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Hogs start fast, roll to opening day win over Miami-Ohio

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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With 9,443 in attendance for Opening Day at Baum Stadium, Arkansas put on a big hitting display in the first inning and got a late long ball from freshman Dominic Fletcher to shutout Miami of Ohio, 7-0, Friday afternoon.

Arkansas scored six runs off five hits in the opening frame and took advantage of some wild pitching from Miami starter Cole Gnetz, who was forced out of the game after just two-thirds of an inning. Arkansas ended up batting around the lineup before chasing Gnetz, but had built a sizable lead as five different players tallied hits in the first inning alone.

Sophomore Eric Cole and freshman Dominic Fletcher both turned in strong days at the plate, with each going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Fletcher launched his first home run of his Razorback career in the seventh inning, a solo home run, as he provided the only other run in the game after the big first inning. Fletcher’s homer was the first by a true freshman on Opening Day since Andy Wilkins in 2008 against Wright State.

Sophomore starting pitcher Blaine Knight picked up his first victory on the mound, going a strong four innings and giving up only three hits, while striking out five.

Moments That Mattered
Arkansas got its first two batters on base to start the bottom half of the first via walks, which led to a Luke Bonfield single scoring the first run of the game. From there, the Razorbacks plated five more runs, including two off the bat of Cole, who singled to right in his second at-bat of the inning.

Bonfield joined Fletcher and Cole with a multi-hit game, as he went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Carson Shaddy and Chad Spanberger also added hits that contributed to the six-run first.

On the mound, Knight was nearly unhittable, giving up just one hit in the first and two in the fourth before giving way to the bullpen in the fifth inning. Jake Reindl and Cannon Chadwick followed Knight to near perfection, giving up a combined three hits and striking out seven batter over the final five innings.

Razorback Quotables
“I thought (Blaine) Knight had good stuff today. He spotted up his fastball, down and away, threw some good breaking balls and mixed in a few changeups.” – Dave Van Horn on Blaine Knight’s performance

“He’s been swinging the bat well for about the last 10 days and better than some of the guys that were behind him. I would say (Dominic) Fletcher and (Eric) Cole are our two hottest hitters coming into this game.” – Head coach Dave Van Horn on Dominic Fletcher season-opening performance

“Momentum is a big thing in baseball and once you get going, everyone just kind of starts to follow, and things start to happen.” – Dominic Fletcher on the Razorbacks’ big first inning

“I thought it went pretty good today. I had good command of all my pitches today, filled up the zone and kept them from hitting.” – Blaine Knight on how he thought his performance went

“We had been waiting about eight months to look across the field and see another team. That’s all of our hard work going in and wanting to snap that losing streak from last year.” – Eric Cole on the Hogs’ big first inning

Game Notes
• Arkansas’ 7-0 shutout of Miami (Ohio) was the first opening day shutout since 2011 and third under Dave Van Horn.
• Head coach Dave Van horn is now 15-0 on opening day at Arkansas.
• Arkansas is now 47-11 in Opening Day games since 1960 and the 23rd straight victory on the first day of the season.
• Starting pitcher Blaine Knight recorded his first win of the season Friday afternoon and third of his career.
• Today’s game was the fifth game of Blaine Knight’s career in which he threw five or more strikeouts.
• Arkansas recorded 12 strikeouts as a team, its most since May 7, 2016 against LSU, and most over a non-conference opponent since March 11, 2016 against Western Illinois.
• Today’s attendance of 9,440 at Baum Stadium was the second straight opening day with over 9,000 in attendance.   

Up Next
The Razorbacks will meet Miami of Ohio again on Saturday for game two of the three game series. First pitch is slated for 12:02 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network+.

Arkansas looks for third win on road trip to Indiana

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Aiming for its third straight victory, Arkansas’ women’s tennis team will take on Purdue in a 2 p.m. CT match on Friday at the Schwartz Tennis Center.

