John & Tommy discuss the golf event with the coaches, how far Arkansas can fall, plus Clay Henry joins the show!
Hogs’ crystal ball for 2019 won’t start clearing until October
If Chad Morris hasn’t exceeded last year’s win total by the end of September, it’s going to be a really interesting fall for Arkansas football once again.
Admittedly, the bar is low. That’s about the only positive fans can really take from last year’s forgettable season.
The schedule helps, thanks to Michigan wanting to play Notre Dame more than the Razorbacks.
Which is why September can’t be worse than 3-2 and probably should be 4-1. Ole Miss is a winnable game, even if it’s in Oxford where a big number of the fan base will never leave The Grove and another number will start heading downtown midway through the second quarter.
It helps the Rebels are breaking in new coordinators on both sides of the ball along with a bunch of new players that have potential … which is about the same boat the Hogs are in at this point.
Maybe best of all, they will play the second week of the season.
The biggest key, of course, is the three non-conference games in September. The Hogs likely won’t be a favorite in any of the two SEC games (there’s that Texas A&M deal in Arlington at the end of the month).
At least not now.
In case you’ve lost track, that game in Arlington is usually within the margin of error (three of the last five have gone to overtime). Let’s face it, Arkansas is due to win one of these things and whether it’s the Hogs stealing it or flat-out beating A&M is not a particularly big issue to fans.
What no one seems to consider is that of the last seven teams on the schedule (six are league games), history shows that at least one (more likely two) are going to not be up to expectations or just give half-hearted efforts.
It happens every year and nobody can predict it.
Which is why this is not going to feature some guess at what the win-loss total is going to be in September or any other kind of number.
Besides, until things finish up in Arlington that crystal ball everyone is using is going to be very cloudy, no matter what anybody is thinking.
Nobody is thinking this Razorback team is going to contend for the West this year. That’s not particularly a reason to believe it’s going to be a repeat of last year.
Despite the fact you’re not going to get some fans to believe that.
For a fan base that expects the worst to avoid disappointment is the trademark of bandwagon fans. In the case of Hog fans, man wait until it gets rolling to some type of postseason point before most just jump under it.
After September, the real season starts and nobody’s saying it will be easy, but it’s probably not as gloomy as many think.
Ole Miss will be trying to figure things out and their opener against Memphis is seldom an easy game. A&M will play Arkansas after already having gone on the road against Clemson and hosted Auburn the Saturday before.
Right now Jimbo Fisher is just hoping to be 4-1 at that point. He knows it could be 2-2, much like Arkansas. Plus, the Aggies have to be looking ahead at least a little to an off week before facing Alabama.
Auburn will roll into Fayetteville and whether Gus Malzahn is the coach or not might speak volumes. A killer schedule of Oregon, the Aggies, Kentucky, Florida and Mississippi could have an already tense situation bordering on chaos finally slipping over the edge.
The Hogs will go to Lexington to face a Wildcats’ team that lost it’s best players to the NFL (and that is a phrase you don’t hear often about Kentuky football).
Shoot, Mississippi State may take a step or two back and who knows where Missouri will be the day after Thanksgiving.
But I will go out on this: Anything below 3-2 will have the natives restless around Fayetteville.
Which is why we won’t really know anything until the smoke clears on that game in Cowboys Stadium.
???? Halftime Pod presented by Jeff’s Clubhouse — w/ Kevin McPherson
Phil & Tye hit on conference realignment, interview Kevin McPherson and more!
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Friday
John & Tommy hit on trench play, a bet for John, plus Clay Henry joins the show on a regular basis!
???? Halftime Pod presented by Jeff’s Clubhouse — w/ Scottie Bordelon
Phil & Tye discuss the most important player (not a QB) on the team, Scottie Bordelon, and more!
Razorbacks to host Horned Frogs in Big 12-SEC Challenge
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas renews a rivalry with one of its oldest opponents when TCU comes to Bud Walton Arena on Jan. 25 as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, ESPN and the SEC announced today.
The Arkansas and TCU rivalry dates back to the Razorbacks’ first season of basketball, 1923-24.
The Horned Frogs are the fourth-most common opponent for Arkansas with 142 previous games played in the series, trailing only Texas A&M (159. Arkansas leads series 103-56), Texas (155; Arkansas leads 87-68) and SMU (154; Arkansas leads 96-58).
They have not met since 1991, the Razorbacks’ final season as members of the Southwest Conference.
Arkansas owns a 104-38 advantage in the series versus TCU, including a 54-15 mark in games played in Fayetteville.
Arkansas was able to take a large lead in the series thanks to a 25-game win streak spanning from the 1972-73 season until 1982-83. After the streak was snapped, Arkansas won nine of the final 16 games — including two straight wins — to close out the rivalry in 1991.
Arkansas will be playing in its sixth straight Big 12/SEC Challenge.
The Razorbacks are 2-3 in the annual event, defeating Texas Tech (2015-16) and Oklahoma State (2017-18) at home with road losses to Iowa State (2014-15), Oklahoma State (2017-18) and Texas Tech (2018-19).
