Arkansas football’s eclipse came in ’10, ’11

Derek Ruscin
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A total solar eclipse does not happen around here very often.

It was 1978 the last time one passed across the United States. It will be 2024 before the next one comes along (passing directly over Arkansas this time).

Similarly, Arkansas football has blockbuster success about every 30 years or so. In 1978 (same as the last eclipse) under the great Lou Holtz, Arkansas won 11 games and finished number three in the country whipping Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

Lou Holtz led Arkansas to an 11-1 record and the #3 ranking in the country in 1978.

In the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Arkansas went 21-5 and appeared in a major bowl game (a Sugar Bowl game that doesn’t count, but did occur) and won the Cotton Bowl (now a major New Year’s six bowl game).

It seems to me that like the earth, sun and moon, everything has to align perfectly for the Razorbacks to have that special season.

That season that comes along about every 30 years.

Sadly, we are now living in normal. This is how it supposed to be most of the time at a place like this with no great major metropolitan area producing boundless amounts of elite talent close to campus.

This is how it is when you play in the toughest division in all of football, including the NFL.

But one day, all those factors will align again and Arkansas will be back at the 10 or 11 win mark.

We just all hope it is sooner rather than in 2040.

Saban on solar eclipse: ‘I’ll be watching it at home’

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Nick Saban answers questions on whether he will be watching the solar eclipse on Monday.

Toughest schedule of Anderson era released

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas unveiled its final four opponents for the 2017-18 non-conference schedule on Monday afternoon, putting a lid on the most dynamic slate of the Mike Anderson era.

The final four opponents coming to Bud Walton Arena are Bucknell (Nov. 12), Fresno State (Nov. 17), Colorado State (Dec. 5) and Oral Roberts (Dec. 19). Bucknell is fresh off an NCAA Tournament berth after winning the Patriot League regular season and tournament championship a year ago, while Fresno State and Colorado State both appeared in the NIT last season.

The Opponents
• Arkansas’ 2017-18 opponents combined for an overall record of 221-161 (.578) last season, not including potential matchups at the Phil Knight Invitational against North Carolina, Oregon, Michigan State, Connecticut, DePaul and Portland.

• Seven of Arkansas’ 11 non-conference opponents had an RPI inside 100 last year and all 11 teams combined for an average RPI of 106.

By The Numbers
• Nine of the 11 teams are coming off 20-win seasons
• Could face two Final Four teams from last year at the PK80
• Six teams finished in the top four of their conference standings
• Two regular season championships
• Two conference tournament championships
• Four NCAA Tournament appearances
• Four NIT selections

The Breakdown
• Eight games in Bud Walton Arena
• Three games in Portland, Oregon
• One road game
• One game in North Little Rock

Exhibition Action
• Friday, Oct. 20 (Red-White Game)
• Friday, Oct. 27 (Opponent – TBA)
• Friday, Nov. 3 (Opponent – TBA)

Samford (Friday, Nov. 10)
• Posted a 20-16 record last year and reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in 11 years.
• Return 12 of their 13 players from a season ago, including 97-percent of their scoring production.
• Former Alabama guard Justin Coleman will make his Samford debut in Bud Walton Arena.

Bucknell (Sunday, Nov. 12)
• Recorded 26 wins last year and captured the Patriot League regular season and tournament championship.
• Returning all five starters and their top nine leading scorers from an NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Posted an RPI 66 last season, including nine true road wins.

Fresno State (Friday, Nov. 17)
• Won 20 games a season ago and earned an at-large bid to the NIT after finishing fourth in the Mountain West.
• Returning four starters and three of their top four leading scorers.
• Had an RPI of 77 with eight top 100 RPI wins last year.

vs Oklahoma (Thursday, Nov. 23) at PK80 in Portland, Oregon
• Return a young team as nine of the 16 players on the roster are underclassmen.
• Seven of the top eight scorers return for the Sooners.
• Finished third in the Big 12 in rebounding last year and return their top four rebounders.

vs North Carolina/Portland (Friday, Nov. 24) at PK80 in Portland, Oregon
• North Carolina is the defending National Champion and returns two of its five starters.
• Portland finished 10th in the West Coast Conference last year.

vs TBA (Sunday, Nov. 26) at PK80 in Portland, Oregon
• Will face Oregon, Michigan State, Connecticut or DePaul.

at Houston (Saturday, Dec. 2)
• Coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons and posted an RPI of 62 last year.
• Return 58.7 percent of their scoring, including Rob Gray’s league-leading 20.6 points per game.
• Finished second in the American Athletic Conference in three-point field goal percentage at 39 percent.

