Hogs played hard in 20-10 loss, but had same problems they’ve had in losing games this year against Texas
Razorbacks’ Hudson Clark, Landon Jackson, Taylen Green on Texas loss
After coming up short against the Longhorns, what they have to fix before next weeks’ final home game.
LIVE BLOG: Longhorns close out 20-10 win over Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In the old days when Arkansas and Texas played in mid-October every year, the stakes were always high. The winner usually won the Southwest Conference championship.
Now the Razorbacks host the Longhorns for the first time in an SEC game and those stakes are one-sided. Texas (8-1, 4-1 SEC) is positioning for a spor in the College Football Playoff while the Hogs (5-4, 3-3 SEC) are just trying to get to a good bowl game.
Weather will not play a role in today’s game. There are no clouds, temperatures are the 60’s, but there is a gusting wind that at times could slightly affect a high kick or pass. It’s not consistent enough, though, to be a huge deal.
1Q 7:23: After exchanging opening drives, the Razorbacks throw an interception when Taylen Green’s pass to Andrew Armstrong was tipped in the air and corner Jahdae Barron intercepted. The Longhorns drove 61 yards in six plays and quarterback Quinn Ewers found a completely wide open Matthew Golden on the right side behind Doneiko Slaugher for a 20-yard score. Horns 7, Hogs 0
2Q 11:15: The Longhorns convert a fourth-and-1 near midfield, then miss a couple of scoring chances on deep passes, one of them being broken up by Hogs free safety TJ Metcalf before settling for a 39-yard field goal by Bert Auburn for a two-score lead. The Longhorns have 115 yards of total offense compared to the Razorbacks’ 37. Horns 10, Hogs 0
3Q 8:36: Arkansas messes up playing the second-half kickoff and has to start from its own 14-yard line. They get a first down, but end up going backwards and Texas drives down before stalling in the red zone. Auburn kicks a 33-yard field goal to increase the lead. The Longhorns’ defense is still keeping the Razorbacks’ offense throttled down. Horns 13, Hogs 0
3Q 3:39: Razorbacks may have grabbed the momentum and cut into the lead. With Green finding wide receiver Andrew Armstrong for key passes and Ja’Quinden Jackson getting the running game going, the Hogs drive 75 yards in 12 plays. Jackson gets the final yard to get it back to a one-score game. Horns 13, Hogs 7
4Q 12:28: Arkansas moves down until the Longhorns’ defense starts forcing Green backwards and creating negative plays. Shipley manages to but into the lead with a 44-yard field goal. Horns 13, Hogs 10
4Q 9:05: Just like that Texas snatches the momentum back and we may be shaping up for a battle to the end. The Longhorns answer the Arkansas touchdown with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended on a 1-yard pass from Ewers to Golden at the flag just in the right of the end zone. It’s a two-score game again. Horns 20, Hogs 10
PETE’S PICKS: Texas’ schedule doesn’t set them up for success against Hogs
Cotton. Cashmere. Wool. The 2024 Texas football schedule.
Which of these four things do not go with the others? I will give you a second to think.
Three of the four in our list are soft things. So, if your answer is “The 2024 Texas football schedule”, you are correct.
Look, I love the SEC just as much if not more than anybody. And when Oklahoma and Texas announced their defection from the Big 12 to our conference, the thought was it would be a wake-up call for all Sooner and Longhorn fans that their longtime conference powerhouses would struggle against the stiffer SEC competition.
I am definitely not the only person to notice this, and, if I were to look around, I would probably I am not the first person to discuss it. But, with it coming to making predictions and reasons why, I wanted to bring these talking points to the table.
When the 2024 SEC football schedules were released, I made a specific intent to look at OU’s and Texas’s opponents. At first glance I noticed the Longhorns had early match-ups with Michigan and their Red River foe, the Sooners. Both of these opponents have quality programs and should have been stiff competition for Texas. In fairness, at the time, few of us recognized how bad OU would be this season.
The quality of their opponents not withstanding, it was actually what I noticed upon second glance of Texas’s SEC schedule. There were no tough road games in the early parts of the season. In fact, it was the last weekend in October before Texas had a conference road game.
Not to mention, if you look closely, and if you go by last seasons’ performances, you will notice the Longhorns host all of their tough conference games at home, with three of their four road games being expected wins for most SEC teams. Vanderbilt, (as bad as I hate to say it) Arkansas, and Texas A&M. Soft.
Granted, their season-ending trip to Kyle Field to face the Aggies was not considered to be much of a contest until A&M surprised everyone this season with their much improved performances. Their first “road game” was actually meeting OU at a “neutral” site in Dallas. Softer.
