PHOTO COURTESTY OF KNWA
Pitching primary highlight for Hogs in exhibition loss to OSU
STILLWATER, Okla. — Arkansas got a good taste of what life on the road will be like in the spring after completing 14 innings against Oklahoma State on Saturday in Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
Oklahoma State led 1-0 after nine innings before Arkansas took a 2-1 lead in the 10th. Eventually, the Cowboys capped the day with a five-run 13th inning to win, 7-2, but the Razorback pitching staff looked strong through the first nine innings.
2019 Fall Exhibition Schedule
Sept. 20 – vs. Oklahoma – L, 4-3 (14 innings)
Oct. 12 – at Oklahoma State L, 7-2 (14 innings)
Sophomore Christian Franklin led all Arkansas hitters, going 4-for-7 with a run scored.
One of his singles came in the top of the 10th inning that got the Hogs’ only run-scoring opportunity going as he was brought around by Heston Kjerstad to tie the game at 1-1.
Kjerstad had the other strong hitting line on the team going 3-for-6 at the plate with an RBI and a walk. Kjerstad is one of the top hitters in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) returning for the 2020 season.
The 2018 SEC Freshman of the Year is coming off his second-straight season of hitting .325 or higher and has already racked up 174 hits in his career, which is just 45 hits shy of the Arkansas all-time top 10 chart.
As for the pitching, returning rotation members Connor Noland and Patrick Wicklander were stellar in the first four innings, allowing just the one earned run in the second.
Both pitchers pitched only two frames and both only allowed one hit. Wicklander was especially efficient needing only 35 pitches and striking out four.
The remainder of the game saw many returners take the mound, but Peyton Pallette and Blake Adams were the two newcomers that combined for 3.2 innings and six strikeouts.
Adams pitched the final 1.2 innings and struck out five on 37 pitches.
Arkansas will go through one more week of full team practice before the fall window closes and it moves to individual skill training.
The Razorbacks were scheduled to have its annual Fall World Series next week, but due to team injuries, the series has been cancelled.
Hogs have best chance of winning league game against Kentucky
No introductory quote this week … just a factual statement: If Arkansas wants to win an SEC game on the road, this is their absolute best likelihood.
I have not given up the right of latitude to believe the Razorbacks could still win a conference game at home.
This week does afford us a solid opportunity to earn Chad Morris his first victory over an SEC East opponent … or any SEC member for that matter.
We showed improvement against Texas A&M, yet we did not turn the page. Playing the Wildcats at home presents a bent page corner so easily to grab and pull over on the book of this season.
However, would a victory in Lexington really amount to anything for Arkansas’s identity?
When you have not won a conference game in two seasons, yes. No win is truly ever a bad win, especially now.
At a high school football game I was approached by a good number of people, and all had the same question: “What is your pick for tomorrow?”
Good question.
On a side note, I deduced quickly all three of my readers are from my hometown. Mom, Dad, and lady with the wrong-colored foam finger, thank you.
There are aspects that concern me as well as push me in the direction of whom I am going to pick in in Week 7.
• Bye weeks be damned. Both Arkansas and Kentucky are coming out of a weekend off, so both have had the same amount of team to study and prepare for the other.
• Kentucky has a quarterback situation folks, and it is not one to be desired. Fourth-string or fifth-string, I am pretty certain their starting signal caller is listed as a wide receiver.
Perhaps … PERHAPS … Arkansas can exploit this as our defense continues to struggle stopping big plays early in the game as well as towards the end of it.
• Nick Starkel is in good shape, and Ben Hicks played well enough against A&M to ensure there is a QB competition. Hopefully this keeps the junior sharp and the senior on high alert as we may need both.
• I am not certain why Mark Stoops and his team are on the decline this season, but I feared last season we would fall into the traditional “Kentucky Trap” — they get hot right around the time they roll back onto our schedule.
• The Hogs have talent. Today those skilled players can learn how to utilized their abilities on the road. Chad Morris will surely make this a point of emphasis.
• WE MUST WIN! The fans know it. The coaches know it. The players know and feel it. Any chance of a bowl game is on the line, and the players must feel both a sense of urgency (on their careers) and a strong will power to win. Let’s right the ship, men.
On a closing note, Kentucky will honor Jared Lorenzen this week. Anytime a team plays for a fallen member it concerns me. And yet I will also pay homage to the great No. 22.
I remember once watching a news broadcast of him getting off of Kentucky’s team bus. I had such disdain for that young man.
I will never forget when in 2003 he turned to the Kentucky fans departing the stadium versus Arkansas and declaring, “Hey, where are y’all going?! You’re going to miss one hell of a football game!” I have liked him ever since.