Colorado State (Tuesday, Dec. 5)
• Recorded 24 wins last season, finishing second in the MWC and advancing to the NIT.
• Despite losing the league’s leading scorer, the Rams return 71.1 percent of minutes played.
• Finished second in the MWC in scoring defense and rebounding margin.

Minnesota (Saturday, Dec. 9)
• Posted a 24-10 record last season and returned to the NCAA Tournament.
• Recorded an RPI of 25 last year and finished fourth in the Big Ten Conference.
• Returning their top four leading scorers and three All-Big 10 selections.

vs Troy (Saturday, Dec. 16) at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Ark.
• Went 22-15 last season and had a top 150 RPI.
• Won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• Return their top two scorers and 62.4 percent of their scoring output from last season.

Oral Roberts (Tuesday, Dec. 19)
• Have a new head coach in Paul Mills who spent the previous 14 years at Baylor.
• Return top scorer who finished fourth in The Summit League last year at 17.4 points per game.
• Return top rebounder in who finished eighth in the conference last season, averaging 6.4 boards per contest.

Cal State Bakersfield (Wednesday, Dec. 27)
• Went 25-10 last season and won the WAC regular season championship.
• Posted a final RPI of 59 with five victories against top 100 RPI teams.
• Return 42.2 percent of their scoring and their second leading scorer.

Oklahoma State (Saturday, Jan. 27) in Big12/SEC Challenge
• Won 20 games last year and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
• Led the Big 12 in scoring offense last season, averaging over 85 points per game.
• Returning their second leading scorer and top two offensive rebounders.

First AP poll released; why is Texas ranked?

Andy Hodges
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To little surprise Alabama is No. 1 in the first Associated Press poll released Monday.

The Crimson Tide are 99 points ahead of second-place Ohio State, a large margin. Florida State, who will open the season against Bama in Atlanta on Sept. 2, is No. 3 and USC is fourth, just ahead of defending national champion Clemson.

Rounding out the top 10 teams are Penn State, Oklahoma, Washington, Wisconsin and Oklahoma State.

Curious about where the next SEC team is? Well, there haven’t been two SEC teams in the Top 10 since 2015 when Ole Miss was 10th (and, of course, Alabama was No. 1).

The next SEC team is in the second 10, which is dominated by the league.

In order, Michigan is 11th, then Auburn, LSU, Stanford and Georgia is No. 15. Bobby Petrino’s Louisville team is 16th, then Florida, Miami, South Florida and Kansas State rounds out the first 20 teams.

The final five teams, in order, are Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Texas, Washington State and Tennessee.

Whoa, WHAT?

Texas is No. 23. For those wondering, the Longhorns were also No. 23 in the Coaches Poll, too.

Apparently voters are banking on Tom Herman turning around things in Austin in a hurry. Last year, Texas finished 5-7, losing the last three games of the season.

Kentucky and Texas A&M were the only other SEC teams that received votes, garnering three each.

Bielema: It’s time to ‘raise the bar’ on wins

Andy Hodges
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Bret Bielema spoke to the Little Rock Touchdown Club today and didn’t deliver any bombshells.

He did have one comment, though, that should have gotten folks’ attention: “It’s time to raise the bar on what’s expected on the field,” he said.

Finally, somebody talked about wins being important.

He spoke before that on getting players to do the right things both on and off the field and the challenges that has created since he got the job in December 2012.

“Coming off 3-9 season when I got here, I knew I wanted to build things in a certain way,” he said. “I wanted to set a standard what I wanted off the field.”

He has accomplished that over his first four seasons.

“Eighty percent of players had over 3.0 during spring semester,” he said. “If I was playing, I wouldn’t be in that 80 percent. We had 29 new players come in and 25 of the 29 had a 3.0. Only one had a grade below a C. They have to have the desire to be successful.”

Now he’s got to produce wins.