For full transparency, with Mississippi State, Florida, and Kentucky being three of their four home games [softest], only Georgia presented to be much of a contest for Texas. The Bulldogs won that game somewhat easily.
I am disappointed in the SEC schedulers for rolling out the red… or perhaps orange carpet for the Longhorns. Their Big 12 rival, OU, did not receive the same fate. As a “non-fan” of Texas, I would have loved nothing more than to see them run the gauntlet in their first year in America’s best conference.
My point? When Texas comes into Razorback Stadium this Saturday, they may be understimating the fans, the team, and the coaching. They have not faced a true road test, and they will get one in Fayetteville, even if it is against a 5-4 band of hard-hitting Razorbacks.
Arkansas, 34-24
Be certain to listen to the game Saturday at 11:00 A.M. via HitThatLine.com and on the air at ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs, and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
Random Thoughts
Kids these days do not understand the hatred the rest of us have for Texas. They also do not know how to start a car by putting a key into the ignition, so we give them grace.
TRIVIA QUESTION: Who wrote and performed the song “Short Squashed Texan” in honor of the Arkansas vs Texas rivalry?
Speaking of soft, has anyone seen Chad Morris’s offense anywhere lately?
Cashmere sweaters with a singular red dot on it are all the latest rage for cheapskate Christmas gifts.
TRIVIA ANSWER: Bobby Crafford and the Pacers in (I believe) 1968.
I was raised to despise any and all things Texas Longhorns. It was an a trait I would have picked up naturally anyway; however, I want to extend my gratitude to my Dad for raising me right.
SEC Picks for Week 12
I heard Andy is so desperate to play catch-up in in our weekly HTL Pick’em contest, he decided to call a psychic, but instead he Googled the wrong spelling and called a psycho. The two will have their third date this weekend at Donald W Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
(3) Texas at Arkansas – This thought is probably wrong, but I feel Arkansas’s Taylen Green’s strengths play well against the Longhorns’ defensive weaknesses. Hogs by 10.
ULM at Auburn – Do not expect much here. Auburn is having one of their worst seasons in recent history, and even if the happen to fumble around and lose to the Warhawks, Hugh Freeze’s hot seat will just stay hot. No chance they fire him this season, plus the Tigers are fighting to close out the season with three straight wins to become bowl eligible.Auburn by 24.
Murray State at Kentucky – The Racers will roll into Lexington with high hopes of upsetting an SEC team. They will crawl back to Western Kentucky with a paycheck and their 10th loss on the season. BBN by 34.
Mercer at (10) Alabama – “Good Grief Game”: It must be homecoming in Tuscaloosa, and no doubt the Crimson Tide players, staff, and even the fans are probably ready for an easy weekend. It’s too bad the Bears cannot have the total number of all the “have Mercer” puns being made for this weekend added to their side of the scoreboard. Bama by 40.
(22) LSU at Florida – Should I pretend this might be a good game, or should I just pick how bad the result will be? A three-touchdown victory would be close for this match-up.Tigers (in the Swamp, mind you) by 24.
(23) Missouri at (21) South Carolina – The is not the GOTW, but it might end up being the most fun to watch. The Gamecocks have played a little inconsistent this season but have won enough games to find themselves ranked. The Tigers have had their weaknesses exposed and want to make as much noise as possible to close out 2024. Eli Drinkwitz believes his Missouri squad still has an outside chance of making the playoffs. To quote Turk: “Not gonna happen!” South Carolina puts and end to that dream this weekend. Gamecocks by 14.
GAME OF THE WEEK
(7) Tennessee at (12) Georgia – It’s always tempting to just say “Bulldogs” when Georgia is one of the two teams in the pick. Unfortunately, the boys from Athens are very inconsistent this year. VERY inconsistent. The Vols, on the other hand, have played pretty solid outside of their loss to Arkansas in Fayetteville. It is safe to say the Hogs had the homefield advantage in that game which made the difference. The same will apply hear, and with Georgia’s talent, the combination gives them the edge over an ambitious Tennessee team looking for playoff seeding. Bulldogs by 11.
New Mexico State at (15) Texas A&M – If I weren’t so tired from trying to get a new business up and going, I would write how the Aggies are fighting for a playoff spot and need both other ‘T’ teams to lose to put them back atop the conference standings – or at least tied for the lead anyway. Enjoy the easy week off, A&M. Aggies by 35.
Lead strong. Live great. Love hard.
Go HOGS!!!
