Presented by Teague Law Firm and Signature Bank!
#Arkansas #ArkansasRazorbacks #Hogs #Hawgs #WPS #ArkansasRazorbacksPodcast #GoHogs #HitThatLine #WooPigSooie #RazorbackPodcast #ArkansasPodcast #HogPodcast
Is getting close only thing left for Razorback fans now?
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — That four-game road stretch everybody talked about for Arkansas back in August turned out to be worse than predicted. That’s because they left town with an unexpected loss on the board.
Suddenly, the Razorbacks are 2-5 and losing any wiggle room to get to any bowl is disappearing fast. Don’t look for any predictions from me because it’s all a guess right now. Not even next week’s game against Mississippi State is a guarantee of anything. If nothing else, everybody should have learned by now last week has nothing to do with last week, much less what happened a year ago.
At times after Saturday’s 24-21 loss to Alabama, even Sam Pittman resorted to invoking hope, his pride in the players and coaches plus resorting to divine providence for everything else that’s happened in these last five games. The bottom line is he probably still doesn’t have any answers he’s going to tell us about. If Sam doesn’t know the answers, that’s a whole differen tot problem for somebody else to figure out.
The really frustrating part for the fans are the the close losses. Some of them are downright sick of being close, mainly because that’s been the word used most ovent now for over a decade. Maybe even worse is that’s about the only hpe the Hogs have for the future because it’s pretty hard to look at that schedule and find four games you can guarantee will be wins.
Failing to get that will mean no bowl game, which means no extra time for evaluation practices. Most of that goes to the SEC office for distribution anyway and the Hogs will get their share of what everybody else does. Why do you think schools like Vanderbilt stay in the league? They could go to a smaller conference and qualify for some kind of bowl game. The real attraction for the Hogs is the extra practice time in December. Win half of those close losses and there would be hope.
“We’ve got to finish somehow and we’re just not doing it,” Pittman said Saturday. “You have to continue to fight, continue to get better and if we’ll do that surely there’s going to be some team not ranked in the top 15 in the country that’s going to play us at some point at our place. We’ve just got to continue to fight and all those things. We’ve got a hard road to get bowl-eligible, but that is our goal. We’ve got to start it Saturday.”
Mississippi State meets that criteria and Sam knew there. They’ve got injuries, too, but after a bye week we really don’t have any idea what kind of team is coming in here. There is one thing, though, about the Bulldogs that hasn’t changed as their record has been good on occasion and bad a lot and that’s they want to beat the opponent up physically. In Mississippi, Ole Miss wants to win the parties and State wants to win the fistfight.
This one may come down to the mental aspect of the game. At least the Bulldogs are just 3-3 overall on the year. It’s that kind of year. Missouri is already bowl eligible and in a logjam of one-loss teams behind Georgia in the East. Florida’s also in that group and those two teams alone could keep the Hogs from going to a bowl game.
It’s getting down to crunch time. There is a mathematical possbillity after this week the Hogs would be in a position of having to win all of their last games just to make any kind of bowl game before Halloween. That wasn’t expected by anyone back in the summer.
But Hog fans have hope they can keep it close facing the best teams left on the schedule. That’s about all they have left to hope for these days. Don’t even start with who should be hired or fired because we don’t have a vote. But everybody can have hope, right?
Hogs’ coach Sam Pittman proud of team’s effort, coming close in loss
Mistakes again prove costly, but Razorbacks were interested in winning and fell short against Alabama on Saturday.
Quarterback KJ Jefferson, defensive end Landon Jackson after loss
After Razorbacks’ 24-21 loss to Alabama on Saturday afternoon, KJ on taking over on plays, Jackson on sacks.
Razorbacks’ Rashod Dubinion, Jaheim Thomas after loss to Alabama
After coming close, just working on some details in practice and keep improving goal for both key offensive performers.
LIVE BLOG: KJ Jefferson puts offense on back but not enough for win
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Arkansas fans are going to be glad not to see one of these games against Alabama for a couple of years. The Crimson Tide’s 24-21 win showed the Razorbacks haven’t given up on the season yet, but also the Tide aren’t playing at the same level right now everybody has seen for a few years.
It felt like a blowout by the Crimson Tide early and the Hogs made it close. Tide coach Nick Saban’s comment on television immediately after the game was predictable. “We’ve got to learn to play for 60 minutes,” he told ESPN’s Tom Luginbill.
