Things I think I know: Week 12
Well, that Ty Storey play they called sure worked out well didn’t it?
Once again, the players played their tails off, but the bastion of buffoonery known as the Razorback football coaching staff screwed it all up.
Arkansas was on it’s way to an upset of a top 20 team at home in front of small gathering at Razorback Stadium. Mississippi State had no answer to Sosa Agim. Everything was going great. Until the quarterback with a bum shoulder was told to throw it deep on 4th & 2 in a tie ballgame.
Brilliant.
It didn’t help that Arkansas’ short yardage quarterback Cole Kelley was in the Razorback student section, unable to play due to a suspension.
As one listener put it to me post game, “Just when I thought I couldn’t dislike Bielema anymore, he calls that 4th & 2 play.”
Another afternoon ruined on the hill.
Here’s what else I saw this weekend.
- Baker Mayfield did something really dumb, but he shouldn’t lose the Heisman trophy over it.
- Wisconsin, even with one loss, should be in the playoff. If we are looking for the four best teams, they are on that list.
- Watching LSU play Tennessee in a monsoon was pretty awesome.
- None of the top ten teams in the playoff rankings lost this weekend. This can only mean that the final weekend of the regular season is going to be bananas.
- I am not counting out Auburn against Alabama.
- If Ohio State makes the playoff, this whole thing is a sham.
Finally, I want to leave you with this cool fake out punt return executed to perfection by USC on Saturday.
Bret’s not gone … yet; an amazingly bad statistic
Apparently several online news outlets have waited until the Arkansas bandwagon got rolling full steam … now they’re throwing themselves under it.
No, there has been no official announcement from anyone with the UA.
But everyone has suspected for weeks that Bret Bielema will be fired. The questions started back in September, then picked up steam in October a simmering calm after one-point wins over bad teams and now are back at full throttle.
Bielema has the Hogs at 4-7 this season with a game against Missouri on Friday. The Tigers have an offense that’s breaking scoreboards and a suddenly effective defense.
It doesn’t look good. Missouri will be favored. They are already a 65.9 percent pick in ESPN’s FPI rating, which is remarkably accurate.
A loss drops Arkansas to 4-8 in a season of discontent that started the second week of the season for many fans when they fell apart in the final half of the fourth quarter against TCU.
Bielema’s problem is he doesn’t have a single big time marker in his time at Arkansas. He is currently 29-33 overall and 11-28 in the SEC. That is the lowest SEC percentage of wins since the Hogs came to the league in 1992.
In all that, though, is an even more amazing statistic that I wasn’t aware of.
In all games against Power 5 opponents, Bielema is 14-32. One game shy of half of Bielema’s wins have been against non-Power 5 teams.
With an 8-22 record in games against SEC West opponents, the only team he has a winning record against is Ole Miss. He has never beaten Alabama or Texas A&M. He’s only beaten Auburn and Mississippi State once each.
If LSU and Ole Miss had bothered to do a moderate amount of preparation in 2014 and 2015 he might not have a couple of those wins.
But, I’m sure Bret would be quick to point out, they were close on so, so many occasions in those games.
That will be penned on his Arkansas monument: “He was close a lot.”
But he hasn’t been fired yet.
Some online news outlets are reporting that a site said “it appears that Arkansas is ready to move on from Bret Bielema.”
The only shocking thing about that is, well, everybody in Arkansas knew that a month ago.
It’s just a matter of days, folks.
And, of course, that starts an entirely new conversation.
Razorbacks finish fourth at Art Adamson Invite on Saturday
FAYETTEVILLE — Behind numerous personal bests, the Arkansas swimming and diving team placed fourth at the prestigious Art Adamson Invitational, scoring 281 points.
In the 200 backstroke prelims, senior Chloe Hannam touched in season-best 1:56.97 to advance to the evening’s A-final. Junior Madison Umberger qualified for the C-final, swimming a 2:00.47 in the prelims.
