Hogs wide receiver La’Michael Pettway talked with the media following the 37-33 loss to the Rebels at War Memorial Stadium.
Froholdt talking about loss to Rebels on Saturday night
Razorbacks guard Hjalte Froholdt talked with the media following the loss to Ole Miss on Saturday night in Little Rock.
Harris after loss to Ole Miss on Saturday night
Arkansas linebacker De’Jon Harris with the media after the 37-33 loss to the Rebels in War Memorial Stadium.
Hogs fall to Ole Miss in an all-too-familiar late collapse
LITTLE ROCK — It had to be a wild game when Ole Miss and Arkansas get together.
This time it was on a cold, rainy night in War Memorial Stadium that was more suited for duck hunting, but it was yet another in a series that has seen wild and crazy finishes, improbably comebacks and surprising blowouts.
This one had a little bit of it all.
At the end, Arkansas’ defense couldn’t get one more stop against a high-powered Rebels’ offense that backfired much of the night.
This time Scottie Phillips ran it in from 5 yards out with 42 seconds left and Ole Miss won for the first time since 2013 against the Hogs, 37-33.
“We didn’t help ourselves out,” Chad Morris said in the post-mortem after the game. “All year long if you asked what unit wanted on the field with 97 yards to go, I would take (our defense).”
Last year it was Ole Miss that blew a huge lead as Arkansas came back for a huge win. This time the tables turned the other way.
You could feel it starting midway through the third period after Arkansas had managed to drive twice, but couldn’t convert on third down and Connor Limpert kicked field goals of 38 and 36 yards around a 66-yard pass from Jordan Ta’amu to Octavious Cooley.
After all that, the Hogs still were leading 33-24 going into the final period.
“Our special teams unit of Limpert, (holder) Jack Lindsey and (snapper) Jordan Silver really did some good things,” Morris said later.
It just wasn’t enough, mainly because things started falling apart in the fourth quarter.
After missing a 28-yard field goal on the third play of the final quarter, Ole Miss scored touchdowns on it’s next two possessions.
Storey was knocked out of the game when he didn’t step out of bounds on a second-and-10 scramble and was nailed by Ole Miss free safety Zedrick Woods.
“That’s what’s made him the competitor that he is,” Morris said later. “He was trying to get the first down. The first thing he asked me when I got out there was, ‘did we get the first down?'”
Morris didn’t know what his status was immediately after the game.
“We’ll come back and look at it,” he said. “Tomorrow we’ll re-evaluate things.”
On the Rebels’ last two drives, they had just one third down. It was a unit that was simply unable to keep up.
“We let some guys get loose up the sideline and we didn’t tackle very well,” Morris said.
This is yet another fourth-quarter collapse by the Hogs in a scenario that is becoming far too familiar for fans … and probably coaches.
“The biggest thing we’ve gotta do is go back to work,” Morris said. “Our formula is not going to change. We’ve gotta win plays. That was our message at halftime: We’ve gotta win more plays in second half than they do. Can’t let one play affect the next play.”
And, for whatever reason, they couldn’t do that.
For a Hogs’ team that had been showing steady improvement, this one may qualify as that, especially considering the loss of quarterback Ty Storey and running backs Rakeem Boyd and Devwah Whaley that completely changed the complexion of the game.
Arkansas got a big return after the score by De’Vion Warren, but they called extended blocking by a Razorbacks, ignoring the late hit out of bounds by Ole Miss.
That put the Hogs back at the 28-yard line and Cole Kelley threw an interception down the middle on first down and that was the ballgame.
In the second half, Ole Miss scored three touchdowns. All the Hogs could muster was a pair of field goals by Connor Limpert.
Arkansas had 476 yards of offense while Ole Miss had a gaudy 613 yards, 329 yards of it coming in the second half.
Until getting knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter, Storey was 12-of-16 passing with no interceptions and a touchdown. In addition, Storey had 70 yards rushing, but it was the final run that knocked him out of the game.
Ole Miss got on the board after taking the opening kickoff and driving 56 yards in six plays, but the Razorback defense stiffened and Luke Logan came on to kick a 36-yard field goal with 12:49 left in the opening period.
Arkansas answered.
Storey completed a third-down pass to Boyd for 38 yards to Rebels’ 35. The Hogs completed a fourth-and-1 at the Ole Miss 26 with Kelley going up the middle, but the drive stalled and Limpert kicked the first of his field goals, a 43-yarder, to tie the game at 3-3 with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter.
