Arkansas Razorbacks

[Mith242]

I know they say any win is good but this one almost felt like a loss- very poor showing for a SEC team against a minor conference opponent. NO way is Mallett ready for the NFL- I like him and am thrilled he's at Arkansas but some of his throws last night were terrible. What was up with the clock management at the end of the game? We got the ball back and three incomplete passes later gave them another chance to kick a wining field goal. Tejada must have felt like finally it someone else's turn to be the goat. Tough game but Yea! we did win and by next year that's all we'll remember hopefully. Man, it was cold!!!!!

Yeah, although I guess at the same time a number of SEC teams haven't really performed well in the bowls. Florida and Georgia were impressive. Auburn really almost let their game get away from them several times and were lucky like the Razorbacks to come out with a win. Ole Miss had to really pull it out at the end. Kentucky and LSU lost. Tennessee and South Carolina went down badly. Now it's down to Alabama. If Bama lost the SEC would end up 5-5 in the bowls this season. I didn't expect the SEC to win them all, but I certainly expected more wins than that.

[Mith242]

Rumor has it that Mallet is going to hold a press conference later today. The general feeling is that he's decided to stay another year. Ironically Ole Miss's QB decided yesterday to leave early. After the season he just had you have to question that decision. I think Mallet could easily be picked above Snead. In other SEC news Alabama and the SEC won the Natl Championship. Alabama really started cruising in the second quarter after a pretty bad start. But Alabama got real conservative in the third quarter and let Texas back in the game. Before they had to finally seal the game in the 4th. I don't think Alabama is losing many players. You'd have to think they'll be the early pick to win it next year.

[Mith242]

It's official now, and as expected Mallet is coming back next year. I know Razorback fans are obviously biased. But I think most would agree another year under Petrino should do wonders for him. He's got a lot of potential, obviously. But does need to work on some of those skills to improve to the next level.

[zman9810]

It's official now, and as expected Mallet is coming back next year. I know Razorback fans are obviously biased. But I think most would agree another year under Petrino should do wonders for him. He's got a lot of potential, obviously. But does need to work on some of those skills to improve to the next level.

That is absolutely the best news that any Hog fan could hear

I heard it on The Ticket but when I went to the ESPN website there wasn't a mention that I could find, even in the SEC section. Makes me wonder if some of the hype we were hearing about him leaving was by other SEC schools that just didn't want to face him next year.

I wouldn't be surprised if Arkansas wasn't even ranked in the preseason polls- we will have to win games, especially on the road against big name opponents, to earn any rankings.

[Mith242]

That is absolutely the best news that any Hog fan could hear

I heard it on The Ticket but when I went to the ESPN website there wasn't a mention that I could find, even in the SEC section. Makes me wonder if some of the hype we were hearing about him leaving was by other SEC schools that just didn't want to face him next year.

I wouldn't be surprised if Arkansas wasn't even ranked in the preseason polls- we will have to win games, especially on the road against big name opponents, to earn any rankings.

I did see somewhere on ESPN.com. But it had already managed to get moved down. Mallet even appeared on one of the College Footballs shows on ESPN to talk about it. Yeah Arkansas will be ranked, although those polls before the season even starts don't tend to mean much. I've already seen one very early preseason poll released on ESPN. They had the Razorbacks ranked 16th, only behind Alabama and Florida. We really struggles last year against Alabama. It will be hard to get a lot of offense going against a big defense like that. But the previous match up was Mallet's first SEC game. Hopefully he'll be better prepared for next season's game. Sorta a shame that game has to be played so early in the season. Next season should really help having so many of those 'big games' at home this time. I really don't want to get my hopes up for next season. But it really seems everything is lining up for the potential for a really big season for the Hogs next year. Right now it's expected that LSU and Ole Miss will be somewhat down. Maybe just maybe the Hogs can make some sort of run to challenge Bama in the SEC West. Of course Bama is losing too many players and are going to be the easy favorite to repeat not just for the SEC crown but the Natl Championship as well. But you can sorta see Arkansas being a darkhorse.

