Hogs to display ‘special’ uniforms against Aggies
Arkansas will have a completely new look for the game against Texas A&M on Saturday morning.
In honor of alum Jerry Jones’ induction into the NFL Hall of Fame, the Razorbacks will have a special “Dallas Cowboys” look for the game, as you can see from the photos.
“What do you give a man who’s had everything and now is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?” athletics director Jeff Long was quoted as saying at ArkansasRazorbacks.com. “When I saw this idea, I thought there it is.”
This may be the best look the Hogs have ever sported, to be honest (well, with the exception of the black shoes, but we’ll get to that later).
For a team that, quite frankly, has been in need of a uniform upgrade look, this is about as close to getting it right as they could get.
Oh, there are some things that need tweaking as I’m sure Nike’s group of idiot designers (who may be the worst in the business) somehow put the Hog logo in white instead of red outlined in white, which would have shown up far better on television.
Of course, they don’t have white shoes, which is something the Cowboys have required (with the exception of some stars who had one-off shoes on occasion) since 1974, and that was a story in and of itself.
Tom Landry didn’t like the fact that players were wearing a mix-match of shoe colors on the field. For a coach with an engineering background who had a healthy dose of OCD, it just didn’t fit.
Tex Schramm had commissioned a study (and Tex was never shy about spending Clint Murchison’s money) where he had learned that white shoes and white socks had an almost subliminal positive effect on television viewers. He wasn’t shy about saying you designed a uniform by looking at it on television.
“They like looking at players in white shoes more than those clunky black things,” Schramm said, telling the story years later.
He was telling a young columnist in 1984 about his final uniform masterpiece for the Cowboys’ uniforms, which he had spent a decade or so honing. He burned, by his estimation, “at least $10,000” in expenses using the lights at Texas Stadium and network television cameras along with a hundred or so designs.
The result was a total re-do of the Cowboys uniform. In case you don’t know, the pants with white jerseys are actually a blue-green color in person that show up silver with the white jerseys while the ones with the blue jerseys are pure silver.
But in 1974 the shoes were the biggest issue.
“I kinda liked the black shoes with white laces,” Landry said years later. “Tex wanted white, so I talked him into putting it to a vote.”
How did that come out?
“I didn’t count the votes,” Landry said with a chuckle. “That was Tex’s area.”
That’s how Tom deflected anything he didn’t want to deal with.
So, Tex, how did the vote come out?
“Don’t remember exactly,” Schramm said, actually making you believe he was thinking about the answer. “But I remember one vote clearly. We had a simple piece of paper that asked the players what shoe color they preferred.
“Everybody wrote black or white except one. Larry Cole wrote ‘brown.’ We went with white, so that must have been how the votes went.”
Especially with the final one being Schramm’s and that counted as many as he needed.
Arkansas has been in black shoes since Bret Bielema took over in 2013 with the exception of three games in 2015 when he went with white shoes. After back-to-back losses to Toledo and Texas Tech, he went back to the clunky black things.
Which, upon reflection, has pretty much matched how they’ve played.
Things I think I know: Week three
That was crazy wasn’t it?
Week three did not have the sexy build up, but it delivered in the end with what will become some of the most memorable moments of the season when its all said and done. Here now, my thoughts following week three.
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- Arkansas did not lose.
- Tennessee did, and it was spectacular. Brad Nessler nailed it on CBS.
- Mississippi State has put the league on notice. Dan Mullen IS a very good head coach and the Bulldogs look to be tough to handle.
- LSU is an undisciplined mess but I don’t think that is news. We can’t be surprised that Coach O’s guys are playing this way. He has never won an SEC road game as a full time head coach. It will not work out for him at LSU.
- Bobby Petrino never wins the big game. Louisville’s secondary was torn to shreds by Clemson and Lamar Jackson looked human, for once, against the Clemson defense. Dare I say rematch part three in the National Championship game?