Match Day Information
Matchup: Arkansas (5-2) at Purdue (5-3)
Date: Friday, Feb. 17
Location: West Lafayette, Ind. (Schwartz Tennis Center)
First Serve: 2 p.m. CT
Live Stats: Click Here
Live Video: Click Here

Quotable
“We look forward to another great match with Purdue,” head coach Michael Hegarty said. “It’s been 4-3 the past two seasons. So we know we will need to bring everything we can to earn a great result.”

The Series
This will be just the fifth meeting between the two programs, with Purdue holding a 3-1 record. Arkansas won last year’s contest 4-3. The Razorbacks claimed the doubles point and earned three victories in singles for the team win.

Last Time Out
Arkansas got a big 4-3 road victory at Kansas last Saturday. The Razorbacks won the doubles point and then took three matches in singles to claim the overall victory. The match also featured the successful debut of highly touted freshman Giulia Pairone, who was first off the court with victories in both singles and doubles action.

Purdue is coming off a 4-3 setback to DePaul at home last Sunday.

Ranked Razorbacks
Senior co-captain Shannon Hudson and sophomore Ana Oparenovic each earned spots in last week’s Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Division I Women’s National Singles Rankings. Hudson surged 51 spots to a career-best No. 47, while Oparenovic entered the rankings for the first time this spring at tied for No. 103. Hudson owns a 9-4 overall singles record with a 4-2 mark in dual match play this season, while Oparenovic is 8-4 overall and 2-1 in dual matches.

Leading The Way
Natsuho Arakawa owns a team-best 14-4 overall record, including a 6-1 mark this spring. The freshman standout is also 9-1 in her last 10 matches dating back to the fall. In doubles, Arakawa and sophomore Agne Cepelyte lead the way with a 7-1 overall record, including a 4-1 mark in dual matches.

Up Next
Following the weekend, Arkansas will return home for a Monday doubleheader. The Razorbacks are set to face Wichita State at 1 p.m., before taking on Cornell at 6 p.m.

Monday’s Promotions
•  Both matches will feature complimentary Keurig coffee, pizza, popcorn and Pepsi products for all in attendance.

•  The first 50 fans at the 6 p.m. match against Cornell will receive an Arkansas women’s tennis T-shirt.

Hogs’ women’s team closes out indoor season in Fayetteville, Indiana

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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A perpetual staple in the national top three so far this year Arkansas’ women’s track and field team will close out its indoor regular season campaign this weekend at the Arkansas Qualifier in Fayetteville and the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind.

The Razorbacks will host nine programs this weekend including Arkansas Baptist, Central Missouri, Kansas, Missouri Southern, Oklahoma Christian, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Rogers State and Tulsa will also be making the journey to the Randal Tyson Track Center on Friday.

Therese Haiss, Daina Harper, Damajahnee Birch and Nikki Hiltz will travel to Notre Dame on Saturday in search of an NCAA Indoor Championship qualifying mark in the distance medley relay.

“We’re at a crossroads this weekend,” head coach Lance Harter said. “Two things happen. One, those that are not going to be in the top 27 that are allowed to compete at the SEC Championships, this is the end of their season. Those that are going to be on the roster going into the SEC meet are going to take care of business and use this as their final tune up or as a competition to try and improve their mark as far as seeding purposes go for the SEC meet. Besides that, we’re also going to take our distance medley relay to Notre Dame and try to get it qualified to add to our weapons for the NCAA Championships.”

Arkansas will open up competition at the Arkansas Qualifier at 3:15 p.m. on Friday with four Razorbacks entered in the women’s pole vault.