ANDY’S PICKS: Nobody’s really thinking Hogs can beat Longhorns
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Only the most optimistic Arkansas fans even think the Razorbacks have a shot Saturday.
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Hogs just a 14.5 percent chance to win the game. Even that is too high for a lot of people against No. 2 Texas.
History has shown the Longhorns win about 70 percent of the time. While the Hogs have won several in the most recent years, but most of that was in postseason bowl games where Texas had little to no interest in even playing the game.
At times, like 2021, the Longhorns were a complete mess. They are a completely different team now with better talent. The Hogs also had their best team of the Sam Pittman Era and got a 40-21 win fans still celebrate.
It will be surprising to see a repeat of that this year. Nobody, including many of the media that usually take any hope they can find to pick a win. There’s not really any way to do that this year.
But anything can happen. In over 60 years of watching these teams play, I’ve seen some weird things happen. But it’s impossible predict that this year.
Texas 42, Arkansas 24
Pete has gone completely out on his fan-boy limb in this week’s picks. Despite the fact of accusations involving psychics and psycho plus some other babble. Just like I have no idea where the picks contest stands, he doesn’t, either. I have the only trophy and I get to decide who wins.
Around the SEC this week, there are way too many “Good Grief” games that Pete loves. There are actually four this week.
UL-Monroe at Auburn: Good grief 1. The Tigers have to win every game they play the rest of the season for Hugh Freez’s nightarish season to come to an end. They will get their fourth win against the War Hawks, Maybe the biggest question in this game is if Auburn can manage to avoid the offense disappearing completely and one of these goofy upsets happens. Tigers 45, ULM 21
Murray State at Kentucky: Good grief 2. The Wildcats haven’t done anything except prove they had one lucky pass in them against Ole Miss and exposed Georgia’s offense as not being championship-ready. Other than that they’ve piled up one loss after another one. Now they have to win the rest of their games to make any kind of bowl game. There is no line on this one, which tells you everything you need to know. Wildcats 38, Murray State 10
Mercer at Alabama: Good grief 3. The Crimson Tide are positioning for the playoffs, which they’ve been consistently in the Top 10 all season long. A lot of folks didn’t plan on that after Nick Saban retired. This is the equivalent of an extra bye week unless a complete catastrophic failure happens. Losing to Vanderbilt is one thing, but they can’t afford to let Mercer stay within 35. Crimson Tide 49, Mercer 6
LSU at Florida: The Tigers were good, but not so much lately. Texas A&M exposed them badly and they just appear to be completely dysfunctional right now. At times, the Gators have looked good and there was a public announcement of coach Billy Napier going to return next year. The only thing is that may not be the case at the end of the season. If Florida can figure out a way to win this game, they could bring some sanity to the SEC race. Right now if LSU can win out they could be in the SEC Championship. But the Gators just aren’t good enough to stop them. LSU 31, Florida 27
Missouri at South Carolina: It’s really hard to guess which way this one goes because Missouri may be the most bi-polar teams this year in college football. South Carolina is good at times and then they got blasted by Ole Miss at home. It’s hard to ignore, though, the Gameocks are favored by two touchdowns. That might be won. South Carolina 28, Mizzouri 14
Tennessee at Georgia: This will be the game of the week as the Bulldogs getting dominated by Ole Miss last week will have them motivated to do better at home against the Vols. Tennessee had a stumble against Arkansas, but have methodically gone about the rest of the season. My pick is going with the crazy way the world is going this year in college football. Georgia 27, Tennessee 17
New Mexico State at (15) Texas A&M: Good grief 4. The only way this one is remotely news is if the Aggies can’t manage to score enough points to cover the 39-point spread. That probably won’t happen because they don’t want anybody get hurt before Texas comes to town in a couple of weeks. Aggies 42, New Mexico State 14
Ruscin & Zach on how mid SEC football is this season
We get ready for Texas, troll Longhorn fans that are in town at the Stadium Shoppe where Zach is broadcasting from. Then we talk about how mid SEC football is this year.
Eastside Liquor Halftime Podcast: 11-15-24
With Matt Jones, Christian Johnston, and Colton Little
Guests: Aaron Torres, Neal Atkinson, Clay Henry!
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 11-15-24
Football Friday! With: Tye Richardson, Tommy Craft, and Christian Johnston.
Guests: Clay Henry, Coach Ken Hatfield.
Democrat-Gazette’s Bob Holt recapping Razorbacks’ ugly win over Troy
It wasn’t anything that will go down as a memorable game, but the Hogs did manage to get win