[zman9810]

I did see somewhere on ESPN.com. But it had already managed to get moved down. Mallet even appeared on one of the College Footballs shows on ESPN to talk about it. Yeah Arkansas will be ranked, although those polls before the season even starts don't tend to mean much. I've already seen one very early preseason poll released on ESPN. They had the Razorbacks ranked 16th, only behind Alabama and Florida. We really struggles last year against Alabama. It will be hard to get a lot of offense going against a big defense like that. But the previous match up was Mallet's first SEC game. Hopefully he'll be better prepared for next season's game. Sorta a shame that game has to be played so early in the season. Next season should really help having so many of those 'big games' at home this time. I really don't want to get my hopes up for next season. But it really seems everything is lining up for the potential for a really big season for the Hogs next year. Right now it's expected that LSU and Ole Miss will be somewhat down. Maybe just maybe the Hogs can make some sort of run to challenge Bama in the SEC West. Of course Bama is losing too many players and are going to be the easy favorite to repeat not just for the SEC crown but the Natl Championship as well. But you can sorta see Arkansas being a darkhorse.

I know what you mean- I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high for next year myself. I still remember being 10-1 and losing our last 3 in 2006. I don't think I will ever expect them to contend for a national title but a BCS bowl would be great. It's like our national championship in basketball- if it happens it's all that more sweet because it's goes against all the odds.

That's very interesting about Mallet getting an insurance policy against injury. I didn't know that was even available. Hadn't heard if Bradford or Colt Mccoy had one. I think he handled his press conference very well- that's the most articulate I've ever heard him. Seems he is really getting a handle on what it takes to have a great future- just watch out for those off season temptations.

[Mith242]

Signing day is slowly coming up on us. Haven't really heard as much about this upcoming class. Granted we already have a good group of players coming back. But this year's class still seems a bit of a let down compared to last year's. Petrino wasn't able to keep all the instate players this year. In fact the top rated player in the state is heading to Auburn. Of course there isn't a way Petrino can always keep all the top players in state. But he certainly did a great job of it last year. I guess I've just been surprised to no hear so much about this year's class.

[zman9810]

The Razorback baseball season starts today at 3 PM against Ball State of Muncie, Ind. It's 31 degrees with snow on the ground there so our weather looks much better although I see rain heading this way. The Hogs are ranked in several polls and after last season's World Series run expectations are high.

Ryan Mallett broke his foot and is out of action for 3 to 4 months. He'll miss spring football on the field but will hopefully be watching a lot of game film and learining from that. I know he is an active person and has to live a normal life but I sure wish he could be a bit more careful- seems every offseason something happens to him.

[zman9810]

Wow! If you were a college sports fan at all this was the weekend to be in Fayetteville. The baseball Hogs swept Troy in three exciting games although the last two games gave reason to be nervous. The Mens Track team won the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships handily while the No. 20-ranked Razorbacks Women's tenis team beat Oklahoma 6-1. The Men's basketball team also played in a disappointing loss to Vanderbilt as did the Women's softball team to Ilinois- but what an exciting sports weekend in town!

[zman9810]

Cold day at Baum Stadium but the Hogs beat Big 12 member Kansas 15-3 Tuesday. I think the high was something like 36 degrees with a breeze blowing. The baseball team is really looking good early in the season- now off to California for a series against Pac 10 member.

[Mith242]

The Razorback baseball team faces a big challenge this weekend. They face the reigning Natl Champ LSU down at Baton Rouge with they're new stadium. Can't remember if it's a totally new stadium or a renovated and expanded stadium. Either way the Razorbacks could be playing before their biggest crowd this season. They've been a bit up and down so far this season. Looking pretty good in some games but struggling in some others.

Even though the Razorback basketball season is over thought I'd mention a little. There had been rumors about Rotnei Clarke transferring. Luckily it was just rumors and he's apparently staying. In SEC news looks like the NCAA Tournament hasn't been good for the SEC yet. Florida lost a close game and Vanderbilt got upset in their first game to a 13 seed. So half of the SEC teams are already gone. But the two best teams have yet to play. I get the impression they'll perform a little better.

[Mith242]

Baseball team has been looking pretty good lately. They've managed to take first in the SEC West passing up LSU. They've also been moving up in the rankings. College Baseball rankings tend to be all over the place. At one point they were in the top ten in some polls yet in the upper teens in others. Now they seem to be ranked top ten in all the polls I've seen. They needed extra innings last night against a pretty good New Mexico team. New Mexico went into Austin and took two of three from a highly ranked Texas. So Arkansas still has to watch out for them in the next game.