Sophomore Ayumi Macias swam a 2:01.31 to qualify for the D-final. Freshmen Michaela Degnan (2:02.68), Katiana Porporis (2:02.78) and Aubrey Torkelson (2:09.04) each swam season bests in the qualifying round.
In the 200 back A-final, Hannam touched in a season-best 1:55.08 for a seventh-place finish. In the C-final, Umberger swam a season-best 2:00.19 for a sixth-place finish. Macias touched in 2:03.72 in the D-final for an eighth-place showing.
The 100 free prelims saw many bests, as senior Olivia Weekley touched in a season-best 50.45 to qualify for the C-final.
Juniors Kiera Michailoff-Russell and Erin Kelly each recorded lifetime bests as they clocked times of 50.82 and 50.83, respectively. Freshman Kenedy Thaman (51.13) and sophomore Dalton Chambliss (52.48) timed season-bests, as well as juniors Marlena Pigliacampi (51.30) and Annah Carney (52.02).
Freshman Shea Gregson touched in a personal-best 51.47, along with junior Madison Strathman who touched in 53.27.
In the C-final, Weekley and Michailoff-Russell finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with times of 50.65 and 50.97. Kelly and Thaman swam in the D-final, with Kelly swimming a 50.69 for a third-place finish, while Thaman touched in 51.34 in seventh.
In the 200 breast prelims, junior Sydney Angell finished 13th in a season-best 2:41.63 to qualify for the B-final. Freshman Peyton Palsha qualified for the C-final in a time of 2:17.63. Strathman qualified for D-final, swimming a season-best 2:19.17. Senior Madison Edwards also swam a season-best, clocking a 2:24.33, while freshman Alyssa Hale touched in a personal-best 2:24.80.
Angell clocked a 2:14.19 sixth-place showing in the B-final, while Palsha touched eighth in the C-final in 2:19.34. Strathman swam a 2:17.30 in the D-final to finish fourth.
Senior Chelsea Tatlow qualified for the A-final in the 200 fly with a prelim time of 1:57.12. Jessie Garrison (1:58.53) and Taylor Weiss (1:59.97) advanced to the B-final, as both swim season-bests. Pigliacampi touched in a season-best 2:01.93 to move on to the C-final.
Tatlow finished seventh in the A-final in 1:57.00. In the B-final, Garrison touched third in 1:58.57, while Weiss touched in 1:59.83 for a fifth-place finish. Pigliacampi won the C-final of the 200 fly in a personal-best time of 1:59.89.
In the 1650 free, Macias touched seventh in a season-best 16:30.55, while Palsha came in at a season-best 16:30.65. Freshman Alyssa Lemon had a 31st-place finish, touching in 17:16.90.
In the 400 free relay, Arkansas had squads finish 13th in 3:24.66, 18th in 3:25.26 and 24th in 3:27.69.
On the platform dive, senior Nicole Gillis recorded her third second-place finish on the weekend, scored a personal-best 249.85. Marissa Green scored a 201.15 for ninth place, while Caroline Welch scored a 178.85 for a 13th-place finish.
Could Huskers, Illini bail out Hogs on Bielema buyout?
Okay, I know there are a lot of Arkansas fans out there who will refuse to believe Bret Bielema would be wanted by a DII school, much less another Power 5 team.
But they would, apparently, be incorrect. At least based on rumblings as the coaching carousel continues to pick up speed going in circles.
While Bielema still has a job, even Jen probably doesn’t expect him to keep it for much more than a week or so.
Now his name is being linked to coaching searches at two Big 10 schools. Naturally, both of those schools still have coaches, but if you wait until you get rid of your current coach before you start looking then you might as well wait until the next season.
Nebraska’s Mike Riley is expected to be cut loose shortly after Bielema at Arkansas and Lovie Smith at Illinois, with just two wins, is likely to gone, too.
Bielema’s name has been mentioned in both cases.
