Arkansas coach Mike Anderson met with the media Sunday and talked about losing to the Longhorns on Friday night and looked ahead to Monday night’s game in the Hardwood Showcase.
Razorbacks get commitment from four-star cornerback Sunday
Arkansas’ record this year is a lousy 2-8, but Chad Morris and the staff continue to put together what is shaping up to be the best recruiting class ever in the modern area.
And it improved again Sunday with Devin Bush, a four-star cornerback from New Orleans Edna Karr tweeted his commitment to the Razorbacks on Sunday.
????COMMITTED???? pic.twitter.com/d8uyJIRP9b
— Devin C. Bush7️⃣ (@Dev_Bush1) November 11, 2018
Bush was reportedly a silent commitment to the Hogs before making his first visit to Fayetteville this weekend for the LSU game. He also held offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee and several others.
He is the 24th commitment to a class ranked No. 16 in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, 10th by Rivals.com and No. 20 in the ESPN rankings.
Bush is the third cornerback to pledge a commitment to the Hogs, along with Rison athlete Malik Chavis and Adonis Otey of Murfreesboron, Tennessee, Blackman.
Hogs’ offense stays frozen early against ninth-ranked LSU in loss
Everyone thought the cold weather would affect LSU on Saturday night, but it was Arkansas’ offense that was frozen through three quarters.
Still, though, the Razorbacks had a shot at a fourth-quarter comeback that fell one score short as the seventh-ranked Tigers came away with a 24-17 win that really didn’t feel as close as the final score indicated.
“We got within a score, and just needed one more stop but we couldn’t find a way to get that ball back,” Hogs coach Chad Morris said later.
Going into the fourth quarter against LSU on Saturday night, Arkansas’ offense had generated just 91 yards as the Tigers were dominating through the first three quarters.
The biggest positive at that point was it wasn’t a shutout.
And there was the fourth quarter where the Hogs made it 24-10.
The Razorbacks avoided that with a 24-yard field goal by Connor Limpert just before the first half ended.
And that was set up on a 24-yard fumble return by Dre Greenlaw that set up the offense at the Tigers’ 33-yard line.
Jared Cornelius then made a return, catching a 27-yard pass from Ty Storey to reach the LSU 6, but there was only six seconds left in the half and a field goal was the best option then to avoid a shutout.
LSU led 14-3 at halftime and added 10 more points in the third quarter for the lead going into the final period.
The Hogs mounted a drive to start the fourth quarter with passes from Storey to La’Michael Pettway, then Grayson Gunter that moved the ball to the 23 and a facemask penalty against the Tigers moved it to the 11.
With Rakeem Boyd after suffering an apparent leg injury to start the final period, but they couldn’t gain a yard on three pass attempts with the only completion to Cheyenne O’Grady for zero yardage.
On fourth-and-10 from the 11 following a timeout, Storey found O’Grady in the corner of the end zone and he out-muscled JaCoby Stevens for the ball and a score with 12:37 left that cut it to 24-10.
Arkansas’ defense forced an LSU punt on the ensuing series, giving the offense back after it had finally gotten to 156 yards on the night.
Storey underthrew a deep route to Deion Stewart that was intercepted by Kary Vincent, Jr., at midfield and the Razorbacks’ defense stepped up again as McTelvin Agim and Santos Ramirez smothered Clyde Edwards-Helaire on a fourth-and-1 at the 25.
This time, Storey directed a drive down the field hitting key passes to first Deon Stewart, then Jared Cornelius. LSU’s Vincent then was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that moved it to the Tigers’ 32.
Storey found O’Grady again for a score and it was a one-score game. The biggest issue was the junior tight end celebrated too hard and got hit with a 15-yard penalty that gave LSU good field position and Arkansas never got the ball back.
“The touchdown before was close to being unsportsmanlike,” Morris said later. “I addressed it with him, I said ‘you have to play smart’, my exact words were ‘you’ve got to be composed.’ I knew that if there was anything remotely close that he was going to get called.”