Arkansas Qualifier
Date/Time: Friday, Feb. 17, 3:15 p.m. CT
Venue: Randal Tyson Track Center (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
Tickets: $5 for Adults, 17 and under free
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Live Results | Start Lists

Alex Wilson Invitational
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 18, 10:45 a.m. CT
Venue: Loftus Sports Center (South Bend, Indiana)
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Live Results | Watch Live (Subscription Required) |  Start Lists

Arkansas up to No. 3 in national polls; closes indoor season over weekend

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Up two spots in the latest national rankings, No. 3 Arkansas’ men’s track and field team heads into its final regular season competition weekend, taking on the Arkansas Qualifier in Fayetteville and the UCS Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Razorbacks will host nine programs this weekend, including No. 8 Kansas and No. 22 Oklahoma State. In addition to the nationally ranked regional foes, Arkansas Baptist, Central Missouri, Missouri Southern, Oklahoma Christian, Oral Roberts, Rogers State and Tulsa will also be making the journey to the Randal Tyson Track Center on Friday.

Arkansas will also send the distance medley relay team of Ethan Moehn, Jamarco Stephen, Carlton Orange and Jack Bruce to North Carolina on Saturday in search of an NCAA Indoor Championship qualifying time.

“We’re looking to take another step forward with our team,” head coach Chris Bucknam said. “We still have some room for improvement. Things are starting to calm down a little bit from a training standpoint and we’re probably getting to a point where we’ll freshen up a little bit and hopefully continue to make progress.”

Arkansas will open up competition at the Arkansas Qualifier at 4:30 p.m. on Friday with four Razorbacks entered in the men’s shot put.

Arkansas Qualifier
Date/Time: Friday, Feb. 17, 3:15 p.m. CT
Venue: Randal Tyson Track Center
Tickets: $5 for Adults, 17 and under free
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Live Results | Start Lists

UCS Invitational
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 18, 1:00 p.m. CT
Venue: JDL Fast Track
Important Links: Meet Information | Live Results | Watch Live (Subscription Required) | Entries

Hogs ready to kick off regular season with series against Miami-Ohio

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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• Opening Weekend Game Notes (PDF)

Arkansas opens its 95th season of play Friday and 15th under coach Dave Van Horn when it hosts Miami (Ohio) from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for a three-game series at Baum Stadium.

First pitch on Friday is set for 3:02 p.m. Saturday’s game will start at 12:02 p.m., followed by Sunday’s series finale at 1:02 p.m.

Follow Live
All three games will be available on SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app with Alex Perlman (PXP) and Troy Eklund (Analyst). Phil Elson (PXP) and Rick Schaeffer (Analyst) will have the call on the IMG Sports Network on Friday. Scott Inman will join Schaeffer on Saturday and Sunday for games two and three.

Probable Starters
Fri. | 3:02 p.m. | (ARK) RHP Blaine Knight vs. (MU) RHP Cole Gnetz
Sat. | 12:02 p.m. | (ARK) RHP Trevor Stephan vs. (MU) LHP Zach Spears
Sun. | 1:02 p.m. | (ARK) TBA vs. (MU) RHP Grant Hartwig

Home Sweet Home
For the ninth straight year dating back to 2008, Arkansas will be opening the season at Baum Stadium. The opener against Miami (Ohio) will be the first of a six-game home stand to start the year. 17 of Arkansas’ first 22 games this season will be inside Baum Stadium. The Hogs have won at least 20 games at home every year since 2006.

Johnson Returns Home
2017 will mark the first season with the Razorbacks for new pitching coach Wes Johnson. A Sherwood, Arkansas native, Johnson takes over for long time pitching coach Dave Jorn, who stepped down last summer. Johnson spent one season at Mississippi State and four seasons at Dallas Baptist before arriving at Arkansas. Last season with the Bulldogs, Johnson developed a pitching staff that improved its ERA by more than a full run and won 44 games, its most since 1997.

Knight Gets the Opening Day Nod
Sophomore right-hander Blaine Knight will get the call to be the Opening day starting pitcher Friday against Miami (Ohio). This is the sixth time in the last seven years that a right-hander will be the Opening Day starter for the Hogs and 11th under head coach Dave Van Horn. Of the last 14 Opening Day starters, 12 have been drafted, including last year’s Opening Day pitcher, Dominic Taccolini, who returned to the Hogs for his senior season after being drafted by Toronto in the 16th round.