In 2014, Bielema was approached about the Nebraska job before Riley was hired. He still had Jeff Long running interference for him here at Akansas and getting a raise for going 6-6 (okay, 7-6 with a bowl win over a terrible Texas team). The timing wasn’t good for the Huskers.
Now it couldn’t be a better time.
As we’ve said many times over the previous three months, fit is THE most important aspect in picking a coach.
Bielema was never a good fit at Arkansas and I didn’t care what the so-called experts said when he was hired in 2012 and I was ultimately proven correct.
Nebraska made a similar bad hire choosing Riley. That was never going to work. In fact, it would have worked out better at both Arkansas and Nebraska if they’d just switched coaches right then.
Bielema is a Big 10 guy. His slow-motion style of football works better in that league. Riley is an SEC guy that has had success on the Left Coast and had some okay years in the NFL and at Oregon State, but is a former SEC player (he won four SEC titles and a national championship playing for Bear Bryant in the early 1970’s).
If Nick Saban hadn’t backed out of going to Tuscaloosa, Riley very likely could have been the coach.
That isn’t to suggest he’s a candidate at Arkansas, but simply points out how looking at the fit is more important than what the record is to a certain extent.
What Nebraska fans want to do is run the football. They think all this spread offense stuff is some sort of new-fangled invention that should be ignored. Sort of the way Bob Devaney and Tom Osbourne felt about the Wishbone in its heyday.
Now the Huskers are probably going to fire Riley and the same fate awaits Bielema at Arkansas.
The Huskers’ first choice is Scott Frost, but it appears he’s going to be the top candidate at Florida and Tennessee. The guess here is whichever one Chip Kelly chooses, Frost gets the other one.
That leaves Nebraska looking and apparently they’re thinking the same thing I am. Even Adam Rittenberg at ESPN mentioned last week Bielema’s name being mentioned already.
Other places have mentioned Bielema’s name being thrown around when Smith is asked to leave Illinois after going 5-18 over two years and 2-15 in the Big 10.
Bielema is a native of Illinois. It’s home for him.
And a fan base that doesn’t expect much. Let’s face it, when’s the last time Illinois really mattered in the Big 10, much less nationally?
For Arkansas, though, it does help them on at least one front to hope he lands one of them.
It mitigates — and would likely eliminate — the buyout he’s due from Arkansas when he’s fired.
Which is also going to happen with Long, who is likely to be mentioned in any athletic director openings.
Williams on loss to Mississippi State, playing for Hogs
Arkansas running back David Williams talked after the 28-21 loss to Mississippi State about how much he’s enjoyed his last season.
‘Dogs overcome ‘hangover,’ Hogs with late win
FAYETTEVILLE — Dan Mullen didn’t have a hangover from last Saturday’s narrow loss to No. 1 Alabama.
His team, though, might have been suffering a little.
“I haven’t had a drink since last Saturday,” he said after the Bulldogs scored with 17 seconds left to beat Arkansas, 28-21, here Saturday. “I don’t think so. We had a great week of preparation.”
For the Razorbacks, though, it was another game of being close … again.
“I didn’t say that,” Bielema said in the postmortem of the Hogs’ locker room when asked about his comments earlier in the season about being close. “I know you like to play with that word, but I didn’t said it.”
And, this time, he didn’t mention anything about being close, although he could have referring to Arkansas’ effort against the Bulldogs. The question was about the season as a whole.
“Yeah, this was a case in point today,” Bielema said. “Put in a lot of time, a lot of effort and our guys believed in the way the game started, you saw they have every intention of not only just expecting or playing to win.”
That’s word for word how he said it.
The result of this game is there won’t be a bowl season for the first time since Bielema’s first season in 2013. His overall record at Arkansas dropped to 29-33 overall and 11-28 in the SEC.
With more offensive linemen knocked out of this game (starters Zach Rogers at center and guard Hjalte Froholdt left in the first half), Bielema had a comment about the line that could have applied to the entire season.
“We’re just piecing it together,” he said.
Yeah, it’s been that kind of year and this game maybe rolled all of the problems into a 60-minute package that turned out to be a tale of two halves.