“That’s the hardest thing to do,” he said about getting wins from players who are doing the off-field things well for the most part. “Sometimes the GPA doesn’t match the 40-yard dash time.”

This year, he’s hoping it gets closer.

 

We won’t get answers for couple of weeks

Andy Hodges
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Don’t be expecting answers this week as Arkansas finishes fall practice.

Normally, you’d say they would be getting ready for the season opener, but, let’s face it, if the Razorbacks aren’t ahead of Florida A&M by at least 35 points at halftime, there’s a problem.

No, we won’t get any answers until sometime around 6:30 or so on Sept. 9. The game against the Rattlers won’t provide many.

Yes, the Hogs will probably look really good. They better. It’s highly doubtful the competition will be as good as what they see in practice every day. At least it better not be.

Don’t be misled by the coaches, who talk about players “practicing hard” or “going faster” or “getting better.” Every team is saying the same things this time of the year.

This isn’t a prediction column by any stretch. That will come next week.

To be honest, there’s cases to be made for this team finishing anywhere from 5-7 to 9-3. It all depends on the answers to the questions.

For starters, everyone is putting quarterback Austin Allen into the running for the top quarterback in the SEC. He may be.

The problem is a quarterback in an offense like Arkansas has will only be as good as (A) his offensive line allows and, (B) his receivers make him.

Oh, everybody likes to talk about the Bret Bielema “identity” of a power running game. That’s ancient history, folks. Arkansas is now a power running program.

The only time they’ve resembled that is 2005-07. They had an offensive line full of future NFL prospects, Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis at running back and just enough receivers in the mix to keep things slightly honest.

In fairness, though, with those three keeping anybody honest was something you’d like to have, but didn’t worry about a whole lot.

No, the Hogs are a team that has success with an offense that has a gimmick or two. Like in the Bobby Petrino era, there were so many people out on routes if the quarterback could hang in there long enough SOMEBODY was going to be open.

And, when in doubt, the receivers were good enough to simply make a play.

Bielema is a smart guy. He’s aware the last coach in the league that was stubborn about sticking with trying to have an “identity” of power running got fired last year down in Baton Rouge.

Even Nick Saban at Alabama has admittedly opened things up. Reports out of Tuscaloosa are there won’t be a lot of change from the past three seasons in the offensive direction.

They will be more up-tempo, passing and letting quarterback Jalen Hurts make plays with his legs. They want to improve the downfield passing attack, which is what Saban has harped on constantly since losing to Clemson last year.

“That’s what the kids want to play so that’s what I figured we had to switch to,” Saban said during an interview on the SEC Network when he was asked about the offensive change. “I went with quarterbacks who could also make plays with their legs and not just their arm.”

It’s the way college football has evolved. All four teams last year in the playoff were spread teams with dual threat quarterbacks. Don’t even think about the Crimson Tide as being a pro-style offense anymore.

That doesn’t mean the running game goes away. It’s as important as ever.

It’s about creating space. Auburn will be a running team, but they aren’t going to just huddle up, line up and try to get four yards a play.

Nobody can do that anymore. Everybody in the SEC has a few good players, even Vanderbilt.

The guess here is the best anybody will ever be able to do running one of those ground-and-pound offenses in the SEC is seven or eight wins in a season … with a few good breaks and occasionally catching a team on a down week.

That is why I think the biggest question the Hogs will face is finding wide receivers and tight ends who can make plays.

They are going to have to score a lot of points to win games this year, in my opinion. Going to a 3-4 only puts more of the weakest players on the roster on the field at the same time.

That is, unless the answer to the next biggest question is different than I’m guessing.

Yep, the linebackers. In the SEC, the team with the best linebackers tends to win more games. It used to be the lines, but lately it’s been linebackers.

It’s how the game has changed.

Have there been some good things in fall camp? Absolutely.

The Hogs will be better this year. Of that, there is absolutely no doubt.

But the reason what last year’s record was makes zero difference in teams this year is because everybody got better.

Arkansas isn’t the only place with spring practice, scholarship players, a couple of talented walk-ons and a good strength coach.

So do 13 other teams in the league.

Which is why there really are more questions than answers everywhere.

Finding the answers is what makes the season fun.