It got O’Grady’s attention.
“That’s not gonna happen again,” he said later. “That was just an immature move on my part and it’s definitely not gonna happen again.”
Limpert had to shove Edwards-Helaire out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff at the LSU 41. Facing third-and-6, Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow, who played an unspectacularly error-free game, hit a pass for a first down, then ran around right end on a bootleg for 16 yards and the Hogs were done.
Nick Brossette did a slide twice to keep from scoring and giving the Hogs the ball back. Why that was the choice when it would have given LSU a two-touchdown lead was mystifying, but it did keep Arkansas’ offense on the bench.
“It was ours against theirs and they just won their matchup,” Hogs defensive lineman McTelving Agim said later. “We won most of the matchups all night, but when it came down to the clutch moment we gave one up. We just have to go back to the drawing board.”
With only road games left against Mississippi State and Missouri, the chances for this team to avoid having the worst record in program history are disappearing fast.
“Losing isn’t fun at all,” senior linebacker Dre Greenlaw said later. “I wish the season would’ve been better than what it is, but we just have to continue to fight.”
That was the recurring theme from everyone.
“I saw a lot of fight in our team tonight,” Greenlaw said. “There was plenty of times we could’ve given up. Guys were banged up. I’m just proud of the way we fought and battled.
“Just going out there in my last game in that stadium, I felt like we fought hard and I’m really proud of that.”
It was the last game in Razorback Stadium for a group that has had fewer wins over the last two seasons than they had in any of their previous years.
“It’s very, very important that we recognize these seniors and the hurt and the fight that they’ve been through,” Morris said. “It started with 27, down to 15. They love the Razorbacks with all their heart and we love them.”
He just wants to get another win with this group.
“Just the fight in all our group, it’s just an opportunity that these men have been coming back in this building and fighting every day,” Morris said. “That’s our message right now, we’ve got to come back in and continue to fight.”
Morris on Hogs’ slow start, fighting back against LSU
Arkansas coach Chad Morris addressed the Razorbacks’ sluggish offense in the first three quarters against the Tigers on Saturday night and the team coming back in a 24-17 loss.
Storey, Froholdt, O’Grady after comeback is short against LSU
Hogs quarterback Ty Storey, offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt and tight end Cheyenne O’Grady talked about coming back against the Tigers and falling just short.
Agim, Greenlaw on defense’s play against Tigers
Razorbacks defensive lineman McTelvin “Sosa” Agim and linebacker Dre Greenlaw talked about the frustration of not being able to get last stop against LSU in 24-17 loss Saturday night.
LSU’s attitude more important than temperature against Hogs
Just for a quick comparison, the temperature in Northwest Arkansas on Friday night was hovering around the mid-20’s and expected to dip into the teens while Baton Rouge is a downright balmy 50 degrees.
That has been the talk of folks this week as a 2-7 Arkansas team hosts a 7-2 LSU team Saturday night.
Some are pinning the slight sliver of hope on the Tigers struggling with the lower temperatures. That might be something they aren’t comfortable with, but the biggest question is going to be LSU’s attitude.
Make no mistake about it, Ed Orgeron kinda put his team in an awkward situation last week before playing Alabama by saying THAT was THE game for his team. For two weeks that game was built up like a conference championship game which it might have been … except not many outside of Baton Rouge were giving LSU a shot.
That’s not a knock on the Tigers. It’s more an indication of what people think about the Crimson Tide this season, which could end up being in the conversation as the greatest college football team of all time.
Oh, to top things off, Orgeron basically said after the loss his players weren’t good enough to beat Alabama and he needed to get better ones to compete for a championship.
Now they have to come and play the lowly Razorbacks. In Fayetteville, where it’s cold after they practiced in balmy weather most of the week back in Baton Rouge.
The reason some in Fayetteville have that little ray of hope is because it’s happened in this series before.
