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[Biggus Piggus]

To explain why Arkansas lost the SEC Championship Game, one needs not a reason but a list.

Surrendered 17 points in the kicking game.
Tried to field a punt inside the 5, appalling inattention to fundamentals.
No answers for the Florida run defense.
No healthy Darren McFadden and no good ideas of what to do about that.
Too little success on first downs.
No answers for the Gators' run offense.
Gave up two long touchdown plays.
Too many runs when they were not working.
Too much man coverage against superior talent.
Four. Count 'em. Four. Turnovers.

It was bargain Saturday for on-the-field blunders and off-the-field decisions.

With this staggering display of bad football moments, it must not be overlooked that the Razorbacks 1) trailed 17-0, 2) scored 21 straight points to take the lead, 3) were one stunningly awful play on a punt from probably carrying a lead into the fourth quarter, 4) cut the deficit back down to that 40-yard field goal we can't ever make, despite having allowed an "Arkansas does it at least once a year" 67-yard touchdown run.

The SEC title game wasn't "desperation rally falls short" close.  It was "how good would Arkansas be with a kicking game, they might be in the BCS title game" close.

Guess what, though: Arkansas finally won the time of possession battle.  Hooray for "stragedy."  Maybe we can hang up a banner for that one.

Arkansas three-and-outed four times, and a fifth drive (an important fourth quarter one) ended after two plays with an INT thrown from the "wildcat" by McFadden.  A sixth also ended after one play with an INT, a Hail Mary right before half.  That's five meaningful drives with no points and no first downs.

The Gators went three-and-out three times and had two more drives end with first down INTs.  That's five meaningful drives with no points and no first downs.  Difference is the Gators never did it while trailing on the scoreboard.

No Razorback drive that started inside their own 34 resulted in points for the good guys.  Florida scored on three drives that started on its 33, 26 and 20.  Urban Meyer toyed with Reggie Herring's defense.  It looked as though the Gators could score at will, started celebrating too soon, but went back to work.  No matter how much the Hogs would have scored, Florida probably would have been up to topping that.

Let's look at the tally of plays that went for double-digit gains:

Florida rushing 8-164 yards and two TDs
Florida passing 6-127 yards and one TD

Arkansas rushing 4-68 yards
Arkansas passing 6-146 yards and two TDs

Major problems: Arkansas run offense and defense.  Both failed.  Ex-sacks, Florida gained 7.8 yards per carry.

You know the Hogs run to set up the run.  They ran 35 times and got four big plays, zero scores off them.  That's stuffed by Razorback standards.

The Razorback offense mostly struggled.  McFadden was not a superstar after twisting his ankle (on a pass play no less; note: wherever McFadden goes, the defense follows).  Felix Jones was very ordinary except for one too-late play.  The coaches still acted as though passing was only something to do under duress.  Casey Dick made some plays, but good God, you have to consider the circumstances in which he was placed.

Here's the down and distance on all the Arkansas pass plays:

3rd/15, 1st/15, 3rd/13, 1st/10, 3rd/8, 2nd/8, 3rd/8, 1st/10, 2nd/goal 2 (McFadden pass to Jones TD), 3rd/7, 3rd/6, 3rd/6, 1st/10, 2nd/9, 3rd/9, 1st/10, 1st/10, 2nd/10, 3rd/11, 4th/11, 2nd/9, 3rd/9, 2nd/9, 1st/10.

Dick never got a chance to throw on any of the Hogs' first (and goal), second or third and short downs.  Arkansas ran eight times under such circumstances, results including two punts at the beginning of the game.  Granted, it was a bigger problem that Arkansas had only eight short-yardage plays all game long.  Early-down success was not to be had, and the Razorbacks almost always ran on early downs.  This resulted in 35 plays that went for fewer than a 4-yard average.

Once upon a time, Houston Nutt always had three or four tailbacks playing this late in the season.  Remember Mike Jenkins?  No such backup saw the light of day in 2006.

At least the play list included three first down pass plays, better than zero (two more were end-of-half plays).  On the Razorbacks' final drive, still vintage Houston Nutt, behind by two scores and running on all three first downs.

It was impressive that Dick made five big-yardage throws, always having to throw in obvious passing situations.  Dick's timing and arm strength need work, but the man showed moxie coming back from his ugly LSU game.

Reminding once again, Dick is a second-year sophomore who, for most of his freshman year, was the scout team QB--not a redshirt being taught a playbook.  He had four games of rush-job experience and even today doesn't have a whole season's worth of starts.  In the spring he missed most of the time with a back injury.  Dick was out almost all summer.  He has never had a fair chance to be well prepared to start in the SEC.  Same story goes for Mitch Mustain, taken as redshirt material until late in August, thrown in at the end against USC and then battlefield promoted to starter.  Might be a breeze if Gus Malzahn were running the offense he taught Mustain in high school.  Both men instead were learning an ever-changing hybrid hodgepodge jerry built jury rig gimmick laden crapfest.