The Hogs’ defense got a three-and-out from the defense, then the running backs took over in a drive that started at the Arkansas 22 with Boyd rushing for 31 yards, Whaley had 8 and Storey passed to Cheyenne O’Grady for a 39-yard score with 3:24 left. Limpert’s point-after gave Arkansas a 10-3 lead.
The Razorbacks got another score just before the end of the quarter when Boyd broke free for a 69-yard run to make it 17-3 heading into the second period.
Both teams traded scores, the Hogs scoring on a 39-yard pass from Kelley to Pettway from 39 yards out with 10:50 to go in the first half that made it 24-10.
Ole Miss’ Logan missed a 45-yarder, Limpert made a 38-yarder with 2:36 left in the half to push Arkansas’ lead to 27-10.
Just before the end of the half, Ole Miss drove 77 yards in 10 plays, using just 2:03 to pull within 10 on a 6-yard pass from Ta’amu to Lodge with 33 seconds left.
All of that set up the second half.
The loss dropped Arkansas to 1-6 overall on the season and 0-4 in the SEC. Ole Miss moved to 5-2 overall and 1-2 in the league.
The Razorbacks will host Tulsa next week for homecoming in Fayetteville in a game televised on the SEC Network, kicking off at 11 a.m.
Governor braving weather before kickoff of Hogs-Rebels
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson was on the sidelines during pregame warmups in Little Rock before Arkansas and Ole Miss kicked things off.
A steady rain started before the game and picked up intensity a half hour or so before the start of the game in addition to temperatures dropping.
Fayetteville upset against Bentonville tops Week 7 games
Here are scores from last week’s games in high school football around Arkansas:
THURSDAY’S GAME
CLASS 7A
7A-CENTRAL
North Little Rock 49, LR Catholic 17
FRIDAY’S GAMES
CLASS 7A
7A-CENTRAL
Bryant 31, Fort Smith Southside 14
Cabot 41, Little Rock Central 21
Conway 35, Fort Smith Northside 21
7A-WEST
Bentonville 24, Fayetteville 20
Bentonville West 45, Springdale Har-Ber 0
Springdale 37, Rogers 27
Van Buren 38, Rogers Heritage 0
CLASS 6A
6A-EAST
Marion 49, Mountain Home 7
Searcy 30, Pine Bluff 24
Sylvan Hills 10, Jacksonville 8
West Memphis 35, Jonesboro 14
6A-WEST
Benton 62, El Dorado 35
Greenwood 51, Russellville 7
Sheridan 48, LR Hall 8
Siloam Springs 21, Lake Hamilton 14
CLASS 5A
5A-CENTRAL
Little Rock Christian 40, Little Rock Parkview 20
Maumelle 47, Little Rock Fair 18
Pulaski Academy 42, Beebe 7
White Hall 37, Watson Chapel 14
5A-EAST
Batesville 45, Wynne 31
Blytheville 30, Valley View 7
Forrest City 32, Paragould 21
Nettleton 47, Greene County Tech 0
5A-SOUTH
Camden Fairview 49, DeQueen 28
Hot Springs Lakeside 49, Hope 28
Magnolia 46, Hot Springs 19
Texarkana 21, LR McClellan 15
5A-WEST
Alma 55, Clarksville 29
Harrison 40, Greenbrier 7
Morrilton 41, Huntsville 10
Vilonia 28, Farmington 25
CLASS 4A
1-4A
Berryville 42, Gravette 7
Lincoln 50, Green Forest 0
Pea Ridge 38, Prairie Grove 29
Shiloh Christian 35, Gentry 0
2-4A
Heber Springs 42, Bald Knob 14
Lonoke 35, Mills 8
Southside Batesville 34, Central Arkansas Christian 13
Stuttgart 45, Riverview 9
3-4A
Gosnell 13, Brookland 7, OT
Jonesboro Westside 54, Cave City 24
Rivercrest 49, Pocahontas 19
Trumann 41, Highland 0
4-4A
Dardanelle 49, Dover 9
Mena 49, Elkins 45
Ozark 41, Pottsville 7
Waldron 36, Subiaco Academy 29
7-4A
Arkadelphia 35, Benton Harmony Grove 6
Bauxite 40, Fountain Lake 14
Malvern 42, Joe T. Robinson 0
Nashville 27, Ashdown 20
8-4A
Crossett 45, Monticello 0
Dumas 28, Star City 23
Hamburg 34, Helena-West Helena 32
Warren 35, DeWitt 14
CLASS 3A
1-3A
Booneville 55, Mansfield 6
Cedarville 56, West Fork 0
Charleston 50, Paris 0
Lamar 33, Greenland 27
2-3A
Clinton 43, Yellville-Summit 6