Bonafide Bonfield
Prior to the season, outfielder Luke Bonfield was named to the preseason All-SEC second team by the league coaches. The New Jersey native is coming off his best season as a Razorback in 2016 and had one of the best bats in the league as he notched 14 multi-hit games and tied for the team high with nine multi-RBI games.

Scouting Miami (Ohio)
After finishing second in the East Division of the MAC in 2016, the Redhawks were picked to finish second in the East again this year by the league coaches in the preseason poll released on Thursday. Miami (Ohio) posted a 27-28 record last year, including a 14-10 mark in MAC play, the third-best conference record among all MAC teams. Miami (Ohio) last visited Baum Stadium in 2000 for two midweek games, both of which Arkansas won by a combined score of 20-6. Both teams also met in the NCAA Tournament in the Austin Regional in 2005, with Arkansas taking the 9-5 victory.

Anderson talks about Hogs’ surprising win over South Carolina

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Hogs start fast and topple Gamecocks for win over Top 25 team

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Arkansas used a 25-2 first-half run Wednesday evening and never looked back, knocking off No. 21 South Carolina 83-76 in Colonial Life Arena.

Arkansas (19-7, 8-5 SEC) picks up a win over a ranked team on the road for the first time since the 2013-14 season and is now tied with South Carolina (20-6, 10-3 SEC) for the SEC lead with five conference roads on the year.

The Razorbacks improve to 9-5 on their last 14 road games, including a 7-2 mark in the last nine SEC road contests. Head coach Mike Anderson now has 19 SEC road wins in the last five-plus seasons, which is five more than Arkansas had in the previous 10 years before he took over.

The guard duo of Jaylen Barford and Dusty Hannahs dominated all night, combining for 43 points as Barford led the way with 23 points, including 17 in the first half. Hannahs was unstoppable for most of the game, adding 20 points and going 8-for-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from behind the arc.

Manuale Watkins provided the dagger with 27 seconds left as he launched a desperation fade away jumper that bounced around before falling as the shot clock expired.

Daryl Macon was clutch down the stretch, going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the final 15 seconds to seal the win. As a team, Arkansas went 16-of-18 from the free throw line, good for 89 percent.

Moses Kingsley finished in double figures with 16 points, with 11 of those coming in the second half. He had seven rebounds and the SEC’s leader in blocks added four more swats to bring his season total to 70 on the year. He became the third Razorback in the last 20 years to record 16-plus points, seven-plus rebounds and four-plus blocks in an SEC game.

UP NEXT
The Razorbacks return home Saturday evening, welcoming Ole Miss to town for a 5 p.m. tip-off inside Bud Walton Arena on SEC Network.

Hogs get much-needed win, coming back to down LSU

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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BATON ROUGE, La. — Arkansas used a second-half run to overtake LSU on Saturday night 78-70 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The Razorbacks (18-7, 7-5 SEC) improved to 6-2 in its last eight conference road games and extends its win streak over the Tigers (9-15, 1-11) to three straight. The win marks the first victory in Baton Rouge since the 2007-08 season.

The Razorbacks used their 3-point shooting early in the second half to go on a 29-7 run and take a nine-point lead.

Seven of Arkansas’ first nine made baskets to start the second half came from behind the arc. After only shooting 37 percent from the field in the first half, the Razorbacks shot 53.8 percent in the second frame.

Arkansas got off to a slow start from the field, missing six of its first seven shots of the game. LSU climbed to an eight-point lead before the Razorbacks proceeded to sink five of their next six attempts to cut the deficit to just one.

The Tigers took a nine-point lead to the half after outscoring Arkansas 26-10 in the paint and outrebounding the Hogs 28-12 in the opening frame.

A common trend this season for the Razorbacks has been their bench production. Once again, it came up big, outscoring the Tigers 31-11.

