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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Hogs come up short in a 34-31 loss
Tye, Tommy and Chuck recap the loss to LSU and more from games this weekend in CFB!
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The Morning Rush is LIVE after a 34-31 loss in BR… Let’s talk about it via 877-377-6963
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Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman after another 3-point game with LSU
Explaining why they didn’t have timeouts at end when really needed them considered letting Tigers score to get ball back.
Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson, tight end Luke Hasz
How freshman tight end has confidence of senior signal-caller and handled LSU’s defense Saturday night.
Razorbacks defensive players Jaheim Singletary, Hudson Clark
On how LSU turned out to be as good as advertised making plays with Jayden Daniels and their offense.
LIVE BLOG: Early timeouts cost Hogs late as LSU wins at end
BATON ROUGE, La. — It came down to the end … again, but this time in Baton Rouge it was LSU kicking a field goal at the end to come away with a 34-31 win and Arkansas will have nothing but frustration for the second week in a row.
Last week it was penalties and blown opportunities. It was the same tune against the Tigers on Saturday night as six false starts and holding calls turned potential touchdowns into field goals early, then it was grabbing two quick timeouts in the second half not giving them any at crunch time.
It turns out they desperately needed them because the defense couldn’t do a whole lot to stop Jayden Daniels and LSU’s offense over the final two quarters and when they got close they simply ran out the clock to set up a winning field goal at the end, leaving it to a single play after a kickoff.
KJ Jefferson’s deep heave resulted in an interception and now the Hogs are sitting at 2-2 and go to Arlington to face a one-loss Texas A&M team at 11 a.m. in AT&T Stadium on either the SEC Network or ESPN. The guess now is it will be on the SEC Network because you can bet it will be an interesting week.
Here is our live blog coverage of all the key moments in the game.
1Q 5:56: Hogs get within inches, but another penalty backed them up, then quarterback KJ Jefferson and wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa read something different on third down. Cam Little comes on to kick a 23-yard field goal. Hogs 3, LSU 0
END FIRST QUARTER: Hogs’ TJ Metcalf somehow avoided a pass interference call against Malik Nabers near the goalline and the quarter comes to an end with the Razorbacks clinging to a field goal lead, but the Tigers’ offense starting to maybe get rid of jitters. Hogs 3, LSU 0
2Q 6:33: Another lost four points inside the 20 when the Hogs get to the 5-yard line and stall. Jeffereson’s passing and key runs kept a 75-yard drive alive that ate up 6:21 of the clock at a time they needed that. But, for the second time, they have to settle for 3 points and not get a touchdown. Cam Little kicks a 23-yard field goal. Hogs 6, LSU 0
2Q 4:02: Razorbacks’ defense gives up a 41-yard run to Josh Williams, but then holds to force the Tigers’ offense into a field goal. In a game it feels like the Hogs should lead 21-3, they still lead, but it’s much smaller. Damian Ramos kicks a 24-yard field to get LSU on the board. Hogs 6, LSU 3
2Q :48: Hogs run through LSU defense again with Jefferson finding Tyrone Broden in the corner of the end zone for a 19-yard scoring play that first was ruled incomplete, but overturned in the Razorbacks’ favor. Hogs 13, LSU 3
2Q :30: LSU answers in a hurry. They use all of 18 seconds to go 75 yards and burn the Hogs’ secondary on a 49-yard throw from Jayden Daniels to Brian Thomas Jr. It looked uncomfortably easy for the Tigers for Hogs’ fans. Hogs 13, LSU 10
3Q 14:00: Tigers take the opening kickoff of the second half and need only a minute to go 75 yards on another 49-yard pass from Daniels to Thomas. He turned Raheim Singletary every way but loose and didn’t get any safety help. Uh-oh. LSU 17, Hogs 13