Arkansas dominated roughly the first 25 minutes of each half.
Then fell apart.
Although Mullen refused to attribute the sluggishness of State to the loss to the 31-24 loss to the Crimson Tide last week, they weren’t as sharp.
Plus, the weather didn’t help. It was in the low 50’s at the start of the game, but felt much colder with a biting wind that was swirling in the stadium with gusts up to 40 miles an hour.
“It’s late in the season and you come out to a tough environment on a windy and cold day,” Mullen said later.
Just to be clear, he wasn’t talking about the crowd. Although it was announced at 64,153, there was never more than 40,000 in the stands. The loudest they were able to get just wasn’t much of a problem for the Bulldogs.
“The ball didn’t bounce our way all game long,” he said. “We had a great week of preparation. Our guys were ready to go.”
But they didn’t.
On the other side, the Razorbacks came out on the first possession of the game and looked like a team ready to just go through the motions after a tumultuous week where the athletics director was fired and everyone’s waiting on the axe to fall on Bielema.
The Hogs ran the ball twice and Austin Allen couldn’t connect with Jordan Jones, which was followed by a 29-yard punt from Blake Johnson.
But when it hit a State player in the head coming down, the Hogs got it at the Bulldogs’ 36 along with a big energy boost.
It took just three plays for graduate transfer David Williams to get the ballin the end zone from the 3 and Arkansas had a 7-0 lead with 12:46 to go in the first quarter.
The Hogs were due some luck and got it.
They got some more when State had to start a drive from their own 5 and Nick Gibson was hit in the backfield by McTelvin Agim and fumbled into the end zone and Briston Guidry fell on it for another score with 7:26 left in the first half and a 14-0 lead.
It held up until late in the second quarter when Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald scored from 18 yards out with 5:17 to play, then Johnson couldn’t field a snap on a punt and State got an 8-yard run from Aeris Williams and it was tied with 2:18 left in the first half.
That’s how quick things changed.
It happened again in the second half.
Arkansas scored on it’s first possession in the third quarter on the only sustained drive the offense could muster, moving 75 yards in 10 plays with Devwah Whaley scoring from a yard out with 4:35 left for a 21-14 lead.
It looked like that might hold up until Fitzgerald found a wide open Reggie Todd, who broke free from Henre Tolliver on a nifty double move to score from 37 yards out to tie the game at 21-21 with 3:57 left.
“He ran a perfect route,” Mullen said about Todd o that play.
Still, the Hogs had one more chance.
They moved to their hown 44 before a fourth-and-2 pass from Allen to LaMichael Pettway fell incomplete. There was some bumping on the play, but it wasn’t called.
The Bulldogs then decided to either win the game or go to overtime.
Fitzgerald started making plays to keep the chains moving, including a 2-yard run on a fourth-and-1, then found Deddrick Thomas for a diving touchdown catch that was ruled good and upheld on replay with 17 seconds left.
There was nothing left to do for Arkansas but try a wild play where Allen’s pass was complete to Cheyenne O’Grady, who got it to Deone Stewart, who got it back to O’Grady, who got it to Johnny Gibson, who relayed it to Pettway, who got it to Whaley.
After all that it was a 4-yard gain and the clock was out of time.
“Unfortunately came up short,” was how Bielema described it later.
Which pretty much sums up the season.
Bielema on players’ effort in another close loss
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema talked with the media about the Hogs’ narrow loss to Mississippi State and injuries in the game.
Morgan talks about defense in loss to Bulldogs
Arkansas linebacker Grant Morgan talked about the defense in the close loss to Mississippi State on Saturday.
Hogs show heart in NCAA finale in Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Undeterred by the blustery conditions, the Arkansas men’s cross country team battled to its second-consecutive top-five finish at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships Saturday morning at E.P. ‘Tom’ Sawyer Park in Louisville.
