Arkansas backup quarterback Cole Kelley talks about having to step in for Austin Allen against South Carolina.
KNWA VIDEO: Ramirez on defensive problems in loss
Hogs safety Santos Ramirez talks about the Hogs’ defensive issues in loss to South Carolina.
Have Long, Bielema made Hogs ‘Uncommonly Bad?’
Bret Bielema is out of excuses.
So is Jeff Long.
At this point, there is no way he can sugarcoat the 48-22 beatdown by South Carolina on Saturday.
The final score was nowhere near as close as the final score indicated.
There is no explanation, which he didn’t even attempt after the game on the Razorback radio broadcast when Chuck Barrett asked him if the Gamecocks won the “trench warfare.”
“Yeah,” was all he said. “Yeah.”
The interview ended at that point.
Bielema was not happy, but in reality he has no one to blame but himself.
Maybe in all of the excuse-making he did after losses to TCU and Texas A&M, he actually has started to believe his own excuses.
He did say on the radio that was “about as bad of a third quarter as I’ve ever been a part of.”
In reality, though, the problems started at the end of the first half when Arkansas gave up a touchdown with four seconds left that made it 17-10 at the break.
“We could never gain any momentum after that,” Bielema said later.
In that third quarter, the Hogs generated a whopping 50 yards of offense. Worse than that, they were obviously in a generous mood, handing the Gamecocks 14 points on a pass interception and an Austin Allen fumble.
South Carolina out-scored the Hogs 17-0 in the third and, for all intents and purposes, it was over.
Don’t get me wrong. Allen made some decisions that weren’t as bad as pretty much the only option available at the time, given the circumstances.
He wasn’t getting a lot of help from an offensive line that has often resembled recess at preschool. They gave up seven sacks in the game and, since the Gamecocks got 24 points off turnovers, they were directly responsible for the blowout.
The defense got schooled by an offensive line that was in worse shape than Arkansas’, at least in terms of players injured and sitting out.
So, to summarize, in two SEC games this year the Hogs have been beaten by a team playing 18 freshmen (Texas A&M) and a team with a beat-up offensive line manned by backups (South Carolina).
That’s what happens when you replace one of the top offensive line coaches in the country with the NFL equivalent of a grad assistant.
Now Bielema has a chance to accomplish something not even John L. Smith accomplished or what he managed in his first season.
With Alabama and Auburn looming the next two weeks, this Arkansas defense could very likely give up 150 points over the course of three SEC games. If Ole Miss’ offense bothers to show up it could be 200 points over four games.
That’s how bad things have gotten.
There are no more excuses to be made. Long has none left in his arsenal, either.
The bottom line is Long is ultimately responsible for this mess. He’s the one who didn’t do enough research to find out how flimsy Bielema’s three Rose Bowl teams at Wisconsin were.
Not a single outright title in the regular season and won Big 10 championship game with an 8-4 third-place team that got to the title game because the two teams above the Badgers were in NCAA jail.
And, maybe more importantly, Wisconsin is winning at a higher percentage since he left.
Bielema’s buyout can be handled. We’ve been told there are boosters who unquestionably can pay it ready to do just that.
Bielema is now only slightly ahead of the Danny Ford era in overall winning percentage, but far below that tenure in SEC winning percentage.
Five years was all he got and he won an SEC West division title.
What more does Long want?
Of course, he’s got issues of his own. He obviously had a credit card mentality when he gave Bielema a ridiculously high buyout after a very mediocre season in 2014. For the record, I said at the time it was stupid.
We hear from Long how great things are going with the stadium expansion (despite former Sen. David Pryor’s protestations). We also hear questions from people about how much of what Long says is the truth.
It’s pretty much a fact that he has screwed over many, many longtime boosters and effectively dismissed them as not being relevant. I know too many who have said the same things that don’t know each other that have the same story.
Long has signed off on several things that fly in the face of Razorback tradition, not the least of which is trying to replace “Go Hogs!” with “Woo Pig!” which just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
But, his biggest marketing gaffe of all has proven to be very, very true.
The Razorbacks have, indeed, become #uncommon to what that program has been for the last 60 years.
Long, by hiring Bielema among other things, has made it Uncommonly Bad.
KNWA VIDEO: Bielema after loss to SC
Video courtesy of KNWA.
KNWA VIDEO: Ragnow: ‘Guys need to own up’
Ragnow talks about guys needing to “own up” to mistakes after loss to Gamecocks on Saturday.
South Carolina rolls past Hogs in a blowout
South Carolina scored 24 points off turnovers and rolled up Arkansas, 48-22, Saturday afternoon.
The best news of the Gamecocks’ 17-10 lead at halftime against the Razorbacks is, well, it could be worse.
No, seriously. South Carolina missed a field goal in the second quarter that clanged off the right upright.
Whatever the Hogs did right against Texas A&M and New Mexico State isn’t working in the first half of this one, which is against a team that has struggled the past few weeks.