Matich predicts Missouri QB Lock will be breakout star

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Trevor Matich declares Drew Lock of the Missouri Tigers as the under-the-radar quarterback to watch for.

Alabama’s defense key to title hopes

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Alabama’s dynasty has been built on defense, but after losing six starters to the NFL, will this season’s Tide defense live up to expectations?

Part One: The 10 questions to be answered

Derek Ruscin
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With 10 days till kickoff of the 2017 Razorback football season, I thought it would be a great time to pose, in order of importance, the 10 questions that are in need of being answered.

1. Quarterback

You didn’t think this would be on the list did you?

In spite of all the hype and hullabaloo surrounding senior signal caller Austin Allen, the facts are he just had a good, not great, year in 2016.

He must lower the interception total and get touchdowns when the Hogs enter the red zone (we’ll hit on that again later).

Also, the over 30 sacks last year are not all on the O-Line.  Some of that is on Allen to make sure he isn’t holding the ball too long or is getting the line into the right protections.

The backups have almost no experience, so if Austin goes down, the season will go with him.

Allen must protect himself better because he got too close to missing game time last season and without him, no bowl game.

2. Special Teams

Arkansas hasn’t had a dependable kicker since Zach Hocker.

Honestly, the kicking game has been a tire fire since Bielema took over, with the exception of good punters and a Tretola pass for a 2-point conversion. It is really shown this is an after-thought and not a priority here.

If it is not addressed, look for the Hogs to drop more close games because of the inability to make a big kick to add to a lead or take a lead in a close ball game.

3. Secondary

Defensive coordinator Paul Rhodes

While this is the most experienced group, it is also the group that has disappointed the most.

Young guys like Chevin Calloway and Camren Curl are gunning for playing time to replace older vets who just simply cannot get the job done.

With youth comes inexperience and the new guys will get burnt a few times before they learn.

It could be a risk Paul Rhoads is willing to take in order to get better talent on the field as soon as possible.

4. Mental Fragility

Bret Bielema said at halftime of the Belk Bowl, with his team leading big over Virginia Tech that “it wasn’t going to happen again.”

It did.

You can’t even plant the kernel of the seed that it will happen again or it is going to come true. If you brain thinks something is going to happen chances are it will.

This team has said all the right things about using last year’s late season collapses as motivation and not dwelling on those failures but the truth is not even the coaches know if that is true or not.

Like a golfer, you never know if you are going to make that three-foot putt to win a championship until you stand up on that green and do it. They aren’t over the collapses until the have a big lead and don’t cough it up.

5. Offensive Line

This group was just not very good in 2016. Most of those guys are back.

This leads to the age-old football question: Does experience mean you are getting any better? While they were not totally responsible for the beating Austin Allen took last year, they carry most of the blame, in my opinion.

Now, they are struggling to get any sort of run blocking going in training camp … against the 2nd team defense! From the limited things I have seen, this group still has a ways to go before they become an average SEC offensive line.

Are we sure Denver Kirkland can’t come back for one more year?

ON TO PART TWO

Part Two: The 10 questions to be answered

Derek Ruscin
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Because I am long-winded, here is another post with Part Two of my 10 questions we need to have answered for this Razorback football season.

1. Running game

Rawleigh Williams leaves some pretty big shoes to fill.

So far, the coaches say they have a 1A, 1B and 1C running back on the depth chart. Let me translate coach speak for you … that means nobody has jumped up to grab the lead running back spot with less then two weeks till a real game.

The most talented guy in the bunch is Chase Hayden. He has some abilities that we have not seen since Alex Collins was here. He will have to be on top of his pass protection assignments in order to get a lot of playing time.

Whaley is good, too, and I think he will start the year as the feature back. I have no idea what to make of David Williams yet, but he could fill the role left by Kody Walker, a carry or two every now and then to give the main guys a break.

2.  Red Zone … Both Sides of the Ball

Arkansas’ red zone offense needs to score more touchdowns and the defense needs to lock things down … it’s as simple as that.

Dan Enos seems to always have to gadget his way to points inside the 20 yard line since he has been here. The line has to just line up and whip people at the line of scrimmage to make sure the Hogs don’t have to hold their breath and attempt a field goal this year.