Arkansas’ ascent into the national top-five began at the Southeastern Conference Championships, a meet in which they won after being labeled as the 27th-best program in the country. Entering NCAAs ranked 15th in the national polls the Razorbacks pushed back against the 20mph hour winds to begin the race in 8th position. Arkansas improved its standing dramatically over the final 2K, climbing to a fifth-place team finish off the heels of three seniors, one junior and one freshman.
“Tough conditions today but I can’t tell you how proud I am of this team,” head coach Chris Bucknam said. “They did a phenomenal job. I think coming in ranked 15th and getting fifth, it’s just the character of our team. They gave everything they had and fought for every place, every position. I’m just so proud of them.”
Senior Leaders
Razorback seniors Jack Bruce, Austen Dalquist and Alex George paced the Hogs through the fast 10K course, finishing 13th, 43rd and 51st, respectively. It marked the third-straight year that Arkansas has placed three runners among the top 60 – a feat made more impressive when juxtaposed to the field size of about 220 to 250 runners per year.
“What a race Alex had considering some personal adversity this week,” Bucknam said. “It was a great race for Jack Bruce. I don’t know how many guys he passed on the final 800 meters but it was a lot of guys. Austen Dalquist had a breakthrough race. Just an unbelievable performance for him. We’re grateful for every meet we a chance to compete in and these guys gave their best effort.”
Jack Bruce to the Stage
A 2015 transfer from UALR Jack Bruce closed out his cross country career as a three-time All-American for the Hogs. Bruce finished among the top-25 fastest runners at the national meet in all three years in which he competed for Arkansas – his best finish at the final cross country national meet of his career. He earned his 2017 All-American honor, clocking a 10K personal best of 29 minutes, 39.50 seconds. It was first time under 30 minutes at that distance.
Bruce’s NCAAXC Progression
• 2015 (Louisville, Kentucky) – 23rd, 30:15.30
• 2016 (Terre Haute, Indiana) – 19th, 30:10.90
• 2017 (Louisville, Kentucky) – 13th, 29:39.50
“2015 was a huge shock and a surprise for me,” Bruce said. “I don’t think anyone really saw it coming, including me. “2016 was mostly about proving that, the first national meet wasn’t a fluke and a big part of that was running with Alex [George] the entire way. We keyed off each other really well and had a good race strategy. This year the only thing that I wanted to do was go out with a bang and I think, literally and figuratively I did that. The last 2K I was prepared to put my body on the line to accomplish that. My time at Arkansas has been an honor and a privilege.”
Junior Cameron Griffith and freshman Matt Young rounded out the Razorbacks top-five, finishing 86th and 116th, respectively.
With the cross country season wrapped up Arkansas will turn its attention to the indoor track and field season. The Razorbacks will open their 2018 indoor track campaign Friday, Jan. 12 hosting the Arkansas Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Team Finish (Top Five)
1. Northern Arizona, 74 (2-3-8-28-33)
2. Portland, 127 (9-12-21-39-46)
3. BYU, 165 (20-23-32-35-55)
4. Stanford, 221 (5-14-15-69-118)
5. Arkansas, 259 (11-36-43-72-97)
Arkansas Results (Overall Finishes)
13. Jack Bruce – 29:39.49
43. Austen Dalquist – 30:04.75
51. Alex George – 30:11.12
86. Cameron Griffith – 30:32.85
116. Matt Young – 30:52.70
166. Andrew Ronoh – 31:16.41
225. Ethan Moehn – 32:05.35
2017 Cross Country Schedule
Fri, Sept. 1 – Cowboy Preview (Stillwater, Okla.) 1st of 4
Fri, Sept. 15 – Iona College Meet of Champions (New York, N.Y.) 2nd of 11
Sat, Sept. 30 – Chile Pepper Festival (Agri Park) 1st of 40
Sat, Oct. 14 – Pre-Nationals (Louisville, Ky.) 9th of 40
Fri, Oct. 27 – SEC Championship (Athens, Ga.) 1st of 13
Fri, Nov. 10 – NCAA South Central Regional (College Station, Texas) 1st of 23
Sat, Nov. 18 – NCAA Championship (Louisville, Ky.) 5th
*italicized meet denotes completion.