Harding Academy 42, Melbourne 14
Mountain View 48, Marshall 12
3-3A
Newport 56, Manila 6
Osceola 54, Harrisburg 0
Piggott 42, Hoxie 35
Walnut Ridge 49, Corning 0
4-3A
Danville 26, Atkins 7
Glen Rose 38, Jessieville 0
Mayflower 37, Baptist Prep 0
Perryville 43, Two Rivers 0
5-3A
Camden Harmony Grove 50, Centerpoint 15
Horatio 18, Bismarck 13
Prescott 45, Genoa Central 3
Smackover 49, Fouke 0
6-3A
Lake Village 19, Palestine-Wheatley 6
McGehee 28, Barton 6
PB Dollarway 20, Drew Central 0
OPEN Rison
CLASS 2A
3-2A
East Poinsett County 26, McCrory 16
Rector 30, Cross County 8
Salem 48, Marked Tree 8
OPEN Midland
4-2A
Hector 48, Hackett 42, OT
Lavaca 34, Magazine 24
Mountainburg 40, Western Yell County 0
OPEN Johnson County Westside
5-2A
Conway Christian 42, Quitman 15
England 34, Cutter Morning Star 6
Mountain Pine 33, Magnet Cove 24
Poyen 39, Bigelow 28
6-2A
Carlisle 38, Marianna 30
Des Arc 42, Brinkley 14
Earle 2, Marvell 0
Hazen 60, Clarendon 6
7-2A
Dierks 42, Lafayette County 26
Foreman 34, Mount Ida 13
Gurdon 56, Spring Hill 22
Mineral Springs 50, Murfreesboro 0
8-2A
Fordyce 50, Parkers Chapel 10
Junction City 40, Bearden 0
OPEN Hampton, Strong
Hogs blast Trojans in Little Rock to kickstart big weekend
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas defeated the Little Rock Trojans Friday night, 16-3, over 14 innings at Gary Hogan Field, in what was a historic night between the two baseball programs.
Arkansas, which was playing its second of two fall exhibition games against outside opponents, was also facing an in-state school for the first time in any capacity.
Even though the scrimmage was not considered an official game, more than 1,300 fans were in attendance, which ended up being the largest crowd in Gary Hogan Field history.
The two teams are scheduled to play once during the 2019 regular season as that matchup is expected to be played on April 2 at Baum Stadium.
2018 Fall Exhibition Schedule
Oct. 5 – vs. Wichita State – W, 10-1 (14 innings)
Oct. 12 – at Little Rock – W, 16-3 (14 innings)
Sophomores Casey Martin and Casey Opitz led Arkansas’ offense throughout the night, combining for six hits in 12 at-bats and five runs scored.
Martin drove in a team high four RBIs and walked once.
Opitz wasn’t able to drive in any runs, but did score four times and showed his versatility by playing catcher, first base and second base.
Redshirt freshman Jacob Nesbit was also strong with the bat as he went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Over the two fall exhibitions, Nesbit has three hits and started both games at second base.
Unlike its game last week with Wichita State, Arkansas couldn’t use the long ball against Little Rock. Only five of the Razorbacks’ 17 hits went for extra bases, all doubles.
Two of Martin’s three hits were doubles, while Opitz, Jack Kenley and Christian Franklin all added two-baggers of their own.
On the mound, redshirt junior Isaiah Campbell got the starting nod for the second-straight week and looked comfortable, holding Little Rock hitters to only three hits over three scoreless innings.
In the third inning, Campbell ran into trouble after giving up a lead-off hit by pitch, a walk, followed by a single to load the bases with no outs. The Kansas native worked out of the jam, striking out the next two batters before inducing the inning-ending groundout, leaving the bases loaded.
A similar scenario to last week followed in the next six innings as Campbell was followed by Jacob Kostyshock, Kole Ramage, Cody Scroggins, Kevin Kopps and Matt Cronin.
Ramage was the only pitcher out of those five to work more than an inning, allowing only one hit and one walk, but striking out four.