By November the offense consisted of old, safe Houston Nutt passing routes, the same set of stretch, counter, dive that Mike Markuson learned from the Denver Broncos six summers ago, and a handful of trick plays crafted by Malzahn and QB coach Alex Wood, who has to be reeling from this spectacle. 

The trick plays included the "wildcat," the set with superstar McFadden taking the snap.  It was wildly successful against opponents who viewed it as maybe a few plays a game.  By LSU the wildcat was the part of the offense that worked, threatening to make the conventional QB obsolete.  Getting to this point required considerable practice time, taken away from all that stuff everybody on the team thought they would be doing when they were recruited.

Which begs the questions: What is the future in this?  Are you going to run the wildcat when there's no more McFadden to make it go?  How can a head coach refuse to commit to one schematic change then trash even his beloved system in favor of a brainstorm gimmick late in the season?  What are recruits supposed to think when they look at the Arkansas offense?  Who comes to play where the Parade All-America sits, the new-old QB goes 21-for-56 to close the season, and the favored strategy has a tailback behind center?  Who the crap gets excited about the vision here?  Full of surprises, yes, but what's a recruit supposed to think would be his future in a Razorback uniform?  His future would include McFadden going pro about 12 months from now.

On defense, Reggie Herring insists he needs better players.  This is his excuse for not shutting down the Gators.  I completely agree.  To run what Herring is trying to run with a retread free safety, a converted safety at linebacker, and depth problems at corner, it takes better players.  He ain't gonna have 'em very soon.  Trying to play exclusively press man against the talent of LSU and Florida is damn near suicidal.  It resulted in these numbers:

Florida: 179 net passing yards and 2 INTs, one returned for a TD.

Wait a minute, that's pretty good.  This, though, came at the cost of:

28 carries, 217 yards, 2 TDs, 7.8 yards per carry, 11 rushing first downs.  Florida got 11 first downs on 28 called runs.  This is called BEING COMPLETELY SURPRISED and NEVER ADJUSTING.  The only time the Hogs stopped Florida's ground game was when Meyer was being intentionally risk averse, which he didn't do often enough.

Percy Harvin is a 5-10, 180-pound true freshman from that hotbed of football, Virginia.  Harvin has that rare quality of being almost impossible to catch in the open field.  As a combination receiver and running back, Harvin murdered the Hogs.  The rookie touched the football 11 times, six going for double-digit yards, two for TDs.

3-yard catch
11-yard run (first down)
7-yard catch
10-yard run (first down)
10-yard run (first down)
9-yard catch
37-yard catch and run for first down and TD
-1 yard run
6-yard catch
67-yard run for first down and TD
8-yard run

Amazing what true freshmen can do.  Prior to the SECCG, Harvin had 30 carries in 11 games (missed one) for a 10-yard average.  He got his first rushing TD the week before against Florida State.  Harvin also came in with one TD catch.  But the Gators made Harvin, third-leading rusher, fourth-leading receiver, their centerpiece against Arkansas.  What a smart gamble.  Those other plodders don't amount to much in the Florida backfield, but Harvin and those big receivers made the Razorback defense break a few times too many.

Herring and staff did pretty well with the available players, thanks to the fabulous development of the defensive line and the impeccable play and leadership of Sam Olajubutu.  I'll wonder where he's going to get enough players to satisfy himself, considering his near-aloofness to recruiting, but hey this year was solid coaching work.

[Random Parsley]

Nice work, thanks.  At least you kept delivering for the whole season...

[Squealers]

Biggus,

I for one think you need to be working for the Athletic Department.   Your analysis on both the football and basketball programs are not only spot on, but should be a required read for each and every coach at the UofA.

Hopefully, one day, someone will realize this and put you to work doing what you do best....break it down in simple x's and o's.

you rock!

[Niels Boar]

How much sense does it make to spend practice time on pass plays for a second-string high school QB when you don't have a first-string college QB that feels comfortable throwing the ball?  The runs on first down late in the fourth and down by two scores had me grinding my teeth.  The halfback passes when Florida had to be in prevent mode were even more exasperating.  Did we really believe they were going to bite on the run and let a receiver get behind them when they were up by 10 and waiting for the clock to run out? 

[ArkansasI]

Once upon a time, Houston Nutt always had three or four tailbacks playing this late in the season.  Remember Mike Jenkins?  No such backup saw the light of day in 2006.

One can't help but wonder if Michael Smith couldn't have been effective last night.  He is a Florida guy... not that he needed any more motivation than playing in the SEC Championship Game.

Obviously, it is next to impossible to leave McFadden on the bench in favor of Smith.  However, if we could tell that Darren wasn't healthy I suspect Florida saw the same thing.  Frankly, on a few plays I was worried about preventing any further damage.  The man has exhibited phenomenal athleticism and a tremendous threshhold for pain, but at some point Smith presents a better playing option.