- There are a couple of hyped quarterbacks who are good but far from great. Sam Darnold at USC had a pair of interceptions in only two games all last season. So far in 2017, Darnold has thrown two picks in each of the Trojans’ first three games.
- In Wyoming, I don’t know who started the rumor that quarterback Josh Allen was good but they lied to you and me. He has not done squat this season and got smoked by Oregon on Saturday and we know Oregon is not known for having great defenses.
- South Carolina is in rough shape losing wide receiver Deeebo Samuel for the year with a broken leg. Could be closer to .500 now for Muschamp’s team this year.
- Ole Miss wore down and got shutout by Cal in the 2nd half out in Berkeley. Quarterback Shea Patterson had to be looking for his free speech safe space after that one.
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Tennessee head coach Butch Jones saw his team lose on a 63 yard TD pass to rival Florida as time expired on Saturday in Gainesville. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Butch Jones should be fired. He is out coached time and time again each year. He coaches so conservatively it makes Sean Hannity crazy. Tennessee had a bust for the ages on defense on the last play which led to the Florida hail mary win.
- Missouri is a total mess. Purdue crushed the Tigers in front of a small, intimate gathering of friends and family in Columbia. Hog fans how have to be saying “Thank God for Missouri.”
- Baylor is 0-3. This makes me happy.
- Mason Rudolph is going to the Heisman ceremony and if the Cowboys knock of Oklahoma in bedlam, he might very well win the most coveted and overrated award in team sports.
- I think Vanderbilt is good. They won’t win the east, but they could really mess things up for someone. Alabama travels to Nashville next Saturday at 2:30 on CBS.
- It is a “loser leave town” match next Saturday at 11 am in Arlington. Sumlin will get canned after a loss to Arkansas and Bielema will eventually get run if the Hogs lose AGAIN to those crazy Aggies.
Hogs’ season looks better after wacky week in SEC
Saturday was why SEC football is about as good as it gets.
It may have been a good weekend to not be playing, like Arkansas. There were some surprises, some yawns and injuries that could affect how the rest of this season plays out for the Razorbacks.
Call it addition by subtraction.
And it makes Saturday’s matchup with Texas A&M suddenly really, really huge for the Hogs and how this season plays out.
After an embarrassing loss to TCU, Arkansas has gone through a week full of outraged fans followed by a level of apathy not seen in a while.
The second is much bigger than the first, particularly for an athletic department desperately trying to sell high-priced luxury boxes on a stadium expansion that is being questioned by some folks in Little Rock already.
As I am like Congress and reserve the right to revise and extend upon my preseason prediction of 6-6 for Arkansas, things have changed yet again. Last week, I changed the Hogs to a 5-7 season.
Now it changes again, this time for the better.
South Carolina, Ole Miss injuries add wins
Unless there is some miraculous recoveries, the Gamecocks losing Deebo Samuel against Kentucky, plus some more time, gives Hogs’ defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads one less thing to worry about in a couple of weeks.
Before that, I had moved South Carolina into a loss for the Hogs. Now I’m putting it into the Likely Win category. I’m not sure the Gamecocks have an answer to replace him.
It’s a similar situation at Ole Miss where their backup center, Eli Johnson, suffered a season-ending knee injury on the final play of the game last week against Tennessee-Martin. It created a problem that manifested itself Saturday night in their loss at California.
That’s not counting the injury to A.J. Brown (knee) and, maybe more importantly, their kicker went out with a hamstring injury. Gary Wunderlich was in the conversation of best kickers in the league and how long he will be out is unknown.
With third-teamers along the line, the Bears simply did some semi-exotic blitz packages and Matt Luke saw his dreams of being the full-time coach in Oxford limp off the field in California.
Yes, I’m calling it now, the Rebels will have a new coach next season.
And Arkansas will get a win there as well and I’m moving the game against the Rebels on Oct. 29 into the Guaranteed Win category.
