Ahead of Shriner’s Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, SEC coaches Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt and Skip Johnson from Oklahoma join Hogs’ Van Horn previewing series opener.
Pig Trail Nation’s Trey Daerr on Razorbacks obviously showing problems
Loss to Kentucky and how Hogs coach John Calipari handled it afterwards gives impression that backs up what we’ve seen on floor at times.
Pig Trail Nation’s Mike Irwin on revenue issues, Razorbacks’ basketball
After disappointing loss to Kentucky at home, looking at 6-3 Hogs heading into back end of SEC schedule.
Razorbacks hold firm in AP poll as Nebraska slides and chaos brews
The latest Associated Press Top 25 poll came out Monday, and there’s plenty for Arkansas Razorbacks fans to chew on.
The very top didn’t change, but the movement around the poll says a lot about where the Hogs sit as the season grinds on.
Arizona stayed planted at No. 1 after another unbeaten week. The Wildcats are still perfect and still the clear choice of voters.
Michigan jumped up to No. 2 after a strong stretch that included a win over Nebraska. UConn slid back a spot, followed by Duke and Illinois rounding out the top five.
For Arkansas, the bigger story sits a little farther down the list. The Razorbacks remain inside the Top 25, holding their ground while other teams shuffled around them.
That matters in February, when style points fade and results carry more weight.
The biggest mover in the poll was Nebraska, which dropped four spots to No. 9 after back-to-back losses.
The Huskers had been unbeaten. That didn’t last once they ran into Michigan and Illinois. Those losses knocked Nebraska out of the small club of undefeated teams.
Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort summed up the week simply.
“Obviously, back-to-back losses, we just have to look at the film and learn from it,” Sandfort said. “Keep our heads high and flush it as we get ready for Rutgers this week.”
That quote should sound familiar to Arkansas fans. College basketball seasons don’t move in straight lines. One bad week can change the conversation fast.
With Nebraska falling, only Arizona and Miami (Ohio) remain unbeaten in Division I. That’s a reminder of how unforgiving the schedule becomes once conference play deepens.
From an Arkansas angle, this poll shows how thin the margin is. Teams rise quickly. Teams fall just as fast.
The Hogs staying ranked means voters still see Arkansas as part of the national picture, even with inconsistency popping up across the country.
The SEC is well represented again, and Arkansas is right there in the mix. Poll voters didn’t overreact.
That’s the lane Arkansas needs to stay in. The Razorbacks don’t have to chase headlines. They just need to keep winning games that matter. Nebraska’s slide is proof of what happens when momentum slips.
Rankings don’t win games, but they do shape perception. Arkansas holding its spot sends a clear message: the Razorbacks are still viewed as a team capable of handling the grind ahead.
The poll also shows how crowded the middle has become. Kansas, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Purdue, and Houston are packed together. A single win or loss can shift everything.
For the Hogs, that reality cuts both ways. There’s room to climb with the right wins. There’s also risk if focus slips. The next few weeks will tell the story.
This is the time of year when good teams stop worrying about rankings and start worrying about habits. Nebraska learned that lesson the hard way. Arkansas has the chance to learn it without falling first.
As the season moves forward, the Razorbacks sit in a position that still matters. Ranked. Relevant.
And very much part of the national conversation — even if the spotlight wandered elsewhere this week.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 02-02-26
Trying to make sense of Arkansas’ puzzling letdown loss to UK. Groundhog day. Defensive debates!
Gus Malzahn retires, ending career Arkansas never stopped debating
In Arkansas, Gus Malzahn never really left.
His name still floats through Razorback conversations like humidity in August. It sticks. It lingers. It sparks arguments before the coffee cools.
So when Gus Malzahn announced his retirement after 35 years in coaching, it didn’t land as just another national headline in Fayetteville.
It felt personal.
Malzahn’s career officially ended with him stepping away as offensive coordinator at Florida State Seminoles, but long before Auburn wins or ACC play calls, Arkansas shaped the arc. High school titles. Booster intrigue. A forced hire that still divides fans.
Even a one-year detour at Arkansas State that changed his life.
If college football careers had a fault line, Malzahn’s would run straight through Northwest Arkansas.
He didn’t retire angry. He didn’t leave chasing one more stop. He said the grind finally caught him. Recruiting never ends. Travel never pauses. Coaching now asks for as much energy off the field as on it.
Eventually, the math doesn’t work.
High school roots that changed Arkansas football
Before the SEC ever argued about tempo, Malzahn was winning championships at Shiloh Christian and Springdale High School.
His teams didn’t squeeze out wins. They overwhelmed opponents with speed and confidence.
Those Arkansas high school years weren’t a footnote. They were the blueprint.
That success created momentum that spilled into the college game. Word traveled fast in Northwest Arkansas, and boosters paid attention.
That attention eventually pushed Malzahn into Fayetteville in 2006, when Arkansas hired him as offensive coordinator.
The move came under head coach Houston Nutt, but it wasn’t a simple staff decision.
Boosters in Springdale wanted Malzahn in red. Athletic director Frank Broyles made it happen, whether the head coach wanted it or not.
It remains one of the most polarizing hires in Razorbacks history.
The offense exploded. The tension did too.
Fayetteville fallout and career on move
Authority blurred. Roles overlapped. Arkansas fans still debate whether the move modernized the program or destabilized it.
The truth probably sits uncomfortably in the middle.
The Razorbacks weren’t boring, though. And in college football, that counts for something.