In 2014, Bret Bielema got his first SEC win when a 7-3 LSU team rolled into Fayetteville on a chilly evening after losing the week before to Alabama, 20-13, and promptly lost, 17-0, to an Arkansas team that was 4-5 and stumbling along.
It gave the Hogs a jumpstart and they ended up 6-6, then beat Texas in the Texas Bowl.
The next year, the same thing happened in Baton Rouge. It had happened in 2002, 2007, 2008 and 2010. You’d think LSU would be well aware of this, wouldn’t you?
All of which is why it’s hard to just come flat out and say LSU will be taking Arkansas lightly.
“Arkansas is a weird opponent for LSU,” former Tigers great Marcus Spears said Friday while in town getting ready for the SEC Nation morning show on the SEC Network on Saturday. “I can tell you from experience.”
While Spears never played in Fayetteville, it’s the experience LSU has had anywhere in the state that makes it unusual.
“It’s just a tough place to play,” Spears said. “It’s always been a case where you say, ‘They’re good, but they shouldn’t be as good as we are.’
“Then you get on the field and realize how physical they play, the things they are doing are hurting you and you get to the fourth quarter, realize you’re only up three and you’re like, ‘man, they got a chance to win this game.'”
But this year?
“We’ll see,” Spears said. “They’ve struggled this year. Chad (Morris) has been dialing some nice plays up. You can see the beginning stages of him trying to implement his plan. Right now the talent is just not where he needs it to be.”
His answer on “Bama Fatigue,” though, was interesting since the Tigers were deflated totally last week in that 29-0 loss.
“There was a lot on the line last week,” he said. “Then you come play Arkansas who you might not respect because of the film, the record and all that, you sleepwalk in here and we’ve seen what happens when you sleepwalk at Arkansas.
“When you come in here sleepwalking, you get beat.”
LSU had lost earlier this year to Florida, but bounced back strong, beating Georgia and Mississippi State.
“The psychology of the team right now will be 100 percent magnified as opposed to how they would respond after the Florida loss,” Spears said. “They were going home, it was Georgia who was ranked top five in the country, everything to play for, you get a seat back (in the playoff discussion).
“Now you play Arkansas with two wins on the season, we just lost a big game that set our course in the national playoff and it’ll be interesting to see how they respond.”
Like Spears said, we’ll see.
And it might be more interesting than you think.
Razorbacks drop opener to Longhorns in overtime, 73-71
EL PASO, Texas — Arkansas erased a six-point deficit at halftime to force overtime, but Texas hit a jumper and a free throw inside the final minute of overtime to give the Longhorns a 73-71 overtime victory over the Razorbacks in the ESPN Armed Forces Classic at Fort Bliss.
Daniel Gafford led the Razorbacks with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Isaiah Joe added 17 points.
First Half: Texas 36, Arkansas 30
• Arkansas controlled the tip, but Texas scored first (2-0).
• The Razorbacks went an on 8-0 run thanks to 3-pointers by Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe.
• Texas drained four 3-pointers to led 20-15 at the second media timeout.
• Mason Jones ended a five-minute draught with a layup at the 8:08 mark. Isaiah Joe followed with a 3-pointer to trim the Arkansas deficit to seven (27-20).
• A jumper by Daniel Gafford Jalen Harris layup in the and lay-up by Jalen Harris inside the final minute provided the 36-30 halftime score.
• Daniel Gafford led the Razorbacks with nine points and five rebounds.
Second Half: Arkansas Out-scored Texas 33-27
• Adrio Bailey (six points) and Daniel Gafford (four) scored the Razorbacks’ first 10 points of the second half and Arkansas trailed by just two, 42-20, six-and-a-half minutes into the second half.
• After the second media timeout, Isaiah Joe sparked an 8-2 run to give the Razorbacks a 49-47 lead. Joe hit a 3-pointer, a jumper in the lane and another 3-pointer to the 2-point lead.
• Texas hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 57-57 at the 2:43 mark. However, Mason Jones immediately answered with a 3 of his own to put the Razorbacks up 60-57.