Dusty Hannahs and Daryl Macon led the Razorbacks with 17 points each. Hannahs went 6-of-14 from the field and 5-of-10 from behind the arc, while Macon shot 5-of-11 from the field and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe.

Dustin Thomas had one of his best games as a Razorback. The redshirt-junior finished with nine points and a career and team-high nine rebounds. Anton Beard recorded 11 points and three assists.

UP NEXT
The Razorbacks remain on the road next week, traveling to Columbia, S.C. to face the No. 19 South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 5:30 p.m.

Arkansas looks to complete season sweep of Vanderbilt on Tuesday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas team returns to Bud Walton Arena Tuesday evening looking to complete the season sweep of Vanderbilt, as the Commodores come to town for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on SEC Network.

The Rundown
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 7
Location: Bud Walton Arena
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
WatchESPN: Click Here

#Fastest40 Facts

• Arkansas is the only SEC team to win five straight conference games in three of the last four years.

• Arkansas is one of five teams in the country with 90-plus wins and fewer than 15 losses at home over the last six seasons. The Razorbacks are 92-14 (.868) at BWA under Anderson.

• In the last meeting against Vanderbilt on Jan. 24, Arkansas rallied from 15 points down with 6:02 remaining, capped by three free throws from Daryl Macon with one second left to give the Razorbacks an improbable 71-70 victory.

• The Razorbacks are tied for second in the country with 22 games scoring 70-plus points this year. A 62-60 road win at Texas A&M is Arkansas’ only game this season without reaching the 70-point plateau.

• The Razorbacks are 5-0 in their last five contests decided by one possession, the longest such streak since the 1994-95 season.

• Arkansas has won six straight games decided by four points or less, including four of those coming on the road.

• The Razorbacks are 4-1 this season following a loss, with a 13.8 average margin of victory.

A Win Would

• Give Arkansas its fourth straight home victory and the 13th win inside Bud Walton Arena this season.

• Be the fifth consecutive victory against Vanderbilt overall and the fifth straight win against the commodores in Fayetteville.

• Move Arkansas to 38-12 against SEC opponents in Bud Walton Arena in the Mike Anderson era.

The Vanderbilt Series

• Arkansas leads the all-time series 22-11, including four straight victories against the Commodores.

• The Razorbacks have won four straight meetings against Vandy in Fayetteville and hold a 12-2 edge in Bud Walton Arena.

• The Razorbacks have won seven of the last nine games again Vanderbilt, including a 90-85 overtime victory in BWA a season ago.

Razorbacks handle Missouri to snap losing skid behind Macon’s 17 points

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Behind a big night from junior guard Daryl Macon, Arkansas (13-4, 2-3 SEC) led wire to wire Saturday night, defeating Missouri (5-11, 0-4 SEC), 92-73, inside Bud Walton Arena.

The Razorbacks have defeated the Tigers for the fifth consecutive time and improve to 90-14 inside Bud Walton Arena during the Mike Anderson era. Arkansas is one of two programs in the country with 90 wins and fewer than 15 losses at home over the last six seasons.

The Razorbacks used a big first half to pull away from the Tigers. After missing its first two shots of the game, Arkansas proceeded to make nine of its next 12 to open it up to a 25-14 lead midway through the first half. The Razorbacks later put together a 14-0 run to extend the lead to 21 before going into the locker room with a 50-36 advantage.

The Razorbacks were able to create some havoc on the defensive end. Pushing the tempo to its liking, Arkansas forced eight first-half turnovers and scored 17 points in transition in the opening frame.

Jaylen Barford led all Razorbacks in the first half, scoring 11 points to make it three of the last four games that he has scored in double figures before halftime. Macon had five first-half assists, which tied his career-high.