3Q 5:44: Hogs are going to have to admit this game is starting to look like a ton of missed opportunities. After LSU starts fast, they drive down inside the 20 and the offense dies … again. Holder Max Fletcher bails them out on a field goal with a fake up the middle for a first down to keep things alive. It does no good, though, as the offensive line can’t keep the Tigers’ defensive front from putting Jefferson on the ground. Some may have felt a third-down sack was a little rude after the play, but it was just a little love push and not that big of a deal. Little has to come on for a 40-yard field goal. LSU 17, Hogs 16
3Q 1:40: LSU just starting wear out the Hogs, using 4:04 to go 75 yards and hammering away at the interior of the Razorbacks’ defensive front that was supposed to be more physical. They are opening running lanes, then Daniels raises up and throws an 8-yard pass to Nabers coming across the middle for the score and a little cushion. LSU 24, Hogs 16
4Q 14:11: Hogs take advantage of LSU’s secondary going to sleep and leaving tight end Luke Hasz wide open to take a pass from a scrambling Jefferson for a 59-yard scoring play. Razorbacks tie the game on a 2-point conversion pass into the end zone to Hasz. Hogs 24, LSU 24
4Q 9:43: LSU is turning Singletary every which way but loose tonight. Nabers just flat runs by him and Daniels hits him with a perfectly-placed 20-yard scoring strike to jump back in front. Now the offense has to answer. LSU 31, Hogs 24
4Q 5:06: Hasz is becoming Jefferson’s favorite target in this game. After a late hit was called against the Tigers didn’t cover him again and a scramble out of the pocket finds the freshman wide open for an 11-yard score and we’re tied again. Hogs 31, LSU 31
4Q :05: Two early timeouts in the third quarter comes back to haunt the Hogs, who didn’t have any way to stop the clock in the final minute and LSU drove 72 yards in 9 plays to set up a 20-yard field goal by Ramos. LSU 34, Hogs 31
PETE’S LOSERS: Hogs may find themselves over-matched at LSU
“You are quiet this week.” I heard that phrase multiple times. What much was there to say after we played so poorly against BYU? After all, it was almost gut-wrenching.
Honestly, I had thoughts of how the Cougars were not at all impressive team, yet we struggled with them, especially with our …. You guessed it – our offensive line.
But mostly my thoughts were all shifted to this week as the Hogs make the journey to Baton Rouge to face No. 12 LSU. Even with the Tigers not looking like the hyped-up team from the preseason predictions, they are still seeming like a safer bet than our Razorbacks.
LSU had a resounding Week 1 loss to Florida State; a Sunday night 45 – 24 disgrace for the SEC at the time. Do not let that fool you, the Tigers are far better than the weak opening salvo they fired against the Seminoles.
One facet change would change the entire approach to not only my words here but also the thoughts running through most Arkansas fans: the Razorbacks offensive line. If it is even 20% better, we do not lose to BYU. In fact, we would have beaten them by three scores.
If our offensive line is 30% better, we as fans would have spent this week discussing how we are not ranked but should be.
If our offensive line is 40% better, we probably are ranked, but even if we are not, we have a strong sense of hope for the remainder of the season, and my whimsical 10 – 2 preseason prediction seems a little more possible.
If the offensive line is 50% better, I would be predicting a close win (not an upset) for the Hogs in Baton Rouge. But I am not. Arkansas’s offensive line is struggling mightily, and the entire team and its fanbase are in for a long night in Death Valley. Please prove me wrong.
Why LSU will Win
They are better. LSU has a far more competitive defense than we do an offense. Why? You already know the answer.
The game is in Death Valley …. at night. The Tigers have already proven they can win on the road in the SEC when they easily handled Mississippi State last weekend. Hosting an unconfident Arkansas team under their own home lights, surrounded by enough drunk Cajuns to instantly revitalize Bud Light’s nationwide sales, may prove to be too easy of a task.
Rocket Sanders is still out. Arkansas running back Rocket Sanders is still injured. His speed and quickness can sometimes offset the weak offensive line of the Hogs when our opponents attack, thus causing them to over pursue. With him out, the Tigers defense should have a fun day in the Razorbacks backfield.