I'm not saying we reached that last night, but I can't help but wonder.

Reminding once again, Dick is a second-year sophomore who, for most of his freshman year, was the scout team QB--not a redshirt being taught a playbook.  He had four games of rush-job experience and even today doesn't have a whole season's worth of starts.  In the spring he missed most of the time with a back injury.  Dick was out almost all summer.  He has never had a fair chance to be well prepared to start in the SEC.  Same story goes for Mitch Mustain, taken as redshirt material until late in August, thrown in at the end against USC and then battlefield promoted to starter.  Might be a breeze if Gus Malzahn were running the offense he taught Mustain in high school.  Both men instead were learning an ever-changing hybrid hodgepodge jerry built jury rig gimmick laden crapfest.

Yeah, what is up with the trickery to start the game?  Did we have that little confidence in our regular package to think that we couldn't move the ball against Florida?  I know that we were trying to get Florida's speed caught in misdirection, but I had always believed that the back and forth trick plays are more effective against a slower team.  Florida had the ability to catch up with any and all "hybrid hodgepodge jerry built jury rig gimmick laden crapfest" that we threw at them.  It is too bad, really.  Not to mention a tad embarassing.

Which begs the questions: What is the future in this?  Are you going to run the wildcat when there's no more McFadden to make it go?  How can a head coach refuse to commit to one schematic change then trash even his beloved system in favor of a brainstorm gimmick late in the season?  What are recruits supposed to think when they look at the Arkansas offense?  Who comes to play where the Parade All-America sits, the new-old QB goes 21-for-56 to close the season, and the favored strategy has a tailback behind center?  Who the crap gets excited about the vision here?  Full of surprises, yes, but what's a recruit supposed to think would be his future in a Razorback uniform?  His future would include McFadden going pro about 12 months from now.

Yeah, I asked something of the same thing last night...  The future, if it stays where we are, could be much brighter than the "hybrid hodgepodge jerry built jury rig gimmick laden crapfest" that most of us (including me) are seeing today.  If we can allow Casey and Mitch to grow up for another summer, keep Houston from panicking against big teams that aren't from Alabama, sign a kicker that can consistently make field goals within 40 yards, and stop shooting ourselves in the foot, we might actually win again next year and continue to challenge our conference.

I am amazed at how well our defense played this year.  Our linebackers are small and not terribly fast.  Our line played inspiring football most of the year.  If we could just sign a few cornerbacks that can continue to improve on what we have, we may actually have something going on at the University of Arkansas.  I would expect us to challenge for the West again next year.  If you can challenge, well that's about all anybody can ask for.

What amazes me is all the rumors that we hear.  If only a fraction of them are true, we have some kind of dysfunctional football family.  Another too bad.  Again, how do you recruit to this if there is actually any truth to it (I assume that recruits have ways of finding the truth out from players during their visit).

[Biggus Piggus]

Felix Jones got hurt during the game too, which made not being ready/willing/able to use a backup cost even more.

It will be hard to keep the pros away from Jamaal Anderson and Chris Houston.  Marcus Harrison thinks he's a pro too, and he might not have been patient enough to wait for their raspberries about his season (which will come).  Sam Olajubutu is one of those players who will be hard to replace, but at least we have Freddie Fairchild coming back at some point.

If Lee Ziemba comes to Arkansas, he will have a great shot at playing as a true freshman.  They need some tackles.  Replacing Stephen Parker won't be a layup either.  He's a great example of a real Razorback.  I'll long remember him.

I'd like to say our young receivers are a big plus, but I don't know what our offensive scheme is.

[ArkansasI]

Boy, well stated...

The thing that concerns me (all of us) is that you can see us getting closer, but we don't have the confidence that our coach will get us around the corner.  We have seen certain recruiting needs ignored in favor of more athletes that can run, but are forced to play out of position.  While this may work early in a season, it falls apart as better conference teams have an opportunity to see and plan for it.

Part of me hopes that Houston is smarter than we give him credit.  Playing without an offensive scheme has the advantage of surprising defenses that haven't seen such antics.  Maybe in his mind, he fancies himself a scientist that believes the best offense is one that defies logic.  You have to admit that he isn't afraid of appearing cooky if it will score him some points.  Of course, this has only worked with freaky athletes (Matt Jones, Darren McFadden) and even then only with marginal success.

Lee is the type of recruit that could help the Hogs make the corner on all this.  One hates to put such pressure on a young man, but you get a few kids like him, a Darren McFadden trying to become Arkansas inagural Heisman winner, fill in the defensive gaps with playmakers and add in a more seasoned Mitch Mustain (or Casey Dick) - you may have something there.

The opportunities for athletes of this calibre coming out of Arkansas cannot be counted on for long.  A program must capitalize on such opportunity to catapult it on to greater things.  We have the University, facilities and community in place... all we need is about 15 more solid players in the right positions.

Can Houston do it?