The Razorbacks maintained their double-digit lead throughout the second half, finishing on a 7-0 run and holding the Tigers scoreless for the final two minutes and 40 seconds of the game to capture a 19-point victory. Arkansas finished with its best shooting performance of the season, sinking 33-of-59 shots (.559).

Macon finished with a game-high 17 points, career-high six assists and four rebounds. Dusty Hannahs had 16 points of his own to go along with three boards and three assists. Five Razorbacks finished in double figures as Moses Kingsley ended with 10 points, Barford with 13 and Anton Beard had 11.

UP NEXT
Texas A&M is next up for Arkansas. The Razorbacks travel to College Station on Tuesday, Jan. 17 to face the Aggies at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.

Lashlee leaves Auburn while Louisville, Mississippi State swap D-coordinators

Andy Hodges
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The musical chairs game of coaching in college football has now kicked into high gear.

It’s not just at Arkansas, where Robb Smith has gone to Minnesota, leaving the defensive coordinator position open. Secondary coach Paul Rhoads is reportedly the front-runner to replace Smith, but now there are some saying he may be a co-coordinator.

Some of the names in the mix at Arkansas include:

• Former Arkansas assistant Charlie Partridge, who was fired at Florida Atlantic.

• Mississippi State safeties coach Maurice Linguist.

• Central Florida defensive coordinator Erik Chinander.

The Hogs’ offensive coordinator, Dan Enos, has been mentioned as a replacement for P.J. Fleck at Western Michigan in addition to the offensive coordinator position at Pittsburgh after Matt Canada went to LSU.

One of the more interesting moves came about when Louisville forced defensive coordinator Todd Grantham out, then hired Mississippi State defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon to replace him after it surfaced Tuesday he was being forced out in Starkville.

So, MSU immediately hires Grantham. He will become the fourth defensive coordinator under Dan Mullen in the past four seasons. The other names were Geoff Collins and Manny Diaz before Sirmon.

Grantham may have traded one difficult coach to work for in Bobby Petrino for Mullen, who reportedly has similar issues with assistants.

But all of that pales to the drama going on down on The Plains at Auburn.

Gus Malzahn, despite getting the Tigers to the Sugar Bowl, had to dump his buddy, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. According to sources at Auburn, it was a move Malzahn had to make to keep his job.

Lashlee, with Malzahn’s help, got the offensive coordinator position at Connecticut with new coach Randy Edsall.

That immediately started the rumors about either former Baylor coach Art Briles or his son Kendall (who was the offensive coordinator for the Bears) replacing Lashlee.

All of that was squashed Thursday morning in a report from Auburn Undercover on 247Sports.com.

“No way on Art,” a high-level source told Auburn Undercover on Thursday. “Kendal lacks experience Gus (Malzahn) needs.”

That leaves the game of musical chairs going at warp speed. Considering Malzahn has to please the behind-the-scenes maneuvering by former coach Pat Dye along with a demanding fan base and boosters, it has to be a big name and somebody with a proven track record.

On the staff are offensive line coach Herb Hand, running backs coach Tim Horton or receivers coach Kodi Burns and they will be fallback candidates.

Now the candidates include:

• Jeff Scott, Clemson’s co-offensive coordinator.

• Jake Spavital, California’s offensive coordinator who is in limbo after Sonny Dykes was fired.

• Chip Lindsey, Arizona State’s offensive coordinator, who may be the frontrunner, according to some close to Auburn. He was a high school coach at Spain Park and knocked off legendary Hoover. His connections in Alabama high schools run deep, but his offense last year with the Sun Devils was only ranked 81st.

• Brandon Streeter, Clemson’s quarterback coach.

• Eliah Drinkwitz, North Carolina State’s offensive coordinator, who moved to offensive coordinator at Springdale High when Malzahn was hired by the Razorbacks. He later followed Malzahn to Auburn and Arkansas State.

And we haven’t even gotten to who’s coming and going at Alabama yet. Every year Nick Saban’s staff has at least one or two divorces, a couple of heart issues and four ulcers to deal with.

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