Defensively isn’t much better. Arkansas was 75th in red zone defense last year. Simply put, they have to get to the Top 50 in that and pretty much any statistical category to show great signs of improvement this year.

3. Dre Greenlaw’s Health

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw

Arkansas cannot afford to have it’s best linebacker on the sideline again for any length of time this year.

There is little depth behind him and he is the best athlete in the linebacker room and it isn’t close. This is a big year for Dre to prove he can pass the durability test during a full SEC season.

Getting injured and missing more time will not only hurt the Razorback defense, but will also seriously begin to effect his draft stock at the next level.

4.  Linebacker Depth

See above. This group will be the most tested by Arkansas 10 straight weeks of playing games without a bye this year.

There just are not enough quality linebackers on the roster right now. Putting more of them on the field in a 3-4 scheme didn’t help either.

The regulars have to find a way to tough it out for 12 games this year because the guys behind them are unproven and there will be a drop off in production.

5. Young Wide Receivers

They may be young, but I think they are ready.

La’Michael Pettway has had a very good camp. It’s like the light bulb has gone off for him.

Hopefully, Jared Cornelius’ back injury is not more serious then we are being told because if it is, it means two important games in the month of September with Austin Allen throwing to guys who have never or barely played in a game.

They have upgraded in talent from what I have seen in practice, but you have to do it in a game.

Hopefully, the dropsies do not become a problem for a talented, yet inexperienced group of pass catchers.

GO BACK TO PART ONE

Quick strike lifts Hogs to win over North Texas

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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DENTON, Texas — The 17th-ranked Razorback soccer team burst out of the gate Sunday afternoon, scoring two goals in a span of two minutes and then holding off North Texas for a 2-0 victory, it’s first of the 2017 season.

Freshman Taylor Malham and sophomore Kayla McKeon scored in the 12th minute and 14th minute, respectively, to give Arkansas a large advantage in the early moments. Malham got her first goal of her collegiate career, while McKeon earned her 10th goal of her young career.

Upon getting the two-score lead, the Razorback defense kept up the aggressive pace for the remaining 75 minutes which allowed redshirt junior goalkeeper Jordan Harris to pick up her first shutout along with five saves.

“Today was a good win,” Arkansas coach Colby Hale said. “Sunday matches are often about game plan and mentality. Today we earned that result.

“There were numerous factors that could have played a role and hats off to our players. they didn’t let it affect the result. It was a well deserved win. We will enjoy this and then get ready for a good Penn State team starting Monday.”

Arkansas (1-1-0) was able to get a good victory over a North Texas (1-1-0) team that was picked to win Conference USA (C-USA) by its league coaches.

Before the Razorbacks’ win, the Mean Green had not lost a match at home since 2014.

The win over North Texas is Arkansas’ second-straight dating back to last year’s 1-0 victory at Razorback Field and evens the all-time series at 2-2.

Even with the quick pace that Arkansas played with, North Texas was able to match the speed as both teams were even with eight shots at the halftime break.

Shots on goal were nearly even as well as Arkansas was able to put five shots on frame compared to North Texas’ four in the first 45 minutes.

Arkansas broke through with its first goal of the season as Malham corralled a loose ball near the left post and right-footed a ball past the keeper that had come off her line. Freshman Haley VanFossen was credited with the assist off the free kick, earning her first point of her career.

With barely enough time to reset, the Razorbacks struck again, this time off a beautiful cross by Stefani Doyle on the right side. McKeon one-timed it from 15 yards out giving the North Texas goalkeeper no chance. Both Malham’s and McKeon’s goals were separated by one minute and 13 seconds.

In the second half, Arkansas controlled the pace even more and battled through the hot Texas temperatures to put 10 more shots up with three finding the frame.

The Razorbacks notched 18 shots total throughout the 90 minutes and seven different players put at least one on frame.

Now the Razorbacks get to focus on their home opener when they take on top-ranked Penn State next Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Penn State was ranked number one by Top Drawer Soccer in last week’s preseason poll and picked up a win over eighth-ranked BYU Friday before defeating Hofstra earlier today.

It will be the third top-five team to visit Razorback Field in the last two seasons. In last year’s home opener, Arkansas defeated No. 2 Duke, 2-1, in front of a school-record 3,010 fans.

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