Some changes in power teams in the West
Auburn still looks massively confused, struggling to beat Mercer with three key offensive players sitting it out.
Why Gus Malzahn even wanted that job is still beyond me. Either Gus was seriously over-rated as an offensive genius or there is something at work in Auburn off the field that causes problems.
The latter is more of a fact than a guess. Pat Dye is actually still weighing in with an opinion that some folks on The Plains actually listen to for some insane reason.
Let’s face it, he cheated so badly the Tigers were in NCAA jail for a couple of years, then proceeded to give him an office (located between athletics director Jay Jacobs and the football coach) and name the field after him.
For a guy who never won a national championship a lot of folks like listening to him drawl on between drinks.
Because of that, I’m putting Auburn into the tossup category for their game against Arkansas on Oct. 21.
LSU obviously isn’t getting better. The lack of discipline on defense (three targeting penalties in one game against one player might cause some other questions) and getting blown out by Mississippi State has raised some issues.
If Ed Orgeron thought he was safe, well, he can forget that. A couple more losses like that and he’ll be just an extended interim solution for the Tigers.
I’m throwing the LSU game into tossup category with Auburn.
The Bulldogs are simply a team that’s going to make some noise. Dan Mullen is the best coach outside of Tuscaloosa and may do more with less than any other coach in the SEC.
Because of that I’m moving the game against Mississippi State into the loss category for the Hogs.
Let’s sort all this out now
With two games played, there will be no more weekends off for awhile. A long while.
At 1-1, we’re starting even on the Hogs’ schedule, so let’s look at it in depth again.
The losses
Okay, they have to play the game, but right now these teams are clearly better than Arkansas and, barring injuries or a total collapse, are going to be difficult to beat.
The Hogs won’t beat Alabama or Mississippi State.
That’s it. Right now, those are the only two teams I’ll say are losses.
The victories
New Mexico State, South Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Ole Miss, Missouri
Now we’re at 6-3 with three games left that I’m putting into the toss-up category.
Auburn and LSU right now are complete wildcards. After the way both played this week I would keep it a tossup until halftime of a matchup with Arkansas.
Let’s say the Hogs win both of those games. It looks a lot more realistic now than it did a week ago, doesn’t it?
Getting a win over Texas A&M could make the Hogs a nine-win team.
That’s if nothing else changes the rest of the way.
Which it will.
Fitzgerald: ‘This was not an upset’
Star quarterback Nick Fitzgerald talks about the huge win over 12th-ranked LSU 37-7.
WATCH: Sumlin on Aggies’ second half surge in win
Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin breaks down his team’s victory over Louisiana.
Hiltz, Reed lead No. 12 Arkansas to first wins
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The 12th-ranked Arkansas women’s cross country team came away with two first place finishes at the Riverside Invitational (5k and 6k) and a fifth place finish at the Missouri Southern Stampede (5k) Saturday.
Riverside Invitational
The Razorbacks were dominant in both events in Riverside, California, having all seven participants finish in the top 13 in the 6k and all five finish in the top 10 in the 5k.
Senior Nikki Hiltz set the pace in the 6k with a time of 20:15.90 and a sixth place finish. The returning All-American Taylor Werner and 2016 South Central Region Champion Devin Clark were right behind Hiltz, crossing the finish line with time of 20:16.20 and 20:16.50.
Freshmen Lauren Gregory and Ashton Endsley shined in their debut as Razorbacks, with Gregory leading the way with a time of 20:17.20.
Alabama joined Arkansas in Riverside for the first time, with all seven Razorbacks finishing ahead of the fastest Crimson Tide runner in the 6k. It was the first time Arkansas has faced conference competition this season.
Arkansas placed four in the top 5 in the second race in Riverside. The 5k saw Maddy Reed take second place in her season debut, with a time of 17:32.60.
Sydney Brown had her second top-3 finish of the season, following a third place finish at the Cowboy Preview, finishing third with a time of 17:35.00.