Why Arkansas will Win
Run defense. At 55.7 yards per game, Arkansas leads the SEC and is fifth in the nation in preventing the opposing team from rushing the ball.
Our season is teetering. The Tigers are just the first opponent in the murderer’s row we have coming up on the schedule. If Arkansas loses, not only will it put us in the backseat of the SEC, but it will also affect the confidence of the players. The latter know it is a “must win” game. Hopefully they can draw a little inspiration from that.
KJ is healed? Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson looked off last Saturday. He looked quite a bit slower, and he also appeared less willing to take a hit. Yes, he had been encouraged to stay in the pocket longer, but it was painfully obvious he was hurt. That’s the question mark this week. If he is better physically, our chances against LSU increase drastically.
LSU, 31 – 20
Random Thoughts
I almost forgot this game is still “The Battle for the Golden Boot.” The 28th installment of this rivalry trophy may have slipped the minds of fans after the wind was taken out of our sails following BYU’s comeback win. I am wondering how often this SEC game will be played when the new “two times in four-years” format is in effect starting in 2024.
Prayers for our man Greg Brooks, the former Arkansas defensive back who transferred to LSU. For those of you who are unaware, Brooks recently had surgery to remove a brain tumor. There is hope he can be back on the field by the end of the season.
TRIVIA QUESTION: The Golden Boot is not actually the first trophy given in this rivalry. Can you name the prize?
I am leaving this up until it is no longer a truth: Pittman STILL has a lot to prove for himself and his coaching staff. He may find it extremely difficult to turn up the jukebox this weekend, though.
For those who like to say BYU fans are the nicest fans, here is a newsflash. After last Saturday, I quickly recognized every school has its “nice” fans. On the other hand, one must admit every school, including BYU, has countless mouthy imbeciles who need to take their noses out of their quads and invest in a few lessons in character and class.
TRIVIA ANSWER: The Silver Football was first awarded to the winner of the State Fair Classic in 1924. Ten years prior, both Arkansas and LSU were asked to join the Southwest Conference. Arkansas accepted. LSU declined.
One other fun fact: In 1935, LSU’s first live mascot was purchased from the Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas. Originally called (and said to be fond of the name) Sheik, he was renamed as Mike the Tiger I.
Arkansas can pull off the upset, but, like K-Mart stock, I would not bank on it.
You can listen to the game Saturday at 6 p.m. at HitThatLine in select radio markets 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.
The Arkansas GameDay LIVE! pregame show with Zach Arns picking on Tye Richardson in Baton Rouge will start at 1 p.m. Arkansas Gameday LIVE from Baton Rouge. It is presented by Arkansas Gameday and KC Insurance Partners. Behind Enemy Lines is brought to you by Mock Legal Solutions.
After the game, Zach and Tye will have Hawg Reaction beginning around 10:30 p.m. after the radio broadcast postgame show ends. It is presented by Teague Law Firm and Signature Bank. Behind Enemy Lines is brought to you by Mock Legal Solutions.
SEC Picks for Week 4
The SEC line-up does not seem very competitive this week, and that may hinder any movement in the standings for the HitThatLine.com cup.
Andy Hodges seems to be more worried about my Halloween plans than ensuring his lead is safe against me. We will revisit this week on October 31. Andy will easily recognize me in my Bubba Newman costume and will henceforth refer to me as “The Comeback Kid.”
Auburn at Texas A&M – Auburn is better than expected, and we all know the Aggies would Jimbo flop, even with Bobby Petrino calling the plays. Tigers by 14.
Kentucky at Vanderbilt – Once both cellar-dwellers, these two teams are both seeing an increase in wins. The difference is Kentucky has improved its program in recent history while Vandy has simply seen a favorable schedule so far. The Commodores drop below .500 for the first time this year. Wildcats by 20.