[Hawgrox]

No healthy Darren McFadden and no good ideas of what to do about that.

I think that Felix is a more than capable backup to DMac....however...when Felix comes in that situation the game plan has to change to suit his talents...It does not look like we make those adjustments. Felix is a great back but the offensive scheme must change once he is in the game.

Great analysis Biggus...very good research.

[Biggus Piggus]

I believe they can fix the offensive line.  The quarterback situation is gonna depend on what we ask our QB to do.  If he starts next year Casey Dick is going to be one of the greenest junior starters you'll ever see.  Hope he gets a whole spring and summer of work.  Hope Mustain gets a fair shot.  Hope Nutt throws away his bright orange crayon.

[TheMediocreEra]

Both men instead were learning an ever-changing hybrid hodgepodge jerry built jury rig gimmick laden crapfest.

May I also add that this worked better than last years but at the same time wasn't as effective as a completely Malzahnized version would have been.  Once again, why do we settle for mediocrity when we can achieve greatness?  It is beyond me...

When you settle for mediocrity in the little things, you compromise the ability to be great.  This is the story of Houston Nutt, told over and over and over again. 

..What trigger?

[Razorbacks#1]

Nice Post.

[Jon (Oklahawg) T]

Lost in the middle is something terribly important to me: in 2005, Dick was not really redshirting, he was playing SCOUT team QB. We were so short of QBs Dick had to be the guy to run the scout team. Maybe that's standard operating procedure but I'd sure like to see him get fundamentals pounded into him.

I can only imagine that its this way OUTSIDE the educational field (my profession) but we stress fundamentals as the key to growth. If you try to just willy-nilly your talent it will eventually fail you, and the leftover mess will require tearing down, rendering back to basics, before it can be fixed.

In years past, we expected eggs to be laid by HDN. He would view film Sunday Morning and by the team meeting that night the staff would be convinced they were not going to win. I first praised the opening drive of the LSU game as brilliant. I now wonder if HDN didn't (falsely) see LSU as superior and had to gimmick his way to a lead that he could sit on for 50 minutes. It follows that he did the same with Florida.

What happens if the simplest of things happen our way:
1. hit 2 PATs vs LSU instead of a miss and a botched 2-point play
2. no KO return for TD vs LSU
3. Meyer's gamble (fake punt reverse) fails and we get the ball at their 15 yard line.
 

[deucea729]

"ever-changing hybrid hodgepodge jerry built jury rig gimmick laden crapfest"

Now that's a great line - I don't care who you are.  And an appropriate description of this offense the last few games.

[Random Parsley]

Yep.  We'll have to call our offense the ECHHJBJRGLC if, God forbid, it's still here next year.

[HatfieldHog]

"ever-changing hybrid hodgepodge jerry built jury rig gimmick laden crapfest"

That's a great line BP, and it supports the post that I made last week concerning our Passing Game:  I refered to our passing game as a "Gimmick" passing game, that is not "intentional" but is done when we can't do something else.

If this philosophy continues, Mustain will be the worst mismanagement of talent that Nutt will have ever wasted.

You cannot have a passing game if you don't make it a priority!  Every time that I hear Nutt say on his replay show, "I was afraid to throw it here,"  it makes me want to scream.  Does he think that the players don't hear it?  What do they think when he says, "if you throw it, 4 things can happen, and 3 of them are bad."

The fact that our passing game is built around the gimmick, trick play, and flea-flicker, is evidence that the passing game is simply not important at Arkansas, while under the direction of HDN!

You can mark this:  Every time a new OC hits the field in College Football, they have a chance to pull off great supprise, and run up the totals, but in that second year, the rest of the field catches up on them (i.e. Charlie Weiss).  If we don't make the concerted effort to strengthen our passing game this off season, we won't be celebrating 10 wins next year, that's for sure.

See ya

[HoginMemphis]

If they knew Fla was going to the BCSNC game this year and had it to do over again, wonder if Williams and Cleveland would have de-committed from Florida to come to Arkansas, even if it meant redshirting at Fla this year.

[TheMediocreEra]

If they knew Fla was going to the BCSNC game this year and had it to do over again, wonder if Williams and Cleveland would have de-committed from Florida to come to Arkansas, even if it meant redshirting at Fla this year.

I'm sure that is playing over and over in their minds...

..What Trigger?

[3kgthog]

All I have to say is the team was just plain stupid all around. The defensive gameplan was bad. The offensive gameplan was bad. The special teams attention to detail was horrible as it usually is every year. We've also finally seen what good recruiting gets you. We've played two teams with vastly superior talent in the last two weeks. That is part of the difference between LSU and Florida having that little extra to put us away. We don't have it and as long as this staff remains intact we will never have it.

The coaches totally screwed the pooch on having the Arkansas freaking Razorbacks in a legit position to play for a national title. With USC losing we would've had a very good chance of passing Michigan if we had just beaten LSU and Florida. Now that we've flushed the season down the toilet by choking in our two biggest games I guess we can look forward to McFadden's award run and any other accolades a few other players get.