Malzahn didn’t stay long at Arkansas. He rarely stayed anywhere once the noise started.
He carried the same reputation everywhere else. Fast tempo. Aggressive play calls. Quarterbacks forced to think faster than defenders.
Sometimes it looked brilliant. Sometimes it looked reckless.
It always drew opinions.
Before landing at Auburn, Malzahn made a stop that mattered more than most people realized.
One loud year at Arkansas State
Malzahn spent one season as head coach at Arkansas State Red Wolves, and it changed everything.
Jonesboro buzzed immediately. The offense clicked. Wins followed.
And just as quickly as he arrived, Malzahn was gone.
That one year turned him from assistant to head-coaching commodity.
Auburn noticed. The national spotlight followed.
Sometimes it only takes one season to rewrite a résumé.
The jump came fast. Expectations followed faster.
Auburn pressure and long climb
At Auburn Tigers, Malzahn reached the sport’s highest level and learned how thin the margin can be.
Winning wasn’t enough. Winning the right way mattered.
Even then, patience ran short.
His teams could look unstoppable one Saturday and puzzling the next.
Praise and criticism followed him equally.
Malzahn became a coach fans debated even while celebrating wins.
His career settled into a familiar rhythm. Innovate. Win. Frustrate. Reset.
By the time he returned to play-calling at Florida State, Malzahn was the veteran of tempo football.
The schemes were familiar. The delivery calmer. The grind heavier.
Coming full circle at Florida State
NIL reshaped recruiting. The transfer portal reshaped rosters. The job reshaped itself. That’s when retirement became real.
For Arkansas fans, Malzahn’s exit doesn’t close the debate. It probably never will.
Say his name around Razorback supporters and the room still splits.
Some remember progress. Others remember chaos. Everyone remembers the noise.
For a coach whose story always began in Arkansas, ending it on his own terms might be the rarest win of all.
Post Malone, Jelly Roll heat up Razorback Stadium this summer
July in Fayetteville doesn’t sneak up on you. It sits on your shoulders. It sticks to your shirt.
And on Saturday, July 11, it’ll settle right into Razorback Stadium when Post Malone and Jelly Roll bring Post Malone and Jelly Roll Present: The BIG ASS Stadium Tour Part 2 to town.
Nine-time diamond-certified global superstar Post Malone and seven-time Grammy-nominated entertainer Jelly Roll are teaming up again for another stadium run after a huge tour last year.
This summer version stretches coast to coast, stopping at some of the country’s biggest football venues. Razorback Stadium is now one of them, right in the middle of an Arkansas July.
For Arkansas fans, that means trading fall Saturdays for midsummer nights. No kickoff. No hoodies.
Just heat rising off the concrete and music bouncing around a stadium built for noise.
When calendar says July, Arkansas listens
This isn’t the kind of event that pretends July is comfortable. Razorback Stadium in mid-July is a known thing
The sun hangs around. The air doesn’t move much. And by nightfall, the heat doesn’t leave. It just changes moods.
That’s the setting for this stop on the tour.
A place where fans are used to sweating through September games now get a full summer concert, complete with stadium lights, big sound, and a crowd ready to lean into it.
The tour’s first run proved the pairing works. Post Malone brings genre-blending hits that don’t care what label they fall under. Jelly Roll brings songs shaped by life stories and hard edges.
Together, they fill big spaces, even when the weather refuses to cooperate.
Tickets, presales and planning ahead
Tickets for the Fayetteville show are rolling out in stages, giving fans time to plan around summer schedules and July heat.
Fans can sign up for the Post Malone artist presale ahead of the deadline on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 11:59 p.m.
That presale opens Friday, Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. and doesn’t require a special code. Access is tied directly to Ticketmaster accounts.
Additional presales through Citi and American Express follow before tickets become available to the general public on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. through Live Nation.
It’s the kind of planning Arkansas fans already understand. July shows mean pacing yourself, hydrating early, and settling in once the sun starts to dip.
Built for big crowds, even in heat
Produced by Live Nation, The BIG ASS Stadium Tour Part 2 is designed for places that can hold tens of thousands. Razorback Stadium fits that bill, heat and all.
Post Malone’s career has crossed hip-hop, rock, and country without slowing down. Jelly Roll’s rise has leaned into honesty and Southern grit.
Neither act is built for small rooms anymore. They need space, volume, and a crowd willing to ride it out.
Country singer-songwriter Carter Faith will open on all headlining dates, setting the tone early while the stadium fills and the evening finally starts to cool, at least a little.
Fayetteville joins summer stadium circuit
The July 11 stop is part of a long list of stadium dates across the country.
The tour hits places like Jack Trice Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, McLane Stadium, and Rice-Eccles Stadium.
These are football homes used to noise, pressure, and packed stands.
In July, they become something else. Less structured. Less scripted. More about surviving the heat and enjoying the night.
For Arkansas, it’s another step toward using Razorback Stadium as more than a fall address.
Big tours are circling Fayetteville, and this one brings two of the most recognizable names in modern music right into peak summer.
Different kind of Arkansas night
There won’t be a coin toss. No marching band. No scoreboard watching.
Just a crowd spread across the stadium, heat lingering in the air, and music doing the rest.
Fans who remember September openers know Razorback Stadium can hold sound.
In July, it’ll hold it differently. Slower. Heavier. Louder as the night goes on.
July 11 won’t feel like SEC football. It’ll feel like Arkansas summer — humid, loud, and fully committed — inside Razorback Stadium.
