn't manage another win in all those close games we had so we could go to a bowl.

[nwa_479]

The Hog Basketball team pulled off a 96-88 victory against 4th-ranked Oklahoma. Michael Washington led the way with 24 points. Oklahoma never led during the entire game. This young Hog squad is one that is on the rise. Hopefully they'll play like this against conference opponents.

[Mith242]

The Hog Basketball team pulled off a 96-88 victory against 4th-ranked Oklahoma. Michael Washington led the way with 24 points. Oklahoma never led during the entire game. This young Hog squad is one that is on the rise. Hopefully they'll play like this against conference opponents.

Yeah that was pretty impressive. The Hogs were up by 25 at one point in the second half. Although Oklahoma did eventually make a big run to cut it to single digits. But the Hogs held on for the big win. Hopefully this will really help the team gain more confidence and also bring more fans over to Bud Walton. Tonight's game was a sellout but overall attendance has been low compared to past years.

[zman9810]

Yeah that was pretty impressive. The Hogs were up by 25 at one point in the second half. Although Oklahoma did eventually make a big run to cut it to single digits. But the Hogs held on for the big win. Hopefully this will really help the team gain more confidence and also bring more fans over to Bud Walton. Tonight's game was a sellout but overall attendance has been low compared to past years.

I'll admit- when it got down to 4 pts. I couldn't watch. I had to find something else to do for awhile. Glad to see they pulled it out. A big win like this should help a lot going into the SEC schedule.