[HoginMemphis]

All I have to say is the team was just plain stupid all around. The defensive gameplan was bad. The offensive gameplan was bad. The special teams attention to detail was horrible as it usually is every year. We've also finally seen what good recruiting gets you. We've played two teams with vastly superior talent in the last two weeks. That is part of the difference between LSU and Florida having that little extra to put us away. We don't have it and as long as this staff remains intact we will never have it.

The coaches totally screwed the pooch on having the Arkansas freaking Razorbacks in a legit position to play for a national title. With USC losing we would've had a very good chance of passing Michigan if we had just beaten LSU and Florida. Now that we've flushed the season down the toilet by choking in our two biggest games I guess we can look forward to McFadden's award run and any other accolades a few other players get.

Or look forward to getting whipped by WISC in the bowl to lose our last 3 games and ruin an otherwise good 10-1 start.

[HatfieldHog]

All I have to say is the team was just plain stupid all around. The defensive gameplan was bad. The offensive gameplan was bad. The special teams attention to detail was horrible as it usually is every year. We've also finally seen what good recruiting gets you. We've played two teams with vastly superior talent in the last two weeks. That is part of the difference between LSU and Florida having that little extra to put us away. We don't have it and as long as this staff remains intact we will never have it.

The coaches totally screwed the pooch on having the Arkansas freaking Razorbacks in a legit position to play for a national title. With USC losing we would've had a very good chance of passing Michigan if we had just beaten LSU and Florida. Now that we've flushed the season down the toilet by choking in our two biggest games I guess we can look forward to McFadden's award run and any other accolades a few other players get.

Or look forward to getting whipped by WISC in the bowl to lose our last 3 games and ruin an otherwise good 10-1 start.

The three-game skid is well into being.  I call it the great meltdown of '06.

Great,   See ya

[Biggus Piggus]

We've played two teams with vastly superior talent in the last two weeks. That is part of the difference between LSU and Florida having that little extra to put us away. We don't have it and as long as this staff remains intact we will never have it.

We choked against superior talent?  We played teams that have better talent at positions where we have to play pluggers, but they also have a hard time matching people like McFadden, Jones, Monk, Jamaal Anderson, Chris Houston, Antwain Robinson, Butu and our Oline.  If not for losing our free safety and our fullback, the Razorbacks would have put across-the-board imposing talent out there save for the QB position, where we got uberpwned the past two games.  And of course I am leaving out things like kicker and punt returner, where for some reason we don't really try.

We got closer to being great than any Razorback team has gotten since we joined the SEC.  It really sucks to lose games on special teams, which used to be one of the imperative foundations of Arkansas football.  Hell I can remember how stunning it was to step down from the all-America level of Broyles/Holtz days to merely all-conference with Hatfield.  It was unacceptable!  Now we get to the 23-yard line and cannot make a field goal.  We miss an extra point in a monumentally big game.  We give up a kickoff return for a TD, we get a punt blocked, we fumble a punt inside our own freakin 5.

We had sufficient talent to BEAT those teams, and we lost due to the accumulated weight of our own awful mistakes.  Predictable mistakes, due to Nutt's nonchalance, but awful all the same.

[Newhopehog]

Well we are recruiting a JC running back....begood for one yr afterMF is gone...doesn't make sense to me.....I would think that scholarship would be better spent on a defensive player...what do you think?

[Mr. Prozac]

What happens if the simplest of things happen our way:
1. hit 2 PATs vs LSU instead of a miss and a botched 2-point play
2. no KO return for TD vs LSU
3. Meyer's gamble (fake punt reverse) fails and we get the ball at their 15 yard line.
 

We would probably be ranked #3 and griping about being left out of the NC Game (I don't think some of the voters could have forgiven the USC game)...but you're right: what if? My expectations for the season built with each passing win, only to be drowned in special teams mistakes and what I believe to be poor coaching decisions and poor planning.

On the bright side: we were not outclassed by LSU or Florida. We should have, and could have, won both of those games...The feeling I have now is conflicted, with optimism at our being "so close" (forgive the HDN phrase) and frustration at our tripping ourselves on the way to a top 3 ranking, and at least a place in the conversation about the National Championship.

[jj1121]

BP, great post.  This is my first post of yours post game that I have read.  If they are all this spot on, I agree with the poster that said your work will get recognition one day.  You SHOULD write a column in the newspaper/blog somewhere.  Great work and Thanks!

jj

[Brand X Hog Fan]

Both men instead were learning an ever-changing hybrid hodgepodge jerry built jury rig gimmick laden crapfest.

Best description of this offense that I have ever read!

Don't get me wrong, the Gus side of the offense is pretty exciting. The strategery, which is the Houston Nutt side of the offense sucks!

Any word on Dale's resignation?