In football news there's talk of Arkansas possibly having to reschedule some of their games to 'help' Alabama out. Apparently when the SEC made the schedule out they failed to notice that Alabama was going to have 6 games where they would face teams coming off a bye week. There's only two SEC teams that have the leeway to help out Alabama, and we're one of them. Right now Jeff Long is insisting we're not moving our game. But I'm curious to see if the SEC puts pressure on us. I'm sure the SEC wants to do what it can to help out Alabama who could be making another Natl Championship run. Not to mention the SEC HQ is in Alabama as well.

[Sequoia Payroll]

The diamond hogs are really doing great. They pulled off an important series with ole miss. In about a week they will face off with south Carolina. According to the latest polls they are ranked #7. I don't understand that. They have an identical record to Arkansas, but AR is ranked 12. What is the deal?

Go Hogs, show the gamecocks who's boss!

[zman9810]

The diamond hogs are really doing great. They pulled off an important series with ole miss. In about a week they will face off with south Carolina. According to the latest polls they are ranked #7. I don't understand that. They have an identical record to Arkansas, but AR is ranked 12. What is the deal?

Go Hogs, show the gamecocks who's boss!

A new contributor- cool! Welcome!

Yeah, the baseball team is doing great even after the Florida and Auburn series losses. The Ole Miss series win was just what they needed. I don't put much stock in college baseball polls. There are so many and the different ones never have the same rankings- they just aren't reliable.

I hope we can win at least two of three this weekend and do the same at Vandy the next weekend. We should be assured of a regional here by now unless something drastic happens like we don't win another game-shame on me for even saying such a thing.

[Mith242]

Yeah the polls can vary quite a bit. The differences could be the fact that SC has been winning a lot lately while the Razorbacks had been slumping recently. But hey we can see who's the better team this weekend when they play each other. Right now I'd have to say Florida seems to be the hottest team in the SEC at the moment. Although they've finally started losing a few games recently. Another Florida-Arkansas matchup would be interesting. We lost the series but that third game was very close and we lost on a very questionable call.

[Sequoia Payroll]

A new contributor- cool! Welcome!

Yeah, the baseball team is doing great even after the Florida and Auburn series losses. The Ole Miss series win was just what they needed. I don't put much stock in college baseball polls. There are so many and the different ones never have the same rankings- they just aren't reliable.

I hope we can win at least two of three this weekend and do the same at Vandy the next weekend. We should be assured of a regional here by now unless something drastic happens like we don't win another game-shame on me for even saying such a thing.

Happy to be here, Thanks! Diamond hogs have their work cut out for them, but hopefully they are up for the challenge!

GO HOGS!

[Mith242]

Looks like the Razorbacks really took a nosedive while I was on vacation, losing almost every game. At least they finally came back and won the series against Vandy. Also looks like Vandy will be the first team we meet in the SEC Tournament. I knew it would be hard to pass up Florida and South Carolina. They both look really good this year. But I can't believe we didn't even win the SEC West. Also a little weird in that the SEC West is usually the powerhouse division in baseball. I know the baseball team tends to have a slump. But you hate to see it happen so close to post season play. Hopefully they'll really get things going now. I wonder if we've lost enough games now to not be in contention for a Super Regional.

[Sequoia Payroll]

Looks like the Razorbacks really took a nosedive while I was on vacation, losing almost every game. At least they finally came back and won the series against Vandy. Also looks like Vandy will be the first team we meet in the SEC Tournament. I knew it would be hard to pass up Florida and South Carolina. They both look really good this year. But I can't believe we didn't even win the SEC West. Also a little weird in that the SEC West is usually the powerhouse division in baseball. I know the baseball team tends to have a slump. But you hate to see it happen so close to post season play. Hopefully they'll really get things going now. I wonder if we've lost enough games now to not be in contention for a Super Regional.

From everything that I heard, the hogs still have a pretty good chance at the super regional. It was good to see them take the series at Vandy, but they are really struggling. They are starting the tournament against them, and they will be playing without Eibner and Cox. I would like to see them win, but I don't know if they will be able to pull it off without those guys. The rest of the team needs to step it up. Keep the faith...

GO HOGS!

[Sequoia Payroll]

Heading to Arizona! Keep up the good work guys!

[Mith242]

Heading to Arizona! Keep up the good work guys!

Have fun, enjoy the games. Hopefully the Hogs will be heading to Omaha when you get back.

[KJW]

Have fun, enjoy the games. Hopefully the Hogs will be heading to Omaha when you get back.

Mith, I'm pretty sad to hear of what sounds like the impending breakup of the Big XII (part of which is in our suburbs ">). I fear this next round of college realignments will be an absolute mess.