Furthermore, I recently watched some interviews with him regarding his weight struggles, and in doing so I grew quickly to respect and admire him. Jared, from a lifelong Razorbacks fan, you are cherished and missed. God Bless you and your Family.
The game must go on, and this week it is in Arkansas’s favor: Hogs, 34 – 17.
Be sure to listen to the game at 6:30 via HitThatLine.com and on the air at ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
Andy Hodges confessed to me he is scared of this season’s pick’em contest. No, he did not express it verbally, yet I can see the fear in his eyes despite his besting me by one-game last week as he now possesses a plus-two lead.
Fear not, fans, I still aim to beat the tyrant on your behalf and claim what is rightfully mine … I mean ours.
• South Carolina at (3) Georgia: Twenty dollars to the first person who tells me South Carolina will win this game today. Twenty-five dollars if they actually do. Bulldogs by 24.
• Mississippi State at Tennessee: I received a message the other day criticizing my picks. They say I am anti-Volunteers. No, my friend, the Tennessee football team is anti-Volite. Bulldogs by 18.
• (1) Alabama at (24) Texas A&M: Thank you, Aggies, for ensuring only one SEC team will fall out of the Top 10 this week. Actually, even if the home team in College Station could pull off the upset, the Crimson Tide (who passed Clemson in the rankings for the coveted No. 1 slot) would most likely remain listed as one of the current echelon teams in the NCAA. That unlikely scenario said, Alabama should be able to pull away midway in the third quarter. Tide by 20.
• UNLV at Vanderbilt [SLOPFEST OF THE WEEK]: Who else remembers the early 90’s rap song about the Razorbacks basketball team which included the line “So everyone, start runnin’ like Rebels”? Sorry, I got nostalgic for a moment. This game will not ever be listed as a classic, but the Commodores get their second victory of the season as UNLV is only runnin’ slop now. Vandy by 14.
• Ole Miss at Missouri: I think the Rebels are starting to find themselves as a team. On the flip-side, Missouri was catching on how to utilize Kelly Bryant, however, a possible season-ending knee injury has created a public chess match between the two coaching staffs of “will he or won’t he” play. If he does, Tigers by 21. If he does not, Tigers by 11.
• Arkansas at Kentucky: See the top-notch analysis above…. No, the article above this one. However, Arkansas by 17.
• (7) Florida at (5) LSU [GAME OF THE WEEK]: The only thing about this game I do not like is a callback to the above statement – one SEC team will fall out of the top tier of the NCAA rankings. This will be a fantastic game… possibly. LSU’s defense is better than it was last year in the Swamp, and I do not think backup Florida’s QB (Kyle Trask) will be able to ride the emotion of knocking off Auburn last week into a night game in Death Valley long enough to upend the Tigers. LSU by 9.
That is it for this week! Enjoy yourself, Razorbacks fans and everyone else who happened to stumble across this piece.
Find me on ‘Twitter’: @PeterMorganWPS
Go HOGS!!!
Will Arkansas be able to find offensive rhythm against Kentucky?
Maybe the biggest question around Arkansas’ game with Kentucky on Saturday night is which team is playing worse lately.
Seriously, that’s the view most folks are taking around a game that probably won’t be viewed by an awful lot of people outside of the two states involved. The ESPN mother ship has the big game of the week with Florida going to LSU.
In Lexington, the Razorbacks and Wildcats come into this game sporting identical 2-3 records and both teams have let games slip away.
Kentucky lost in spectacular fashion to Florida and you have to wonder how much that loss has hurt them going forward. It’s happened before. One loss can sink a season for a variety of reasons.
Chad Morris is trying to rebuild a program that was in shambles when he came in. Mark Stoops isn’t going to hit last year’s 10-win record, mainly because they go to Georgia next week, then host Missouri.
The Hogs get Auburn and Alabama the next two weeks.
Both teams desperately need a win.
Arkansas could have won against Texas A&M two weeks ago and should have won against San Jose State before that and Morris will remember those for awhile.
After losing to the Gators, the Wildcats have stumbled against Mississippi State and flatlined against South Carolina two weeks.
Their offense is bad and the defense isn’t too much better. The Razorbacks, as fans are painfully aware, have been all over the map this year.
Despite all that, it could be an entertaining game.
The biggest question for me is how does Nick Starkel do with a complete set of wide receivers, something he really hasn’t had very often this year.
It will also help they certainly aren’t going to be looking past Kentucky. Morris has pointed out after the San Jose State game this team doesn’t have the talent level to look past anyone.
Every game, it seems, something has happened that seemingly throws everything off the tracks a little.
Especially with the wide receivers.