6k Team Results (Top Three)
- Arkansas – 36 (5-6-7-8-10-11-12)
- Cal Coast Track Club – 72 (4-9-18-20-21-23-38)
- Alabama – (17-19-24-40-41-44-52)
Arkansas 6k Results (Overall)
- Nikki Hiltz- 20:15.90
- Taylor Werner – 20:16.20
- Devin Clark – 20:16.50
- Lauren Gregory – 20:17.20
- Carina Viljoen – 20:24.20
- Therese Haiss – 20:25.40
- Ashton Endsley – 20:27.70
5k Team Results (Top Three)
- Arkansas – 24 (2-3-4-5-10)
- Cal Poly Pomona – 71 (11-12-14-15-19-22-25)3
- Stanislaus State – 130 (18-20-26-29-37-43-46)
Arkansas 5k Results (Overall)
- Maddy Reed – 17:32.60
- Sydney Brown – 17:35.00
- Alex Ritchey – 17:35.50
- Micah Huckabee – 17:37.10
- Greta Taylor – 17:52.70
Missouri Southern Stampede
Coach Lance Harter sent a young group of three freshmen and two sophomores, with just one senior to Joplin, Missouri for the Missouri Southern Stampede.
Redshirt sophomore Claudia Verstraten had the best finish for the Razorbacks, finishing 14th with a time of 17:43.05 in her season debut.
Arkansas Results (Overall)
- Claudia Verstraten – 17:43.05
- Ruth Wiggins – 17:53.47
- Katie Adams – 18:27.05
- Payton Brown – 18:31.46
- Emily Jeacock – 18:47.87
- Theresa Iler – 19:08.76
Up Next
The Razorbacks will take a two week break from action and return Saturday, Sept. 30 for the 29th annual Chili Pepper Festival at Agri Park and the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
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
Sat, Sept. 30 – Chile Pepper Festival (Agri Park)
Sat, Sept. 30 – Notre Dame Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)
Sat, Oct. 14 – Pre-Nationals (Louisville, Ky.)
Fri, Oct. 27 – SEC Championship (Athens, Ga.)
Fri, Nov. 10 – NCAA South Central Regional (College Station, Texas)
Sat, Nov. 18 – NCAA Championship (Louisville, Ky.)
Hogs open SEC play win final-minute win
FAYETTEVILLE — Freshman Parker Goins sneaked the ball past the goal line in the 88th minute of play Friday night to break a scoreless tie and help Arkansas defeat Mississippi State, 1-0, in its SEC opener.
“First off, big shout out to the fans, they were tremendous,” Arkansas head coach Colby Hale said. “Being at home in those last five minutes, they gave us a huge lift. You can credit Parker (Goins), Nayeli (Perez) and the fans with the goal. I thought they were big time tonight. That was something we had been talking about, putting together a full 90 minutes. We fought and battled in what was an SEC game. Mississippi State is a very good team, but I thought we were deserving of it tonight.”
1,515 fans were in attendance for the match, marking the second-largest crowd of the season in the five matches played at home so far. Arkansas is averaging 1,576 fans this season, which keeps it in the top ten in the nation.
Arkansas (5-4-0) and Mississippi State (6-1-1) were deadlocked for nearly the entire match and seemed to be headed to overtime in the waning minutes of regulation. Both sides were almost even in shots and corner kicks, but the Razorbacks were struggling down the stretch to even get a look at the goal.
Over the final 20 minutes of play, Goins’ goal was the only shot Arkansas was able to register against the MSU defense. Fortunately, it was the only shot that mattered.
After a deflection sent the ball to the left side of the field, freshman Nayeli Perez crossed in a pass from the end line where Goins was waiting next to the MSU keeper, Catalina Perez. Perez tried to punch the ball away, but Goins was able to corral it and push it over the line for the winning score.