Big 12/SEC Challenge Schedule (Jan. 25, 2020)
Kansas State at Alabama
TCU at Arkansas
Iowa State at Auburn
Baylor at Florida
Kentucky at Texas Tech
LSU at Texas
Mississippi State at Oklahoma
Missouri at West Virginia
Tennessee at Kansas
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M
Smith named to watch list for award for service, athletics, academics
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ T.J. Smith has been named to the 2019 Wuerffel Trophy watch list, presented to the college football player who best combines exemplary service with athletic and academic achievement.
Smith is the seventh Razorback placed on a preseason watchlist this summer, joining McTelvin Agim (Bednarik), Rakeem Boyd (Doak Walker) and Devwah Whaley (Doak Walker), Cheyenne O’Grady (Mackey), De’Jon Harris (Butkus) and Connor Limpert (Groza).
Originally from Moultrie, Georgia, Smith played in all 12 games for the Razorbacks as a junior in 2018. He started 10 of the 12 games at defensive tackle, recording 26 tackles, 10 solo, with 3.5 tackles for loss (10 yards), including 1.5 sacks (6 yards).
Smith had a tackle in all but one game in 2018, with multiple stops in 9 of those appearances. He posted a season-best four stops during the homecoming game against Tulsa, including a half-a-sack in the contest.
Off the field, Smith has stayed busy with his work in the community.
He has participated in multiple Lift Up America events, helping sort food for the various volunteer groups across Northwest Arkansas, worked with the Boys & Girls Club, packed meals for families in need for the Fearless Food Fight and has visited sick children at the Arkansas Children’s Northwest Hospital, among other things.
He is also involved with the Arkansas Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and represented the Razorbacks in Birmingham, Alabama, as part of the SEC Leadership Council.
Smith was also recognized on the SEC Community Service Team.
The 51st Annual Wuerffel Trophy, presented by the Chick-Fil-A Foundation®, recognizes the semi-finalists for the award on Nov. 5, finalists for the award on Nov. 18, and the winner of the award will be presented on Dec. 10, in New York, New York at the National Football Foundation’s Press Conference.
On Dec. 12, 2019, the winner is invited to be a guest of the ESPN Red Carpet Show and the Home Depot College Football Awards Show at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.
On Feb. 14, 2020 the award recipient will also be presented at the 51st Annual Sports Association Trophy Awards Dinner in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
Smith and the Razorbacks will open the 2019 campaign Aug. 31 against Portland State at 3 p.m. at Razorback Stadium.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday
John & Tommy discuss Arkansas’ 2020 recruiting class, take Lisa from NEA’s call and Richard Davenport!
???? Halftime Pod presented by Jeff’s Clubhouse — w/ Kelli Stacy
Phil & Tye discuss the worst Arkansas SEC losses, interview Kelli Stacy, and more!
Limpert named to watch list for national kicker’s award
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ Connor Limpert has been named to the Lou Groza Award watch list by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, which honors the nation’s best kicker.
Limpert is the sixth Razorback placed on a preseason watch list this summer, joining McTelvin Agim (Bednarik), Rakeem Boyd (Doak Walker) and Devwah Whaley (Doak Walker), Cheyenne O’Grady (Mackey) and De’Jon Harris (Butkus).
Limpert was a semifinalist for the award last year.
From Allen, Texas, Limpert connected on 19-of-24 field goal attempts over the course of the 2018 season, good for 79.2 percent.
His clip was tied for sixth-best in a season by a Razorback, even with Bruce Lahay’s performance in 1981. His 19 field goals made also matched Lahay and Steve Little’s (1977) total for fourth-most in a single year by an Arkansas kicker.
Included in his total was a streak of 10-straight field goal attempts made from Sept. 22-Oct. 27, which ranked as the third-longest in school history.
His top performance of the season came on a cold, rainy night against Ole Miss in Little Rock on Oct. 13, where he proceeded to successfully convert all four of his field goals.
In doing so, he became the first Razorback since Alex Tejada in 2007 to go 4-for-4 in a game and tied for third-most FGM in a game with Kendall Trainor in 1988.
On top of his streak, Limpert also nailed the seventh-longest kick in school history with a 55 yarder against Vanderbilt on Oct. 27.
It was his second field goal from over 50 yards in 2018, also connecting on a 54-yard FG against North Texas, making him the first Razorback kicker with multiple 50-yard plus field goals made in a season since Zack Hocker in 2013.
Limpert also finished the year with a perfect 29-for-29 mark in extra point attempts, rounding out his junior campaign with an 86.0 grade from Pro Football Focus.
The 28th Annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, presented by the Orange Bowl Committee, recognizes the three finalists during a celebration in Palm Beach County, culminating with a gala awards banquet at West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 9.
Limpert and the Razorbacks will open the 2019 campaign on Saturday, Aug. 31, against Portland State at 3 p.m. at Razorback Stadium.