However, on a lighter note, isn't it fascinating that (if commitments hold) for the second time since 2006's "Springdale" class there will be at least four new Razorbacks from NWA. 2 from Fayetteville, 1 from Springdale and 1 from Bentonville, with a possible top talent from Har-ber. Shiloh looks like they could have 5-8 guys go Division I after this year as well. My son's a senior now, too, as of yesterday. This class includes kids that were (and probably many who moved) here in 3rd and 4th grade in 2001 and 2002 when growth really started heating up in this area. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues...already I've seen that the UA diving coach's daughter, in junior high, is apparently the top female diver in the nation in her age group.

[Mith242]

Mith, I'm pretty sad to hear of what sounds like the impending breakup of the Big XII (part of which is in our suburbs ">). I fear this next round of college realignments will be an absolute mess.

However, on a lighter note, isn't it fascinating that (if commitments hold) for the second time since 2006's "Springdale" class there will be at least four new Razorbacks from NWA. 2 from Fayetteville, 1 from Springdale and 1 from Bentonville, with a possible top talent from Har-ber. Shiloh looks like they could have 5-8 guys go Division I after this year as well. My son's a senior now, too, as of yesterday. This class includes kids that were (and probably many who moved) here in 3rd and 4th grade in 2001 and 2002 when growth really started heating up in this area. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues...already I've seen that the UA diving coach's daughter, in junior high, is apparently the top female diver in the nation in her age group.

Yeah, although I suppose some things may not end up happening, it seems like there are some big changes eventually coming to college sports. It's a bit weird to see it happen to the Big 12. Athletically, the conference has done pretty well for itself. Of course what really drives all of this is money. I guess the Big 12 just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But if change is going to happen, I really wish the SEC could pull in Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. But it seems like the SEC is just waiting to see what happens. I get the impression it may end up waiting till the 'dominoes' fall and end up looking for ACC teams to add. Which of course isn't going to be as appealing to fans in Arkansas that don't have any ties to that part of the country. Of course it's also sounding more and more like to get Texas, not only do you have to take Texas A&M, but also Texas Tech and maybe even Baylor before it's all said and done. Adding four teams all from one spot has it's own problems. You end up having to realign the conference. That or have some of these teams play in an odd geographic area. Adding four Big 12 teams you'd probably have to put Bama and Auburn in the East. But Bama fans won't be happy about not playing LSU on a regular basis. If you add four ACC teams then you have to move some East teams over to the West. Perhaps Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

[Mith242]

Yeah looks pretty bad for the Big 12. Everybody anticipated Nebraska being the first team to leave but Colorado jumped first, leaving for the Pac 10. I'm a little surprised the Pac 10 didn't wait a bit longer on Colorado. Word has it the Texas legislature is trying to lump Baylor with Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. The Pac 10's invitation doesn't include Baylor. If the Pac 10 ends up having to take Baylor then that probably means Oklahoma State gets left out of the mix. I could see the SEC being interested in Oklahoma State. Although they'd prefer, Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. But Oklahoma State would allow the SEC from having to add four teams to the east to get to 16. I hate to see it come down to this. But if it's going to happen I wish the SEC would have been a little more proactive. Almost seems like the SEC will end up having it's options a bit limited. In this part of SEC country I don't think a lot of people are excited about adding just ACC/Big East schools.

[Mith242]

Now that we have officially had some movement happen, now the rumors really start flying. Now there's rumors that Texas and Texas A&M are heading to the Big Ten. Ok St to the Pac 10 and Oklahoma wanting to join the SEC but has to find a second team to get in. I wonder how many wild scenarios there will be before it's all said and done.

[zman9810]

Now that we have officially had some movement happen, now the rumors really start flying. Now there's rumors that Texas and Texas A&M are heading to the Big Ten. Ok St to the Pac 10 and Oklahoma wanting to join the SEC but has to find a second team to get in. I wonder how many wild scenarios there will be before it's all said and done.

I hadn't seen those - can't imagine OU and OSU in different conferences.

It is indeed all about the money. It sure isn't about which is stronger conference or geographic fit. The Big 12 is by far the stronger overall football conference. I guess they will divide up the new Pac 16 into west and east so the two divisions only travel once or twice a year but still?????

How about UT, OU, OSU and A&M joining the SEC? That would be cool.

This should really do a number on the BCS Championship system. Maybe it will do away with it altogether.