(15) Ole Miss at (11) Alabama – GAME OF THE WEEK: This game seems to give Ole Miss fans high hopes each season. Yes, there have been a couple of upsets in years past for the Rebels; however, with Alabama being out of the Top Ten for the first time since 2015, I would not see a 15th ranked Ole Miss team coming away with a victory as an upset. That said, Saban is fuming on the inside when in public, and I have no doubt his players have felt his wrath. This will be a great game, but in the end, the Tide will roll away. Bama by 17.
Texas-San Antonio at (23) Tennessee – Nap time! Vols by 32.
Arkansas at (12) LSU – It hurts the heart to be so down on the Razorbacks again. I fear it will cause recruiting to ache as well. All it takes in improvement by the offensive line. Tigers by 11.
Charlotte at (25) Florida – Last week surprised me when Florida seemed to make light work of Tennessee. Today is basically a bye week for the Gators. Florida by 42.
Alabama-Birmingham at (1) Georgia – UAB will provide the Bulldogs with a fun blowout and an early evening. Wait, why is this game at night again? Georgia by 41.
Memphis at Missouri – Did these two teams not already play each other this year, or am I just bored with some of these games already? Missouri by 14.
Mississippi State at South Carolina – Two of my favorite “other” teams from the SEC. This may be the closest game. USC by 1.
Soller Opposites
This week’s choice was a no-brainer for our local gambling expert, Eric. He breaks down UCLA at Utah, and you must ask yourself if you will follow suit on his advice, or will you take the Soller Opposite?
[Note: We do not promote gambling, and if you have an addiction to wagering money in any format, please seek professional help.]
UCLA (+4 1/2) @ Utah (o/u 52)
Saturday 9/23 @ 2:30 PM
Seeing Utah shut down Florida in Week 0 makes the under in this game extremely attractive. UCLA (3rd overall in rushing efficiency) will attempt to test Utah’s top ten rushing defense in a game that would make Gary Kasparov nod off by the 3rd quarter.
Luckily, it’s a mid-afternoon television match-up, so we should stay awake long enough to see how effective each program’s kicking teams are feeling that afternoon. Neither team has shown red zone efficiency this year.
I’m taking under 52-1/2 as my lead bet this week.
With a low scoring game and a 3-1/2 spread, I will also be taking the Bruins plus the 4=1/2. If this line moves, I will take the UCLA as far down to +3-1/2.
UCLA under 52-1/2
UCLA +4-1/2
Great take, Eric. With your newfound writing prowess, I may have to see if you can get your own weekly piece.
Thank you, coach Jason Rucker, for reading and for the best damn nachos on either side of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Tonight will be tough on us, Razorbacks fans, but at least it is date night.
Find me on ‘X’: @PeterMorganWPS
Go HOGS!!!
BetSaracen.com’s Neal Atkinson on lines as college football getting busy
Lots of action coming in on Alabama-Ole Miss on Saturday with Crimson Tide’s changing lineup of players.
Morning Rush’s Tye Richardson joins Halftime live from Baton Rouge
What he’s expecting to see from Razorbacks in matchup with No. 12 LSU on Saturday night, especially running game.
ANDY’S PICKS: Hogs still trying to find some answers against LSU
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The general comment is if you’re still looking for answers to some critical questions by the third week of the season, you’ve got problems. Welcome to Arkansas’ world today against No. 12 LSU in Baton Rouge.
Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman still hasn’t sorted out the offensive line game of musical chairs. It shouldn’t be his responsibility. If Cody Kennedy can’t get it figured out, his job stability may not be great, regardless how nice of a guy he is or being friendly with the boss.
Sam is about trying to get wins and probably the only person he can’t fire is Jamie (that’s his wife). They better recruit and stay out of his office plus get results on the field to hang around long.
There are other questions on this team. They still don’t have a No. 1 receiver, haven’t figured out how to get the ball in the hands of the best playmakers in space. The fastest guy on the team was apparently recruited to run back punts and kickoffs … and block. You can have your own questions about recruiting a guy that fast and even expecting him to throw a block.
