Know what Hugh Freeze did coaching Ole Miss and how Liberty looks after Tuesday’s practice ahead of Saturday’s game.
Liberty’s Hugh Freeze says Hogs should be favored Saturday
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Even being ranked No. 23 is not enough to have Liberty coach Hugh Freeze getting over-confident this week.
“I don’t know who’s the worst team in the 131 college football teams, but I’d like to be playing them this week and not the Hogs,” Freeze said at his Monday press conference. “The Hogs are going to be a handful for us.”
Freeze coached Ole Miss for five seasons (2012-16) and he didn’t leave because he didn’t win (39-25). He got the Rebels to a pair of New Year’s 6 bowl games and beat Alabama two straight years.
He was fired over calling escorts on a cell phone. They lost 27 wins as part of an NCAA investigation that ultimately cleared Freeze.
All of that is the past. In his fourth season at Liberty, a private school with a huge total enrollment over 90,000 (that includes predominantly online students) he’s 33-12, but that’s not playing a lot of SEC teams.
“It’s hard,” Freeze said. “When you’re playing an SEC roster with a Group of 5 school, it’s just tough. You can’t hardly make any mistakes if you want a chance to be in it.
“It’s going to be a tall, tall task.”
He could see a difference in the Razorbacks after a bye week and dominating Auburn, 41-27, in a game that never really felt that close.
“It benefited them greatly,” he said about the Hogs’ off week. “They got some guys back on defense this past week against Auburn and they started looking more like themselves.”
Having taken over a problem at Ole Miss that was going through the down cycle they seem to have every few years and turning it around, he was impressed.
“Obviously the turnaround at Arkansas from the time he took over is pretty dang incredible,” he said.
The game kicks off at Razorback Stadium at 3 p.m. and will be on the SEC Network. You can listen to the game here or ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
Halftime Pod Presented By Eastside Liquor- November 1, 2022
Yurachek Spurns Auburn For Arkansas; Hogs and Liberty; Name That Hog presented by Alumni Hall
Guests- Chuck Barrett & Clay Henry
Hogs’ Drew Sanders semifinalist for pair of national awards
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders doesn’t do a lot of talking, but his play is getting noticed.
More than just Razorback fans are noticing, too.
Tuesday he was named one of 15 semifinalists for the Butkus Award one of 20 semifinalists for the Bednarik Award.
The Butkus Award is given to nation’s best linebacker every year. The Chuck Bednarik Award is given to the top defensive player.
Sanders has emerged as one of the Razorbacks’ top defensive playmakers this season. He has racked up 65 total tackles, second most on the Hogs, with a team-best 7.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 6.5 sacks through eight games. With his help, Arkansas leads the SEC in sacks per game (3.0) and ranks second in total sacks (24).
Sanders, the SEC leader in sacks (6.5) and forced fumbles (3), has four double-digit tackle games this season, most among all Razorback defenders.
He is one of only two SEC defenders since 2000 to have recorded double-digit tackles with two sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup in a game.
Sanders was named the Butkus Award National Linebacker of the Month for September after finishing the month tied for the national lead in sacks (5.5) while pacing Arkansas in tackles for loss (6.5) and forced fumbles (2).
Sanders was placed on midseason All-America teams by the Associated Press, CBS Sports, ESPN, Sporting News and The Athletic in October.
The Butkus Award winner will be named on or before Dec. 7 after finalists are named on Nov. 21 by the award committee.
The 2022 Butkus Award winner will be honored at a televised event on Jan. 21, 2023, at the Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
The Bednarik Award is part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 8. The formal presentation of the Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards live from Atlantic City, N.J., on March 10, 2023.
Sanders and the Razorbacks host No. 23 Liberty for Homecoming Week at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5. The game will air on SEC Network.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
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Yurachek Spurns Auburn For Arkansas; Hogs and Liberty; Name That Hog presented by @AlumniHall
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Bud Light Next Morning Rush Podcast: Hunter Yurachek staying at Arkansas
Tye & Tommy on Hunter Yurachek being retained, Bryan Harsin fired, plus Tom Murphy!
Democrat-Gazette’s Tom Murphy on Hogs’ running game, Hunter Yurachek staying
Raheim “Rocket” Sanders leading a ground game that is dominating without Dominique Johnson for rest of year after injury.
Pig Trail Nation’s Mike Irwin on Razorbacks’ running game dominating Auburn
Hogs able to get “ground and pound” working and pays off in 41-27 road win that got Tigers coach fired.
Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara on Auburn firing Bryan Harsin
Tigers finally pull the plug on football coach after 21 games and what direction they go with new athletics director.
Auburn tried to hire guy who cleaned up Hogs’ mess
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A lot of us speculated Bryan Harsin might not make it to Halloween as Auburn’s coach, but he didn’t finish it that way.
First, the Tigers announced Harsin’s firing early Monday morning, a day before his birthday. That wasn’t particularly surprising and probably was done shortly after Saturday’s 41-27 loss to the Arkansas that wasn’t nearly that close.
Then it was an early tweet Monday from Hunter Yurachek that seemed really interesting, to say the least.
— Hunter Yurachek (@HunterYurachek) October 31, 2022
A lot of people were wondering.
Yurachek was an early target when Auburn dumped Allen Greene, who left at the end of August. At least that’s what Brandon Marcello reported at 247Sports.com later Monday:
“He received a raise and contract extension at Arkansas after the offer was made. Yurachek’s new deal with Hogs begins Jan. 1. Auburn went after ADs with SEC experience.”
Somehow you just knew the Razorbacks were going to get dragged into all of the drama going on the last couple of years with Auburn.
Now it may be the state of Mississippi’s turn. That came with the story Sunday that Mississippi State athletics director John Cohen was going to be the new Tigers’ athletics director.
Considering he was a former player and baseball coach in Starkville that was mildly interesting. It’s an indication Auburn is not being cheap with any of all this and may be trying to buy their way out of chaos.
It’s been rumored for a month the Tigers are going to make a serious run at Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who has the Rebels sitting at 8-1 heading into the final month.
A couple of well-place people over in Oxford think it might be a deal that’s closer to being done than anyone knows with one person telling me Auburn is talking $11 million a year for seven years … all guaranteed.
Those talks have probably been going on for a couple of months. No reason for it be public because agents do that in the background. The reason you fire a coach on Halloween is to get a jump on everybody else firing people.
It’s all expensive … which is the world of college athletics these days.
Halftime Pod Presented By Eastside Liquor- October 31, 2022
Hogs Beat Auburn! Basketball Falls to Texas; Best/Worst Halloween Candies
Guests- Mike Irwin & Connor O’Gara