Kopps, who had season-ending Tommy John surgery last January, was able to throw to live hitters in the eighth inning. He struck out two and walked one, while throwing 12 pitches.
Cronin finished the game, once again, and was just as untouchable as he was last week. The junior faced three batters and he struck out all three, throwing only 17 pitches. Combined in his two fall exhibition appearances, Cronin has faced six batters and struck out all six.
Arkansas has one more week of fall practice remaining and it will use that week to play its annual Fall World Series.
The best-of-five series will begin on Monday at 1 p.m. at Baum Stadium. Game two is expected to be played on Tuesday at 1 p.m. while game three will be on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m.
Could rain work in Hogs’ favor against Ole Miss in LR?
Weather forecasts right now for War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Saturday night calls for rain starting in the middle of the afternoon and increasing to a 70 percent chance throughout the game.
That works to Arkansas’ advantage … at least that’s what I’m thinking right now.
Ole Miss’ defense is patchwork at best right now. They are scrambling to move a bunch of mediocre players into spots where they might have SOME kind of success.
The Razorbacks actually aren’t playing that bad on defense. Oh, I know Alabama put up a ton of yardage and points last week but, quite frankly, that may be the best college football offense in history.
It’s the best I’ve seen in person and I’ve seen just about every big-time offense in the last 47 years. The Crimson Tide have the best collection of talent playing a scheme that fits them about as well as any I’ve seen.
After playing Alabama, Texas A&M and Auburn the past three weeks, the Hogs have seen some pretty good attacks. Ole Miss’ offense managed to score 23 points combined against Alabama and LSU.
To point out the obvious, Arkansas hung 31 on the Tide last week.
And there is no comparison at all between Bama and Ole Miss defensively.
Now, on the rain issue. The Rebels ran for 265 against Alabama and LSU combined. They aren’t going to grind it out on the ground against the Hogs, who haven’t allowed 1,000 yards rushing combined in their first six games.
Arkansas just might be able to control the game on the ground. With a stable of healthy running backs against a defense that has more issues than a one-armed paper hanger trying to stop either the run or pass, Chad Morris might just try to run, run, run.
It is the easiest way to defend the Rebels’ high-flying offense. They can’t complete a single pass standing on the sidelines.
History is also on the side of the Hogs in this one.
Ole Miss should have won games in 2014, 2015, 2016 and last year. Instead, they haven’t won a single one of those games. Remember, in 2014 and 2015, the Rebels were headed to big-time seasons that ended in the Chik-fil-A Bowl and the Sugar Bowl and they lost to Arkansas.
Last year, they jumped out to a huge lead on the Hogs and couldn’t hold it, giving Bret Bielema his only league win in that big comeback.
Right now Ole Miss is a six to seven-point favorite in Las Vegas.
Which is usually the position that favors Arkansas. Especially in Little Rock and I don’t have enough time to list all of the upsets in Razorback history there, but it started with a monumental upset in 1954 of No. 1 Ole Miss.
We’ll see if history continues in Little Rock and I think it will.
Arkansas 51, Ole Miss 31
Last week saw the first loss for me in our little prediction contest in two weeks. Kentucky’s loss in overtime to Texas A&M was my only miss.
For the Hogs, I picked Alabama 59-24, so the final of 65-31 wasn’t that far off.
The record for the season is 53-6, right at 90 percent.
This week the league is all playing each other and the quick picks are Alabama over Missouri (that might be the case the rest of the year) and Florida over Vandy (although that one might be a little close after the Gators’ win over LSU last week).
Since I correctly tabbed Mississippi State’s win over Auburn last week, I’m allowed to pick Bulldogs’ games again but they have the week off and will be rooting for Arkansas against Ole Miss.
Tennessee at -15 Auburn
It would be shocking if the Vols could pull of a win here and I started to put it in the quick picks … until I saw the spread.
This game opened with the Tigers an 18-point favorite and it’s been bet down as low as 14 in some places.
I still have a feeling that may be too many.
Gus Malzahn has shown a remarkably relaxed view of his team’s lackluster start and Auburn fans are questioned why they gave him half of the university to not go to Arkansas.
Tennessee is a mess in Jeremy Pruitt’s first year, but this game just might be a little closer than what Vegas is showing.
Auburn 17, Tennessee 10
-7 Georgia at LSU
If this was a night game in Baton Rouge it would be a slam dunk upset pick, but it’s the afternoon CBS game and that’s the only reason I’m hesitating … a little.