[DeltaBoy]

Well Nutt will lose the bowl game and with him as Hc we will be lucky to win 8 next years since most of the O line is graduating!  It is time for hog fans to stay at home and let Dollar bill Force Frank and Lindsey to clean House!

[Biggus Piggus]

I don't want Nutt to be fired (preposterous) or leave (not).  I want him to relent.

[Big Head Todd]

Biggus,

I for one think you need to be working for the Athletic Department.   Your analysis on both the football and basketball programs are not only spot on, but should be a required read for each and every coach at the UofA.

Hopefully, one day, someone will realize this and put you to work doing what you do best....break it down in simple x's and o's.

you rock!

Yep he's a jewel, lotta man love around here.

[LUCKYTO]

You know, that's a great post.   Some excellent points.


But herein lies my problem, Fish and Skinner have both done really well all season.    I've watched Fish game in and out and he never tries to field those punts.  Fluke.    Skinner has been great to this team and it's been the best punting program we've ever had.    Fluke.   I can't be upset at them.   S- Happens.   Florida got friggin lucky, that's all there is to that.

I can't blame Nutt or the coaches for this game.   I can't blame Dick.  As much as I'd like to blame both (like for LSU) --- simply, they did their job.   LSU - Nutt screwed that up.  But Florida, we played a very balanced offense when you look at the whole thing.   Excellent Defense.   The dice just didn't roll our way and nerves were huge factor. 

Sorry - I just can't bring myself to be upset with the team, it's players, or coaches for that Florida loss.   That's just Football.   Some days it floats your way, some days not.  I can't wait for Revenge next year.   We will be there again.   

[futurehogdad]

I don't want Nutt to be fired (preposterous) or leave (not).  I want him to relent.

He will NEVER relent, and he loves the helmet so much he should see he has lost the will of the people and needs to move on.

[Biggus Piggus]

But herein lies my problem, Fish and Skinner have both done really well all season.    I've watched Fish game in and out and he never tries to field those punts.  Fluke.    Skinner has been great to this team and it's been the best punting program we've ever had.    Fluke.   I can't be upset at them.   S- Happens.   Florida got friggin lucky, that's all there is to that.

The dice just didn't roll our way and nerves were huge factor. 

Skinner was not to blame for the blocked punt.  Our protection was.  They overloaded and we had no adjustment.  Fish did something contrary to the first lesson any punt catcher ever gets.  He did not get enough reps, period.  All this stuff smacks of insufficient practice time late in the season.  It's preparation.  Coaching.  No luck about it.  Florida was lucky we were unprepared.  You have a great point about nerves.  Preparation is the only antidote.

[LUCKYTO]

You're right - protection failed Skinner miserably.   But the blocking was just uncharacteristic of that line.   Same with Fish.  I've personally watched him let every ball go that had the slightest chance of creating a turnover.  He's erred on the side of caution all season.  That's my dilemna.  If I watched these guys make the same mistakes all season, it would be infuriating.   Instead, it was some bizarro world where everything goes Florida's way.  And those days happen in Football.


VS the LSU game.  Where Nutt and Dick  blew it.

[Biggus Piggus]

You're right - protection failed Skinner miserably.   But the blocking was just uncharacteristic of that line.

They were in an impossible situation because of their alignment.  Florida said they spotted something in our protections.  They exploited it, and for some reason they seemed to know we had no way of adjusting.  Apparently we call our protections in packages.  It's a real simple approach that is inflexible.  We needed a timeout.  Course we need about 10 of those a half.

[LUCKYTO]

Too right.  Florida didn't waste a play.   Urban Meyer coached a hell of a game and exploited every opportunity.   Still, he almost got his tail whipped.  Herring had his numbers and so did Gus.   If they played again today, I'd take Arkansas in a heartbeat.

[Biggus Piggus]

Florida didn't waste a play.   Urban Meyer coached a hell of a game and exploited every opportunity.   Still, he almost got his tail whipped.   If they played again today, I'd take Arkansas in a heartbeat.

The way they went through us when they really needed to, I'm afraid we'd still have no answers.  Give me healthy tailbacks and we might win, but it's part and parcel with running them as much as we have in a 13-game season.

[stan the man]

How can anyone say our defense played well when we gave up 38 points to Florida and 31 points to LSU.  We scored more points against Florida than anyone has this year and still lost.  Place some of the blame where it needs to be, on the defense.

[ArkansasI]

I don't want Nutt to be fired (preposterous) or leave (not).  I want him to relent.

I hate to admit that I agree with you on this.  At this point, we have to figure that this man will remain the face of Razorback football until he decides to do something else.  It is hard for me to believe that opportunities will allow him great choices in this matter.

Houston knows that Frank will retire very soon - probably next year.  At that point in time, his life as head football coach will get much easier.  He may even stop reading message boards!

Now that it appears that Houston will survive "The Frank Era", we can only hope that he will relent to what has proven to be the correct coaching moves.  Houston makes 5 or 6 (or more) times the money of these guys, why not allow them to be the scapegoats if things go wrong?  That is what CEOs do - it is the benefit of being management.