The Hogs’ offense was bad in the first half.
South Carolina has 223 yards of total offense in the first half, compared to Arkansas’ 103 yards. That’s right. Just 103 yards of total offense in two quarters.
Both teams swapped field goals in the first quarter — yes, the Hogs kicked a field goal with Connor Limpert knocked a 48-yarder through with 6:15 to play in the quarter.
The Gamecocks pushed the lead to 10-3 on the second play of the second quarter when quarterback Jake Bentley found tight end Hayden Hurst wide open in the middle of the field for a 62-yard scoring play.
RELATED: Why Hogs should beat Gamecocks convincingly
The Hogs answered with a 75-yard, 12-play drive capped by Austin Allen’s pass to Jordan Jones on a slant from the 5. That tied it with 8:26 to play before halftime.
After that score, Arkansas’ offense effectively disappeared.
South Carolina missed a field goal on it’s next possession, then got the ball back with just over a minute to play before halftime and Bentley moved them downfield with the help of a questionable pass interference call against Kamren Curl.
On the next play after the penalty, Bentley threw to Bryan Edwards, who made the catch by screening Curl out in the back corner of the end zone and the Gamecocks led 17-10 at halftime.
“Heckuva throw, heckuva catch,” was Will Muschamp’s comments on the television broadcast going into halftime. “We’ve gotta make plays on third down. We’ve made more in this game than we’ve made in last two games combined.”
As badly as the Hogs played in the first half, they made it worse in the third quarter as the Gamecocks scored 17 unanswered points to increase their lead to 34-10.
Arkansas didn’t win the fourth quarter, although they scored a couple of times late, but at one point it was 41-10.
Cole Kelley replaced Allen in the fourth quarter, which could be viewed as a life-saving measure as much as anything.
Kelley finished 8-of-13 with an interception and a touchdown for 162 yards.
South Carolina improved to 4-2 overall (2-2 SEC) while the Hogs fell to 2-3 (0-2 SEC).
Arkansas travels to Tuscaloosa next week to face No. 1 Alabama.
Why Hogs should beat Gamecocks convincingly
Despite what we’ve heard from Arkansas coaches in the past week, this one shouldn’t be close.
Arkansas should have control of South Carolina by halftime and debating whether to put the backups in or not by the start of the fourth quarter.
Seriously.
Players and coaches have extolled the virtues of Gamecocks quarterback Jake Bentley all week long. We’ve heard how he’s smart, the son of a coach and never gives up.
All of it true.
And if South Carolina had anybody else of his quality, this one might be close. But the good players they do have — and maybe their best — is injured and won’t be playing.
When Deebo Samuel went down, so did the Gamecocks’ best chance of having a special season for Will Muschamp in his second year. Then when over half of the offensive line got banged up, well, they will come limping into this one.
The Hogs, on the other hand, are the healthiest they have been and will be for the rest of the season.
With no bye weeks the rest of the way (well, there is Coastal Carolina in early November, which will basically be an uncontrolled scrimmage), Arkansas has to get a win in this game or things will get REALLY interesting the rest of the way just to make a bowl game.
The metrics tell the entire story. South Carolina’s offense is anemic. They have averaged just over 84 yards a game on the ground and slightly over 251 through the air.
Unless every defense they’ve played against is far better than Arkansas’, they can’t generate enough offense to win.
The Gamecocks can’t run the ball. They run only to give the receivers a chance to catch their breath.
But they balance it by not being able to pass the ball well without Samuel.
Defensively, they stop the run, a Muschamp requirement for any team he’s ever coached, including his assistant days. South Carolina has given up just over 153 yards a game on the ground, but 253.8 through the air.
Don’t be surprised to see the Hogs come out throwing to try and loosen thigs up to run the ball late. That was what first Norv Turner, then Ernie Zampese did with Emmitt Smith at Dallas in the early 1990’s.
You get the idea that’s what Dan Enos and Bret Bielema want to do at Arkansas. They don’t have the players required to do that now and likely never will. Alabama doesn’t have that kind of talent.
The Hogs will win this game … big.
As I said earlier, they should be ahead by a couple of touchdowns at halftime, pull away more in the third quarter.
Don’t worry about some big fourth-quarter comeback. South Carolina doesn’t have the players to pull it off.
Just don’t get carried away, fans.
Alabama is next week.
Then Auburn, who’s defense may be as good as the Crimson Tide and they are finding an offensive rhythm with Jarrett Stidham, who is grading out at the top (along with Alabama’s), according to SEC Country’s quarterback grades.
The next two weeks is why Arkansas can’t let down from what should be a fairly routine win over an SEC team that is down and maybe out.
A win doesn’t guarantee anything.
But a loss could spell trouble in a BIG way.
Gafford on relationship with Portis, gaining weight
Arkansas center Daniel Gafford talked on Media Day about his relationship with former center Bobby Portis and gaining weight.