Defensively, they seem to have things put together but they haven’t played anyone nearly as good as what they’ll see Saturday from Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers. They combined at a dizzying pace in a 41-14 win over Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss. Don’t bring up their opener because it was a lifetime ago and the Hogs aren’t anywhere close to Florida State.
In the world of college football, the openers were a a virtual lifetime ago and teams should be getting better every week and nearly all of them have a game or two where absolutely everything falls apart. LSU won’t repeat that against the Hogs and I’m still not sure it would be enough toe get a win. The Tigers have that much more talent.
The point spread has been over 17 points all week and, quite honestly, that doesn’t sound that far out of line unless something really wacky happens and you can’t count on that on a regular basis. LSU 45, Hogs 28
Don’t ask me what the record is in the picks contest but I’m pretty sure Pete Morgan is double digits behind. With a lot of likely blowouts this week, he probably won’t make up much ground because only a few games should be that different. I fully expect him to go into catch-up mode by mid-October and give up shortly after Halloween.
Auburn at Texas A&M: This game could tell us quite a bit more from two teams on the Hogs’ schedule this year and the Aggies are the opponent next weekend in Arlington. A&M is an 8-point favorite, so even the oddsmakers think it will be close. In my view, Hugh Freeze is a better coach than Jimbo Fisher, particularly on offense. He just hasn’t had time to build the Tigers’ roster deep enough, but I’m not ready to pick Auburn to win a road game at Kyle Field yet. A&M 34, Auburn 31
Kentucky at Vanderbilt: Really, this game comes up on the schedule every year, but that may be coming to an end sooner rather than later with the new scheduling format next year. The Wildcats may have dropped off a little, but Vandy hasn’t improved that much, either. Kentucky 28, Vandy 14
Ole Miss at Alabama: Somehow I think this game could surprise everyone and that doesn’t mean I feel the Rebels are going to come out with a win. The Crimson Tide are going to be better than everyone is thinking, even though they lost to Texas and things got way too close for comfort against South Florida. Nick Saban basically held Jalen Milroe out of the game for whatever reason because he probably didn’t think he was that important. Maybe he was. Ole Miss may be ready for prime time, but probably not for an Alabama team that will get things sorted out. Alabama 42, Ole Miss 38
Texas-San Antonio at Tennessee: For some strange reason, a lot of people thought Florida’s win last week was due more to the Vols falling flat, but I never was buying into the whole dead Gators thing. Plus, I think Billy Napier is a good coach and will probably do fine in Florida, particularly where he can round up great recruiting classes from his office Tennessee will take out a measure of revenge, though, in this one and UTSA just happens to be the focus of that this week. Tennessee 51, UTSA 13
Charlotte at Florida: Now after all that for the Tennessee game, the Gators are still human. A bit of relaxation in this one wouldn’t be surprising and a competitive first quarter is not a far-fetched idea, Florida will pull away, though, on “Tom Petty Day” and close the deal early in the second half. Florida 49, Charlotte 13
Alabama-Birmingham at Georgia: Pete will probably pick this one to be close, but then again he’s double-digits behind me so I’m not going to even acknowledge that. Even Uga will likely be asleep by the end of the first quarter and hopefully nobody in the stands falls sound asleep and injures themselves falling down. Georgia 56, UAB 14
Memphis at Missouri: This just has the feeling the Tigers will blow the game. Of course nobody will likely notice because so few people even pay attention to football at Mizzou. Memphis isn’t a bad team, but should have a slight talent edge that could be enough against a Tigers’ team I’m not sure is consistent enough. Missouri 41, Memphis 39
Mississippi State at South Carolina: Despite rumors to the contrary, the Bulldogs didn’t just forfeit the rest of their games and go ahead to start getting ready for a bowl game after getting demolished by LSU last week. I probable shouldn’t assume a bowl game, but the SEC gets the overwhelming majority of them and I just figured they would have everybody in one. The Gamecocks just need to find some consisteny because they have looked really good at times and iffy at other time. South Carolina 31, Mississippi State 28