Against Texas A&M, Trey Knox was out and Treylon Burks had a big game, but it wasn’t enough and it came down to a prayer to tight end C.J. O’Grady.
Against San Jose State, Burks was out, Knox was being doubled up and that game came down to a long pass to Mike Woods that got picked off.
With the exception of O’Grady, we’re talking about freshmen and a sophomore. All of this is happening behind an offensive line that is, at best, consistently inconsistent.
It’s all part of Morris’ building project.
Getting a win over Kentucky would be a huge positive … and I think they get it.
Arkansas 28, Kentucky 17
In our pick ’em contest, Peter Morgan and I didn’t publish anything last week on the SEC picks, but by mutual agreement we made them and he falls another game back, taking Auburn while I then took Florida to throw him a crumb … and he blew it. I am up two games.
Easy pickings
Georgia (-22) over South Carolina, Vanderbilt (-15) over Nevada-Las Vegas.
Mississippi State (-7) at Tennessee
This one has a pair of teams needing a win as badly as Arkansas and Kentucky, especially the Vols, who are sitting at 1-4 on the season.
The Bulldogs are 3-2, but their last outing was getting stomped by Auburn two weeks ago. That came a couple of weeks after losing to Kansas State … at home.
If you follow all of that, State may lay an egg, but Tennessee is a stumbling, bumbling mess. If it wasn’t for Arkansas, the Vols would be at the bottom of the SEC barrel the last couple of years.
Mississippi State 30, Tennessee 21
Alabama (-17) at Texas A&M
Why is it I don’t think this game is going to be THAT big of a blowout?
The Crimson Tide are rolling like they normally do over a bunch of has-been’s and never-will-be’s … and we have no idea what the Aggies can do about it.
But because Alabama really hasn’t been challenged this year. Ole Miss put 31 on the Tide, but most of it came late and it was after Alabama had put 59 on the board.
Sooner or later, though, one of Nick Saban’s former assistants will figure out a way to win a game against him, but I don’t think that will be the second-most over-rated coach in college football, Jimbo Fisher.
Alabama 42, Texas A&M 31
Ole Miss at Missouri (-12.5)
Apparently, nobody thinks the Rebels have a shot in this game, but I’m still not a believer in either Kelly Bryant or the Tigers for the long stretch.
We’re not taking the overall view here, though, and it’s one week at a time. Ole Miss is playing musical chairs at quarterback, but everyone’s seeing why John Rhys Plumlee was so highly-touted as a recruit.
He was the second highest-rated quarterback recruit in Mississippi last year … behind Razorback signee K.J. Jefferson, who hasn’t seen the field yet.
The Tigers will win this one, but it may be a little closer than a couple of touchdowns.
Missouri 45, Ole Miss 38
Florida at LSU (-13.5)
When is the last time this matchup had an over-under of 56 … that might actually be too low?
Nobody is betting on the Gators, which is why the line keeps going out of sight in favor of the Tigers, which should tell us something.
It’s a night game in Baton Rouge and LSU has a quarterback that has been one of the leading Heisman Trophy candidates and that hasn’t happened since Bert Jones back in the early 1970’s (his little brother, Tom, played at Arkansas nearly a decade later).
Yeah, LSU will take this one pretty big.
LSU 48, Florida 31
Kentucky game offers realistic chance for Hogs to salvage season
So far, the only really positive thing Chad Morris has to hang his hat on is a narrow loss to Texas A&M two weeks ago.
Neither of Arkansas’ two wins against Portland State or Colorado State moved the needle, so a valiant effort against the above-average Aggies is it.
That can change Saturday night at Lexington, Kentucky. Beating one of the bottom feeders of the SEC isn’t necessarily something to hang your hat on, but it’s what that win could lead to is what Hog fans cling to.
The win would be Arkansas’ third. That means three more to become bowl eligible. Everyone can agree that playing in a bowl game would be a huge accomplishment for this team not to mention the extra practice time would be a huge plus for next season.
Arkansas is a long way away from that now, and would be virtually eliminated from that prospect if they lose. However, if you pencil in WKU as a win (we can, the team can’t), that means two more wins to get to six.
It doesn’t appear Arkansas has a prayer against Auburn, Alabama or LSU, but if they can survive the Tigers and Tide a home game against Mississippi State in three weeks is winnable.
The season-finale in Little Rock against Missouri is the other game some have tabbed as a possible Arkansas win. If the Hogs sit at five wins the week of that game, I might agree.
Missouri’s only loss came at Wyoming, and the schedule sets up favorably for them to rack up more wins with games against Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Kentucky coming up. The only real tests come Nov. 9 at Georgia and a home game against Florida Nov. 16.
The Tigers get the benefit of playing hapless Tennessee in its home finale the week before Arkansas.