I haven’t bought into the Bulldogs’ ranking this season. To me there are questions with the running game and I’m not sure they have looked as dominant in the first half of the season as you’d expect from a team with that ranking.
LSU has looked solid and played some of these close games already this year against Auburn and Florida.
I’m taking the Tigers in a game that’s not going to be a wild scoring affair, but maybe more points than some think.
LSU 24, Georgia 21
-2 Texas A&M at South Carolina
The Aggies lost to Clemson and Alabama before coming very close to dropping a home game against Kentucky last week.
This time they go on the road against a Gamecocks’ team that put up token resistance against Georgia and Kentucky.
But it is a night game in Columbia in one of the best environments in all of college football regardless of South Carolina’s record.
I’ll go out on a limb here and pick the Gamecocks in an upset
South Carolina 27, Texas A&M 24
???? Friday Halftime Pod — Featuring Aaron Torres
Phil Elson and Tye Richardson talk about the upcoming Arkansas vs. Ole Miss game and interview with Aaron Torres!
Morris, Yurachek smart for embracing Little Rock games
There were plenty of reasons Bret Bielema was unsuccessful at Arkansas. I’d add surprisingly, but not everyone agrees with me there.
Along with a sharp drop in quality of assistants and lack of recruiting, Bielema’s disdain for playing games at War Memorial Stadium stands out among factors that led to his demise.
Bielema finished 3-3 in Little Rock, but all three of those wins were against Football Championship Subdivision opponents.
The loss to mid-major Toledo in 2015 was one of the nails in his coffin. A Toledo team that was without future NFL star running back Kareem Hunt no less.
The other losses were an overtime loss to Mississippi State in 2013 and a blowout loss to Georgia in 2014 that was deflating to some who were encouraged by close losses to Texas A&M and Alabama.
The bellyaching coupled with the lackluster efforts that Bielema and former athletics director Jeff Long blamed on sparse WMS crowds, irritated the UA Board of Trustees and made it easy to send Bielema packing.
Long agreed with the former coach and planned to pull games out of Little Rock. After the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism began managing the stadium, Gov. Asa Hutchinson supported games in Little Rock and so did the BOT.
That left Long in a pickle and eventually with a pink slip.
So now enter new Hogs coach Chad Morris and athletics director Hunter Yurachek. Both have enthusiastically supported the idea of keeping with the long-standing tradition.
Are they toeing the company line?
Yes, but they see the bigger picture. They understand that games will be played at WMS every other year and the spring game the other years.
They don’t want any negative thoughts creeping into the locker room. They want to win as many games as possible for more than one reason.
“I cannot wait to go down to our home stadium at War Memorial there in Little Rock on a Saturday night,” Morris told the media this week. “I think it’s the first time since 1999 (well, there was a Thursday night game against South Carolina in 2003, but close enough) that there will be a night SEC game.
“We’re extremely excited about this. I know we’re expecting the atmosphere to be incredible. The tailgating will be outstanding. The weather will be fabulous.
“But we need you in the stands for kickoff. We need you loud, we need you excited and we need this place to be rocking on Saturday night at 6:30.”
Arkansas has lost five straight games despite showing improvement. Morris knows if his team is going to make a late-season run, they need to win Saturday night against an Ole Miss team that may be a little better than average.
The game is realistically winnable. It wouldn’t be smart for Morris to take the podium bad-mouthing the 70-year-old stadium knowing there is plenty of negative thoughts that could be creeping into his players’ minds.
Morris has shown a knack for keeping things positive which must be tough at times.
As we approach game day the UA ticket office confirms tickets are in short supply. Special things happen at the stadium at night.
The tailgating on the golf course is among the best atmospheres in college football. If Morris gets his first SEC win in Little Rock against Ole Miss, it will only add to the mystique and really warm the coach up to playing here.
Just because Long is gone, it doesn’t change the fact that playing at War Memorial Stadium doesn’t make economic sense or help recruiting with no official visitors that weekend.
But Yurachek wants to unite the state and include all boosters and fans. That was something mentioned before he was hired.
There are still fans that won’t travel to Little Rock for a game, but rotating every year and substituting a game with the spring game is a good compromise.
It shows forward thinking and a solution that Long probably never thought of.
Both men know that winning cures all. If the Hogs win often, it doesn’t matter where the games are played. Both stadiums will be full.
The foundation for winning begins by embracing playing games at War Memorial Stadium. That was something Bielema and Long never did.