In my eyes, things will continue to improve with young aggressive coaches that Houston listens to.  If we can keep our in-state talent, people will find it hard to beat us.

[LUCKYTO]

How can you blame the defense?   14 points come from special teams mistakes.    7 points from an interception.   Florida's offense was really only capable of 17 points (if that) on its own - and that's generous.   The defense had Florida's head in a tailspin through most of the second and third quarters.  The fourth quarter we held them several times.   Leak spent most of the game shaking his head and wondering what was going to hit him next.  And with the exception of a few times, we stopped them from the "big play."

Strip those two special teams flukes away, and Arkansas won that game.

[Brand X Hog Fan]

You know, that's a great post.   Some excellent points.


But herein lies my problem, Fish and Skinner have both done really well all season.    I've watched Fish game in and out and he never tries to field those punts.  Fluke.    Skinner has been great to this team and it's been the best punting program we've ever had.    Fluke.   I can't be upset at them.   S- Happens.   Florida got friggin lucky, that's all there is to that.

I can't blame Nutt or the coaches for this game.   I can't blame Dick.  As much as I'd like to blame both (like for LSU) --- simply, they did their job.   LSU - Nutt screwed that up.  But Florida, we played a very balanced offense when you look at the whole thing.   Excellent Defense.   The dice just didn't roll our way and nerves were huge factor. 

Sorry - I just can't bring myself to be upset with the team, it's players, or coaches for that Florida loss.   That's just Football.   Some days it floats your way, some days not.  I can't wait for Revenge next year.   We will be there again.  

One of the coaches should have taken Reggie aside before he went out and told him to leave the ball alone. Matter of fact, we probably never should have had anyone deep and put a block on. At that point in the game, inside the 10 was no worse than a touch back. Had we blocked the punt, we could have started on the 50. Reggie knows better but I still lay 80% of the blame on the coaches.

Edit: Giving up 17 yds on the fake punt was huge as well. Another coaching error.

[HoginMemphis]

I predicted a Hog win if the Hogs scored at least 28 points AND did not give up special teams TD's and/or other freebies. Well, they got 28 but they gave Fla 14 points on special teams - short field after blocked punt and punt return fumble in the EZ. My score prediction was 28-24 Hogs. C'est la vie.

[Biggus Piggus]

I predicted a Hog win if the Hogs scored at least 28 points AND did not give up special teams TD's and/or other freebies. Well, they got 28 but they gave Fla 14 points on special teams - short field after blocked punt and punt return fumble in the EZ. My score prediction was 28-24 Hogs. C'est la vie.

The later in the season it gets, the longer since Nutt's staff put in all their special teams stuff.  Their intraweek attention to such things is sorry compared with other programs.  Simple inability of the head coach to comprehend the importance of it.  As he's the executive head coach with a real live offensive coordinator working for him now, Nutt's got the time to give it his close attention.

[1BADHOG]

"Both men instead were learning an ever-changing hybrid hodgepodge jerry built jury rig gimmick laden crapfest."  Man, I tell you...that is genious!  I NEVER read lengthy posts... but this one should be stickied, printed, envelope-stuffed and sent to every player, media writer, grad-assistant, donor, coach and fan.  In fact, I think it should go out in the NuttŪ's Christmas cards!

[Jonas_Quin]

FIRST SERIES
Arkansas at 14:33   ARK   0       FLA     0
1st and 10 at ARK 20   Darren McFadden rush for 1 yard to the Ark 21.
2nd and 9 at ARK 21   Florida penalty 5 yard offside accepted, no play.       
2nd and 4 at ARK 26   Darren McFadden rush for 1 yard to the Ark 27.       
3rd and 3 at ARK 27   Felix Jones rush for no gain to the Ark 27.       
4th and 3 at ARK 27   Jacob Skinner punt for 35 yards, returned by Brandon James for 5 yards to the Fla 43.
DRIVE TOTALS: Ark drive: 3 plays 7 yards, 02:38 Ark PUNT

SECOND SERIES
Arkansas at 10:24   ARK   0      FLA     0
1st and 10 at ARK 31   Darren McFadden rush for 3 yards to the Ark 34.   
2nd and 7 at ARK 34   Darren McFadden rush for 4 yards to the Ark 38.       
3rd and 3 at ARK 38   Darren McFadden rush for no gain to the Ark 38.       
4th and 3 at ARK 38   Jacob Skinner punt for 40 yards, returned by Brandon James for 10 yards to the Fla 32, Arkansas penalty 5 yard face mask accepted.       
DRIVE TOTALS: Ark drive: 3 plays 7 yards, 02:10 Ark PUNT