That could lift the Tigers’ spirits, but with Mizzou not playing a bowl game, it’s hard to tell how the final two games may go if Georgia and Florida batter them.
What Arkansas is looking for is consistency. If they play as well as they did against Texas A&M, they can beat Kentucky.
They also have a shot of making things interesting against Auburn for an 11 a.m. kickoff that the Tigers will be trying to not look past as they play at LSU the next week.
What I’ll be looking for Saturday night is can Morris motivate this team to give the same kind of effort as they gave in Arlington two weeks ago?
The Razorbacks have the advantage of a bye week and should be prepared. “Should be” is the key term.
The verdict is still out on whether Morris and staff are capable of preparing for opponents and making in-game adjustments.
The Texas A&M game was a big test. Coming off a horrible performance against San Jose State, Arkansas showed fight in that game.
Fans were left feeling good about the way Arkansas played, and how they competed. That was a direct result of coaching.
The question is can Arkansas do that again and again and will it lead to wins? Momentum is a powerful factor, and sometimes breaking through an obstacle such as a long SEC losing streak is important.
Maybe Arkansas just needs to win one SEC game and more will follow … like Mississippi State and Mizzou.
That is yet to be determined, but it’s clear the Kentucky game is a must-win if lofty goals are going to be achieved. An SEC road win would be a shot in the arm for this team and could be a harbinger of things to come.
Fantasy Football Friday with Benny Ricciardi of EliteFantasy.com
Tye & Benny on McCaffrey going off, how sports betting has changed Fantasy Football, his Jets and more!
No desperation for Hogs, Morris, despite historically rocky beginning
Whether you want to hear it or not, Chad Morris keeps telling fans he’s trying to build a program at Arkansas and he never expected it to be a fast or easy process.
It’s a good bet he didn’t think he’d be sitting at 4-13 at roughly the halfway point of his second season, but he’s not losing sight of here he’s trying to go.
By the way, that’s the worst start for a coach in program history, but Morris didn’t exactly inherit a situation poised for immediate success.
“We have to keep pushing this program forward,” Morris said on his radio show Wednesday evening.
Don’t misunderstand all of this. Morris wants to get wins as badly as any fan and he knows that’s the ultimate thing that will measure his tenure.
By the same token, you might as well settle in and wait for it to play out because he’s not going anywhere anytime soon, despite what message boards and fans may think is best.
Morris doesn’t appear to be distracted by it. Seeing him on his daily runs around campus with director of operations Randy Ross is always a positive sign. At least fans aren’t running over the curb trying to get at him.
It appears he has this team focused on at least talking about fixing the details.
Listening to quarterback Nick Starkel talk about how his interception against Texas A&M started bad when the play blew up, then got worse with him being injured was just one sign.
“You practice one way the whole week always getting it,” he said after practice Tuesday. “You’re always getting a look, always getting guys blocked where we have [Rakeem Boyd] running wide open.”
The problem was, the Aggies kinda threw a wrench into the whole thing.
“We get in the game and the guy kinda plays in between us so the shovel pass turns into a real throw with the guy on him,” Starkel said. “I’ve just got to know sometimes they get us. Sometimes they beat us on a play. I’ve got to throw the ball away. I’ve got to do a better job of throwing the ball away or holding onto it and just run out there. Protect points in the red zone.”
It’s a point the coaches have been hammering into the quarterbacks for awhile. The problem is the only real way to “get it” is experience it in a game.
Fans want to blame the coaches, but there is no way to simulate an actual game. Before you say they should practice what to do when it all goes sideways, remember there’s only a limited number of hours they can practice every day.
In case you don’t know, they can only have 17 hours a week on a game week, plus three hours for the game. The days of scrimmaging and having to turn the lights on are gone.
Experience is a tough teacher. You get the test first, then the lesson.
“Every possession has got to end with a kick,” Starkel said. “We’ve always got to reserve the right to punt, and also we’re not bad playing with a field goal instead of an interception.”
It’s frustrating for fans. They blame the coach, the quarterback and the athletic director in the time-honored Razorback tradition.
Morris either doesn’t pay attention or isn’t letting a soul know he does.
And he’s not losing sight of his goals, which is for a program, not a single game. He’s said a couple of times the game against A&M was the best since he’s been here, despite it being a loss.
“We’ve set the bar,” he said on his radio show this week. “Now nothing less than that is acceptable.”
Now he’s got to figure out how to get a win with that.
Morris updates injuries, but doesn’t nail down questions before ’Cats
Arkansas coach Chad Morris met with the media for the final time before Saturday’s game with Kentucky and left questions open about the travel squad and status of some injured players.
