Funny How a Game or Two Changes Perspective

[WilsonHog]

Not even that; sometimes, a play or two.

Three weeks ago, if you would have told me that we would go into Thanksgiving at 4-3 in the SEC and 6-5 overall, I would have been extremely happy. I thought we had almost no chance to beat Ole Miss or LSU, but thought we could beat Mississippi State at home. We beat Ole Miss in a game we should have lost, and lost to Mississippi State in a game we should have won, and beat LSU (at night, in Baton Rouge, no less) like a rented mule. Won four of our last five.

I should be able to look back over that stretch and feel pretty good, instead of being down in the mouth over a one-point loss to a pretty good Mississippi State team. To be honest, I said back in August that I enjoyed going to the Texas Bowl last year, and would love to go to Nashville this Christmas for the Music City Bowl. Nice way to end the season. Three weeks ago, I told a buddy of mine that I would take the Liberty Bowl "right now." Just make a bowl; any bowl.

The attempted field goal? I have no problem with it. Hedlund had made almost 80% of his kicks in that range. The irony of it? If BA had thrown a pick in that situation (made more likely by the condensed nature of the red zone), the immediate narrative from some fans would have been, "See? Should never have put him in that situation with his track record late in games. Line the ball up and kick the short field goal." 

(I also find it ironic that the posters who are criticizing Bielema for being too conservative now were applauding him for going for the win against Ole Miss. If that had gone south, can you imagine the criticism he would have received? I wonder if it might be possible that in each case he made what he believed to be the best call at the time, only to have one work out and one not?) 
 
Hindsight, you know? Unfortunately, no coaches at any level are gifted with it.

[SPAL]

Well said....the loss stings, but today is a new day, we will be playing in a bowl, and we should pound Mizzou. Still a lot to be joyful about.

[hoglady]

Great post.
I'm disheartened with the defense, but I also know that Dak Prescott is hands down the best QB we've faced this year.
I refuse to nitpick a couple of decisions by Enos or Coach B.
The offense is just playing lights out - if you put 50 up you should win.
That was one heck of a college football game - this team has been exciting and fun to watch.
Time to move on - and put a beating on Missouri on Friday.

[Hogsolo]

It stinks we lost.  And it was frustrating our D looked inept, but there's nothing to get too upset by.

We could have won, I would rather we played for a TD rather than the FG attempt because of my lack of faith in the kicking game. 

But we played our butts off and it happens.   At least we didn't need this game to go bowling. 

I'm hoping we come back hard versus Missouri.  That's the game I have the bad feeling about. 

[pigmailyen]

THIS.  99 percent of Hog fans would agree. Hogville...home of the 1%.

[Nuttcracker, Sweet!]

In this instagram, microwave, twitterverse world, it seems like what has happened in the last five minutes is all that matters.

I disagreed with the decision to play for a FG last night because of our shaky record on FG attempts and the amount of time on the clock, but with all the injuries and a terrible pass defense, I would say we are about where we deserve to be record wise.

When you are 14th and dead last in pass defense in your league and 100+ in the country and have a shaky kicking game, 6-5 is probably about right as disappointing as it is to lose this one.

[WilsonHog]

In this instagram, microwave, twitterverse world, it seems like what has happened in the last five minutes is all that matters.

I disagreed with the decision to play for a FG last night because of our shaky record on FG attempts and the amount of time on the clock, but with all the injuries and a terrible pass defense, I would say we are about where we deserve to be record wise.

When you are 14th and dead last in pass defense in your league and 100+ in the country and have a shaky kicking game, 6-5 is probably about right as disappointing as it is to lose this one.

I haven't researched it, but I read a statement this morning that we were three plays away from being 9-2....and three plays away from being 3-8.

So, yeah, 6-5 is probably about right.

[Ironhawg]

Good post.  Now we have to shake off the loss and go hard after Mizzou in a short week.  One thing we don't want to do is let it steamroll into a 3 game losing streak to end the season.

[Redhogs]

Not even that; sometimes, a play or two.

Three weeks ago, if you would have told me that we would go into Thanksgiving at 4-3 in the SEC and 6-5 overall, I would have been extremely happy. I thought we had almost no chance to beat Ole Miss or LSU, but thought we could beat Mississippi State at home. We beat Ole Miss in a game we should have lost, and lost to Mississippi State in a game we should have won, and beat LSU (at night, in Baton Rouge, no less) like a rented mule. Won four of our last five.