THIRD SERIES
Arkansas at 5:37   ARK   0       FLA     3
1st and 10 at ARK 30   Felix Jones rush for 1 yard to the Ark 31.   
2nd and 9 at ARK 31   Darren McFadden rush for 12 yards to the Ark 43 for a 1ST down.       
1st and 10 at ARK 43   Darren McFadden rush for 11 yards to the Fla 46 for a 1ST down.       
1st and 10 at FLA 46   Darren McFadden rush for a loss of 3 yards to the Fla 49.       
2nd and 13 at FLA 49   Felix Jones rush for a loss of 3 yards to the Ark 48.       
3rd and 16 at ARK 48   Casey Dick pass complete to Ben Cleveland for 18 yards to the Fla 34 for a 1ST down.       
1st and 10 at FLA 34   Darren McFadden rush for no gain to the Fla 34.       
2nd and 10 at FLA 34   Timeout ARKANSAS, clock 01:52.       
2nd and 10 at FLA 34   Casey Dick pass complete to Damian Williams for 15 yards to the Fla 19 for a 1ST down.       
1st and 10 at FLA 19   Arkansas penalty 5 yard illegal formation accepted, no play.       
1st and 15 at FLA 24   Casey Dick pass incomplete to Marcus Monk.       
2nd and 15 at FLA 24   Darren McFadden rush for 2 yards to the Fla 22.       
3rd and 13 at FLA 22   Casey Dick pass incomplete to Felix Jones.       
4th and 13 at FLA 22   Jeremy Davis 40 yard field goal MISSED.       
    End of 1st Quarter

FOURTH SERIES
Arkansas at 11:49   ARK   0        FLA      3
1st and 10 at ARK 10   Casey Dick pass complete to Darren McFadden for 8 yards to the Ark 18.   
2nd and 2 at ARK 18   Felix Jones rush for 3 yards to the Ark 21 for a 1ST down.       
1st and 10 at ARK 21   Felix Jones rush for 4 yards to the Ark 25.       
2nd and 6 at ARK 25   Felix Jones rush for a loss of 2 yards to the Ark 23.       
3rd and 8 at ARK 23   Casey Dick pass incomplete.       
4th and 8 at ARK 23   Jacob Skinner punt blocked for no gain.       
DRIVE TOTALS: Ark drive: 5 plays 13 yards, 02:57 Ark PUNT

Arkansas at 8:15   ARK   0     FLA    10
1st and 10 at ARK 26   Darren McFadden rush for 2 yards to the Ark 28.   
2nd and 8 at ARK 28   Casey Dick pass incomplete.       
3rd and 8 at ARK 28   Casey Dick pass incomplete to Damian Williams.       
4th and 8 at ARK 28   Jacob Skinner punt for 43 yards, returned by Brandon James for a loss of 3 yards to the Fla 26.       
DRIVE TOTALS: Ark drive: 3 plays 2 yards, 01:33 Ark PUNT

EXPLANATION:

1.  Because HDN came out trying not to lose, i.e., to give up a turnover, determined to run up the middle, afraid to let Gus and Mustain do what it takes win big games, and determined to prove he his top hog we went through almost an entire half before he finally let Gus have enough freedom to get us back in the game.

2.  Because our defense can only hold back a good team so long when having to deal with the HDN offense going three and out on the first two series.  Then it appears that Gus was given some freedom and we started to move.  Slowely over the next few series Gus was given more and more control, but by then it was too late and he could only do so much with Casey Dick.  It was like trying to kill a gator with a cane pole and Gus deserves AC of the year for doing as well as they did.

3.  Anyone that is a good poker player saw HDN's tell on the sidelines in the second quarter.  CBS showed him after Florida scored and he had his classic "Deer in headlights" look.  Someone should really try and get a screen capture of that to display on the board.  It was amazing and very telling.

4.  Because HDN spotted a BCS team 10 points before we even started playing offense and was so slow to give Gus control that it cost us another 7.

5.  Because Casey Dick should never have been given the starting nod.

6.  Because our team should have had more confidence for having beaten LSU and a chance to play for the National Title, but they didn't for all of the same reasons previously mentioned.

7.  I could go on, but that should be enough.

As with any game there are lots of reasons why you win or lose, but anyone that really knows the game understands that those that are winners elimnate more of reasons for losing than their opponent.  Most are done well in advance of the game through preparation, study, practice, descipline, positioning, planning, etc.  HDN made decisions weeks, months, even seasons ago that are costing us games, but most people only remember the last series of plays at best or the best and worst moments.  The big plays are few whether good or bad, but the little things that HDN has been doing wrong for years are many.  There are consequence for these many years of bad decisions and it has a name, Mediocrity.

[excoach]

Why is this thread stickied? I thought it was for announcements only.

[Jon (Oklahawg) T]

Jonas_Quin, you may be correct but I think there is a simpler explanation:

HDN wanted to use the run to set up the pass. It didn't work. At that point the only thing that would work was a host of gadget plays. Even they didn't work. While HDN was able to gadget LSU into playing on their heels it never phased Florida.