No matter how close it was, the Hogs are 2-5 and desperate for a win. It will be an interesting week as they get ready to face Mississippi State next Saturday at Razorback Stadium. The Tide are now qualifiied for a bowl game at 6-1 but it’s a good bet not many of their faithful are going to be really excited about it.
For the Hogs, they simply couldn’t get the ball back at the end when they need it. With no hope of a championship of anything left on the table, they have to find four wins somewhere just to get to a bowl game anywhere. It will be an interesting rest of the schedule.
LIVE BLOG
1Q 9:15: Razorbacks’ offense doesn’t look right. Dropped passes, receivers running into each other getting to same place and even KJ Jefferson making a horrible readon on the mesh for a handoff. Only thing saving them now is the Crimson Tide’s offense hasn’t settled in, either. Cam Little comes on with a 55-yard field goal and an early lead. Hogs 3, Tide 0
1Q 2:05: Hogs’ defense is looking right, shutting down Jalen Milroe and the Crimson Tide offense. Something isn’t really right there just about anywhere. Razorbacks get the ball back and move down before stalling and Little has to kick a 49-yard field goal that would have been good from 60-plus. Hogs 6, Tide 0
1Q :58: And just like that, Alabama shows one touchdown tops two field goals every time. Milroe hits a wide, wide open Kobe Prentice right down the middle for 79 yards. The Hogs’ secondary really got caught reacting to something they shouldn’t have been looking at. Tide 7, Hogs 6
2Q 8:52: Maybe Arkansas’ offensive coaches were paying attention there when Alabama got on the goal-line. They Tide use the “tush-push” where a bunch of big ol’ lineman just push Milroe, the ball and half the offensive line into the end zone for a score to cap a 10-play, 83-yard drive. Now they are just starting to hammer away. Tide 14, Hogs 6
2Q 4:41: The Crimson Tide are rolling and starting to pile it on. Milroe directors a 64-yard drive in just five plays with a 29-yard scoring pass to another open receiver, Amari Niblack, for an easy score. Tide 21, Hogs 6
3Q 7:47: It looks like the Crimson Tide is getting stronger as the Hogs appear to be wilting. Alabama drives 77 yards in 7 plays, but have to settle for a 30-yard field goal from Will Reichard. It’s hard to not get the feeling what is coming as Tide’s offense starting to click and lack of depth on defense starting to show for the Razorbacks. Tide 24, Hogs 6
3Q :33: This has been awhile. The Razorbacks finally get the offense untracked, taking advantage of a couple of penalties by the Crimson Tide to drive down for a score on a 5-yard pass from KJ Jefferson to Isaiah Sategna. Thy had not had a first down since the first quarter before that. Tide 24, Hogs 13
4Q 10:59: Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson has decided he’s about had enough of all this. Refusing to go down to the Crimson Tide’s pass rush, he has brought the Razorbacks back to make this a really interesting game. So much for the blowout. He throws to Rashod Dubinion for a 14-yard touchdown, then finds Andrew Armstrong for the 2-point conversion and all of a sudden, it’s a tight game. Tide 24, Hogs 21
Ruscin & Zach hear from Tye behind enemy lines in Friday’s podcast
We check in behind enemy lines with Tye Richardson in Tuscaloosa, talk about fans that expect the moon and how they hijack every single argument about expectations and some chatter about the Hogs and the Tide.
Halftime Pod Presented By Eastside Liquor- October 13th, 2023
Guests: Aaron Torres, Nate Olson, Stuart Norsell
#Arkansas #ArkansasRazorbacks #Hogs #Hawgs #WPS #ArkansasRazorbacksPodcast #GoHogs #HitThatLine #WooPigSooie #RazorbackPodcast #ArkansasPodcast #HogPodcast
BetSaracen’s Stuart Norsell on busy weekend of sports betting action
Only app for Arkansas wagers putting together special plays for fans in the state, how Hogs heavy underdogs against Alabama.
WJOX’s Pat Smith on what Alabama fans want from Nick Saban
Will the fire be back just in time for Razorbacks coming to town on Saturday and Crimson Tide heavily favored.
Halftime is LIVE. Razorbacks look to upset Alabama tomorrow, Braves eliminated by Phillies for 2nd straight season
Call or text in
877-377-6963