• A Texas 3-pointer with 1.1 left tied the game, 63-63, to force overtime.
Overtime:
• Isaiah Joe hit a 3-pointer with 2:14 left in overtime to give Arkansas a one-point lead, 68-67.
• Jalen Harris sank a pair of free throws with 1:12 left to once again give Arkansas a one-point lead, 71-70.
• With 47 seconds left, Texas’ Courtney Ramey hit a jumper in the lane to put the Longhorns up one, 72-71. After a missed shot by Arkansas, the Razorbacks were forced to foul. Texas only made 1-of-2 and led with two with 21 seconds left.
• Arkansas had a couple of chances inside the final 10 seconds to tie or take the lead, but could not convert.
Arkansas will play its 2018-19 home opener on Monday (Nov. 12) versus reigning Big West Conference Champion UC Davis. Tip-off at Bud Walton Arena is set for 7 pm.
Five reasons Hog fans should pack Razorback Stadium on Saturday night
A long Arkansas football season is almost over. In fact, the final home game is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday against the Hogs’ border rival (I use that loosely), LSU.
Throughout this historically bad season, attendance has dwindled and Razorback Stadium has been nearly half empty for many of the games.
That only proves what I have written before about Hogs’ fans being fair weather and why critics should pipe down about the attendance at War Memorial Stadium games when the on-campus stadium has a glut of empty seats.
However, I concede it isn’t easy to pay money to watch your team stink at an uncharacteristic level or arise at the crack of dawn just to get a few hours of tailgating in for early morning and afternoon games.
Things will be better Saturday in Fayetteville It seems the condition are ripe for the regular-season finale to an overall better experience, so I present to you five reasons Hog fans SHOULD go to the game.
1. Senior Night
This is the final game for a group of seniors who have been through its share of hard times. UA Coach Chad Morris commended some of them this week.
The least Hogs fan can do is bid them farewell with an electric atmosphere. It could be and should be a special night for those players regardless of what has happened this season.
2. It’s a night game
Fans have clamored for this all season and rightfully so. With Arkansas not playing at a “prime time” caliber, all of their home games have been morning or afternoon kickoffs. The 6:30 p.m. start gives fans plenty of time to enjoy tailgating and pre-game festivities.
Many have waited all seasons for this. A night game against a top-tier SEC opponent such as LSU is well worth the wait and the price of admission.
3. It’s a winnable game
I can hear some of you laughing. The spread (LSU -13.5) and the Tigers’ dominance (Winners of two of the past three games) wouldn’t indicate Arkansas has a chance. Nor would the fact that LSU is 7-2 and Arkansas is 2-7.
I get all of that, and I know the Hogs are coming off a bad loss to Vanderbilt. I am counting on a raucous crowd and renewed vigor from the team following some rest and the motivation of Senior Night.
Against probability, I see Arkansas making this game into the fourth quarter. Tell me you don’t want to be in attendance for that.
Recruiting
In spite of a horrible season and paltry attendance, Morris has landed some top-notch recruits. Imagine what might happen if the stadium was full and the Hogs upset the Tigers.
Pride
Football fans from around the country will be tuned into SEC Network for this game. Do you really want them to see thousands of empty seats? Some fans bristled at the notion that Arkansas has lost respect in the SEC.
There are programs that fill stadiums even when the home team is losing big. It happens; it just doesn’t happen in Fayetteville much.
You can change that for at least one game.
If you have tickets and aren’t using them, give them to someone who will or better yet donate them to charity.
The program has taken a hit and so has the fan base. That will continue if only 40,000 fans attend a game featuring a ranked, so-called rival on Senior Night.
Spears on how cold weather may have affect on Tigers
SEC Nation’s Marcus Spears talked Friday about how playing the Razorbacks has always been tough for LSU and how the cold weather could be a factor.
Tebow remembers tough games against good Hogs’ teams
SEC Nation and former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow talked with the media Friday about some of the games he played against some very good Razorback teams, including an SEC Championship game.
