John, Tommy and Tyler discuss the Ole Miss loss, what to do with the QB situation, plus Tom Murphy!
When bad luck isn’t better than no luck at all for Hogs
In the post-mortem of a crushing 37-33 loss to Ole Miss in Little Rock on Saturday night, it became crystal clear midway through the third quarter, Arkansas had a problem.
When Ty Storey scrambled for 10 yards and a first down on the Hogs’ second play of the fourth quarter, he should have stepped out of bounds after a 9-yard gain when he had the chance.
Storey was decked by Rebels free safety Zedrick Woods and it was pretty clear the Razorbacks suddenly had a full-blown issue on offense.
It became clear Chad Morris’ plan of controlling the game by running the ball was working like a charm on an Ole Miss team with an offense that could light up the scoreboard in a hurry. The best way to stop them was keep them on the bench.
Looking at the big picture, it became crystal clear why the Hogs’ depth chart offensively has the running backs listed where they are.
“That’s what we’re trying to do,” Morris said later. “We had Devwah (Whaley) and Rakeem (Boyd) going. The pace they were going at was very impressive. I hate that they couldn’t finish the game.”
Boyd finished with 109 yards rushing, but left the game for good with what was reported as a back injury after his only carry after the first quarter, a 3-yarder. That was on Arkansas’ second offensive play in the second quarter.
Whaley was welcomed to the party and looked perfectly capable of picking up most of the slack behind Boyd, providing a rushing compliment to Storey and that was good enough for a 33-24 lead with 2:33 left in the third quarter.
That was it, though.
Chase Hayden, who did his best, simply isn’t the threat that Whaley is and he’s not the threat Boyd is.
Yes, the Hogs were down to their third-string running back and a backup quarterback that can’t run more than a couple of yards consistently in a game where keeping the ball on the ground was the plan to keep it out of Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta’amu’s hands.
Danged if it didn’t almost work out.
Ta’amu did more damange to the Hogs’ defense than Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa did last week. Ta’amu threw for 387 yards, which the Hogs could have dealt with.
What they couldn’t handle was Ta’amu’s 154 yards on the ground, with runs of 27 and 15 yards in the fourth quarter that that were killers.
“They made some plays on that last drive,” Morris said. “They picked up some key first downs in the second half, which was critical.”
Mobile quarterbacks can beat a defense that covers everything else. No matter how hard defensive coordinators try, a quarterback who can run turns a chicken mess into chicken salad.
“His ability to see the field when the pocket collapses around him, to keep his eyes open
and down the field,” Morris said of Ta’amu. “That’s why he’s one of the top quarterbacks in our league from passing efficiency to running the football.”
Storey was doing that for the Hogs before he was knocked out of the game. He wasn’t as spectacular as Ta’amu, but he did have 73 yards rushing. That tied him with Whaley for the second-leading rusher on the night for Arkansas.
To his credit, Morris wasn’t using the injuries as an excuse.
“I’m not here to make an excuse,” he said. “We would love to have those guys out there. I think that Rakeem (Boyd) was on pace to have another career night. Devwah (Whaley) as well.”
Coaches won’t use injuries as an excuse, but losing those three guys was the reason the offense wasn’t as effective in the fourth quarter.
You wonder what Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock will do this week in those three spots.
Is it time for Connor Noland to get a start if Storey can’t go?
It’s become clear Cole Kelley is good on certain packages. He can get you some hard-earned short yardage into the middle. He can even throw a pass when the defense doesn’t expect it.
But he can’t run this offense very well.
Hayden is in the same spot at running back. Nobody knows what’s up with T.J. Hammonds, who didn’t see the field again Saturday night.
With Tulsa the next opponent, there will be plenty of questions for the coaches to come up with an answer to.
But hopefully they can have some good luck, which coaches despise talking about, but it does play a role.
Because Saturday night bad luck was far worse than no luck at all.
Hogs’ Fall World Series moved to Tuesday for start
FAYETTEVILLE — The 2018 Razorback Baseball Fall World Series will get underway Tuesday at Baum Stadium as the baseball team nears the end of its fall workout season.
Originally scheduled as a best-of-five series, bad weather forecasted for Monday has forced the series to become a best-of-three starting on Tuesday.
The intrasquad games will split the roster into two teams (Cardinal, White). Games one and two will go nine innings, while game three, if necessary, will go seven innings. First pitch for game one is set for 1 p.m. on Tuesday at Baum Stadium.
Arkansas was the national runner-up from a year ago, its second national runner-up finish in school history and returns 14 letterwinners from the 2018 squad.
Coach Dave Van Horn enters his 17th season at the helm of the baseball team and is coming off his best season as the head Hog as he guided the Razorbacks to their ninth College World Series appearance and seventh of his career.
Making up the Cardinal team for this year’s fall series are eight veterans and 14 newcomers.
Redshirt junior starting pitcher Isaiah Campbell and junior closer Matt Cronin headline the pitching staff, however, both will be held out after throwing in both of Arkansas’ fall exhibitions against Wichita State and Little Rock over the last two weeks.
Sophomores Kole Ramage and Angus Denton, along with junior Jacob Kostyshock will shore up the Cardinal pitching staff for this week.
Ramage and Kostyshock both saw considerable time on the mound during the exhibition games, combining for just one run allowed over six innings and striking out 11.
Last Friday at Little Rock, Ramage struck out a team-high four batters in two innings of work while allowing only one hit and one walk.
Offensively, the Cardinal team is led by All-SEC junior outfielder Dominic Fletcher, infielder Jack Kenley, and catcher Zack Plunkett. Fletcher hit .288 with 10 home runs and 49 RBIs a year ago and was named to the SEC All-Defense Team.
In the College World Series, Fletcher was Arkansas’ hottest hitter, going 9-for-26 (.346) at the plate with two home runs and eight RBIs.
He ended the year with a second-straight double-digit home run total becoming the first Razorback since Rodney Nye (1998-99) to hit 10 or more home runs in his first two seasons.
On the White team, a strong offense litters the roster including Jordan McFarland, Casey Opitz, Heston Kjerstad and Casey Martin.
Martin and Kjerstad, who were the Razorbacks top two hitters a year ago and named Freshman All-Americans, return as, arguably, the nation’s best hitting duo as both combined for a .339 average, 27 home runs, and 107 RBIs last year and set Arkansas freshman records for hits, home runs and total bases.
Opitz is coming off a strong fall exhibition series where he went 4-for-9 (.444) at the plate with three of those hits coming on Friday at Little Rock.
Last year, Opitz only appeared in 19 games but hit .222 with two of his six hits going for extra bases and is expected to be one of Arkansas’ top utility players in 2019.
On the mound for the White team, righties Caleb Bolden, Zebulon Vermillion, Kevin Kopps, and Cody Scroggins lead the way.
Kopps, who is coming off season-ending Tommy John surgery last year, pitched one inning against the Trojans on Friday, striking out two while walking one on 13 pitches.
2018 Fall World Series Schedule
• Game 1 – Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 1 p.m.
• Game 2 – Thursday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m.
• Game 3 – Friday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. (if necessary) (7 inning game)
Morris thanks fans, recaps close loss to Ole Miss
Arkansas coach Chad Morris met with the media after the 37-33 loss to the Rebels on Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium.
Pettway talking about game against Ole Miss on Saturday
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.