Top 15 finish in Louisville concludes Hogs’ season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Arkansas concluded its 2017 campaign in Louisville, Ky. with a 13th place finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships.
“I know we wanted to go out and set ourselves up and get in the race with the people we wanted to challenge,” said head coach Lance Harter.” “I think they did that, for the most part. Our front four did a great job. We improved from last year. I think we’ve had a fantastic season.”
Dating back to its 14th-place finish at the 2011 Championships, the Razorbacks have finished in the top-20 seven-consecutive years, including three top-15 finishes in the past four years. Arkansas was the top SEC team at the race.
The Razorbacks were paced by sophomore Carina Viljoen who finished 48th with a time of 20:20.40 in her first national race. It’s the first time this season that Viljoen has led as the fastest Razorback in a race. It finished a successful postseason for the young sophomore that saw her finish in the top-ten twice to lead the Razorbacks to Southeastern Conference and Regional championships.
“The team was my strategy,” said Viljoen. “I ran every race for the team and that’s what kept driving me forward, was to just do as good as I can. Every place I can get better was a better place for the team.”
Viljoen’s Postseason Overall Results:
SEC Championships: 6th (20:29.10)
Regional Championships: 2nd (19:36.00)
NCAA Championships: 48th (20:20.40)
Seniors Nikki Hiltz and Therese Haiss rounded out the Razorbacks top-100 performers. Hiltz finished 87th with a time of 20:37.20 while Haiss finished 94th at 20:39.50. Hiltz senior season saw her finish as the top Razorback in three races, including at the NCAA South Central Region Championship, where she was the overall Individual Champion.
“I think they were all capable of doing that on any given day,” said head coach Lance Harter. “I think Carina had a very good day and worked off of Nikki (Hiltz), Therese (Haiss) and Taylor (Werner). I think she was on a roll and was not going to be denied and just missed being an All-American by a couple of seconds. My hats off to Carina. Her evolvement from last season to this season has been fantastic.”
Team Results (Top Five):
1. New Mexico – 90 (1-6-9-11-63)
2. San Francisco – 105 (3-5-12-33-52)
3. Colorado – 139 (8-26-27-34-44)
4. Stanford – 165 (10-20-39-47-49)
5. Oregon – 203 (13-16-25-68-81)
13. Arkansas – 377 (32-64-69-78-134)
Arkansas Results (Overall):
48. Carina Viljoen – 20:20.40
87. Nikki Hiltz – 20:37.20
94. Therese Haiss – 20:39.50
104. Taylor Werner – 20:44.70
170. Sydney Brown – 21:15.70
171. Ashton Endsley – 21:15.70
252. Lauren Gregory – 23:05.50
Up Next
With the NCAA Championships marking the end of the cross country season, the Razorbacks return for indoor track season January 12, 2018 when it hosts the Arkansas Invitational inside the Tyson Indoor Track Center.
2017 Cross Country Schedule
Fri, Sept. 1 – Cowboy Duals (Stillwater, Okla.) 2nd of 4
Sat, Sept. 16 – Riverside Invitational (Riverside, Calif.) 1st of 29
Sat, Sept. 16 – Southern Stampede (Joplin, Mo.) 5th of 32
Fri, Sept. 29 – Joe Piane/Notre Dame Invitational (South Bend, Ind.) 4th of 20
Sat, Sept. 30 – Chile Pepper Festival (Agri Park) 1st of 45
Sat, Oct. 14 – Pre-Nationals (Louisville, Ky.) | 1st of 43
Fri, Oct. 27 – SEC Championship (Athens, Ga.) | 1st of 14
Fri, Nov. 10 – NCAA South Central Regional (College Station, Texas) | 1st of 24
Sat, Nov. 18 – NCAA Championship (Louisville, Ky.) | 13th of 31