It’s Goins’ team-leading sixth goal of the year and second game winner of the season. Her season point total continues to rise as she now has 16 points, good for third in the conference. In three of her last four matches, the freshman has totaled two points and the game-winner was her first since scoring against Abilene Christian (Aug. 27).
As for Perez, it was her third assist of the year and fifth point of the season. With her helper, Perez became the eight Razorback with five or more points this season.
The Razorbacks and Bulldogs played evenly through the first half as Arkansas held the slight edge in shots, 11-10. Possession traded sides for much of the second half as both teams only managed seven shots combined.
Redshirt junior Jordan Harris made her second start of the year at goalkeeper and notched her second shutout, making four saves, three in the first half.
Arkansas’ back line was also tremendous all night, especially in the second half, as it limited the Bulldogs to just three shots in the final 45 minutes with one being on target. As a team, the shutout was its’ fourth of the year, tying it for fifth in the SEC.
“We’ve put together a lot of good halves and moments at this point in the season,” Hale said. “We had been doing some things well, but hadn’t put together a complete 90 minutes. The backs were tremendous tonight as they limited Mississippi State’s chances to just from distance. Overall, it was a big performance.”
Now, the Razorbacks set their sights on their final non-conference match of 2017 as Oral Roberts visits Razorback Field on Sunday with first kick slated for 5 p.m. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.
FINAL: Arkansas gets straight-set win in Dallas
DALLAS — Arkansas improved to 9-2 with Friday afternoon’s straight-set win over Sam Houston State on day one of the SMU Doubletree Classic.
Redshirt senior and team co-captain Pilar Victoria put down a match-high 15 kills while the defense put up 8.5 total team blocks and held the Bearkats to a .118 hitting percentage.
The win is Arkansas’ sixth sweep of the season.
The Razorbacks close out their weekend trip Saturday afternoon with a match against host SMU, scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start at Moody Coliseum.
Arkansas’ next home match is Wed., Sept. 20 when the team opens SEC play against Tennessee at Barnhill Arena.
FINAL
Arkansas 3, Sam Houston State 0 | Box Score
Attendance: 468 | Time: 1:15
Moody Coliseum (Dallas, Texas)
#RazorStats
Leaders vs SHSU
• Kills: Pilar Victoria – 15
• Digs: Okiana Valle – 13
• Blocks: Elizabeth Pamphile – 5.0
Arkansas races to runner-up finish in NYC meet
NEW YORK — No. 5 Arkansas posted its second consecutive top-two team finish of 2017, finishing as the Iona Meet of Champions runner-ups with a final score of 48 points.
Arkansas raced past meet host No. 9 Iona but came up 21 points short in its efforts against another native New York foe in Columbia.
First Five
The Razorbacks were led by senior Alex George and junior Cameron Griffith who placed seventh and eighth, respectively. Western State transfer Preston Cates also posted a top-10 finish off a season best 8K time of 26 minutes, 5.50 seconds.
Arkansas’ top five was completed by Ethan Moehn and Carter Persyn, both of whom finished among the top-15 best runners of the day.
Up Next
Following two week break from action head coach Chris Bucknam’s crew will return to competition on their home course of Agri Park at the 29th annual Chile Pepper Festival Saturday, September 30.
Arkansas Results (Overall)
7. Alex George – 25:56.50
8. Cameron Griffith – 25.56.90
10. Preston Cates – 26:05.50
13. Ethan Moehn – 26:21.70
15. Carter Persyn – 26:33.30
19. Kyle Levermore – 26:45.30
31. Graham Brown – 27:27.40
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)
Sat, Oct. 14 – Pre-Nationals (Louisville, Ky.)
Fri, Oct. 27 – SEC Championship (Athens, Ga.)
Fri, Nov. 10 – NCAA South Central Regional (College Station, Texas)
Sat, Nov. 18 – NCAA Championship (Louisville, Ky.)
*italicized meet denotes completion.