I should be able to look back over that stretch and feel pretty good, instead of being down in the mouth over a one-point loss to a pretty good Mississippi State team. To be honest, I said back in August that I enjoyed going to the Texas Bowl last year, and would love to go to Nashville this Christmas for the Music City Bowl. Nice way to end the season. Three weeks ago, I told a buddy of mine that I would take the Liberty Bowl "right now." Just make a bowl; any bowl.

The attempted field goal? I have no problem with it. Hedlund had made almost 80% of his kicks in that range. The irony of it? If BA had thrown a pick in that situation (made more likely by the condensed nature of the red zone), the immediate narrative from some fans would have been, "See? Should never have put him in that situation with his track record late in games. Line the ball up and kick the short field goal." 

(I also find it ironic that the posters who are criticizing Bielema for being too conservative now were applauding him for going for the win against Ole Miss. If that had gone south, can you imagine the criticism he would have received? I wonder if it might be possible that in each case he made what he believed to be the best call at the time, only to have one work out and one not?) 
 
Hindsight, you know? Unfortunately, no coaches at any level are gifted with it.

Same could be said for the beginning of the season when most experts picked us to win 9-10 games, ranked 18th and then lose to Toledo and TT....works both ways.

[The_Hog_Father]

I think there is something that we can all agree on... Arkansas owes Mizou a monumental beat down.  :razorback:

[Porkette]

Our defense was just as bad against Ole Miss, but it wasn't discussed much because we won the game. Ole Miss's and Mississippi State's defenses also looked just as bad against us as we did against them, and I believe they're both supposed to have more talent. Winning or losing changes how everything feels. It's just the way it is.

Let's go beat Mizzou and finish with 7 or 8 wins!  :razorback:

[Potosihog]

Great insight and post.  I see this more clearly today than last night. We lost to a good team.  If you would have told me when we were down by 17 that we would lose by one I probably wouldn't have believed it. A couple of plays here or there and we win.  We must get focused on playing a bad Mizzou team that will be very emotionally charged for this next game.  We need to score early because of their offense gets going we are in trouble.

Salty defense with a non existent offense is how I would describe them.  Our defense has been so bad I don't really know what to expect.

[WilsonHog]

Same could be said for the beginning of the season when most experts picked us to win 9-10 games, ranked 18th and then lose to Toledo and TT....works both ways.

Sure it does, but I prefer to focus on the positive. It makes my passion for the Razorbacks - and life in general - much more enjoyable.

[welchog]

+1000 if I could.  Yeah we got things to fix, but dang our QB just cracked off 7 freaking TD passes last night.  I got to watch it by gum.  So we were 1 point on the wrong side. It happens. 

[jkstock04]

Perspective is a weird thing with how things change.

If you had told me at this time last year our defense would be awful, but that the offense would be carrying this team in high scoring shoot outs at this time this year...I would've told you you were crazy. Last year the defense carried us. This year not so much.

[hogmolar]

Frustration occurs when perception does not meet reality. In the case with this team the fans perception is swayed way off base from week to week versus what is reality.

The truth is the only game all year that we have been completely out of was the last quarter of the Alabama game. After knowing this our perception of this team should be we are going to be in a dog fight with every team we play with some games going our way and some not. Fun team to watch because we are in every game. Proud of this team and we are getting better every game.

On another note after watching the replay I am not sure an NFL kicker would have made that field goal. Our blocking was terrible.

[hoghearted]

Well said....the loss stings, but today is a new day, we will be playing in a bowl, and we should pound Mizzou. Still a lot to be joyful about.

This says it all.

[Boardon Hamsay]

Good thread here all around.

[TriHog]

I think there is something that we can all agree on... Arkansas owes Mizou a monumental beat down.  :razorback:

This could make a lot of the ills feel much better!!

[elksnort]

Good posts all around..

We need to beat Mizzou.

[Tejano Jawg]

I haven't researched it, but I read a statement this morning that we were three plays away from being 9-2....and three plays away from being 3-8.

So, yeah, 6-5 is probably about right.

This is a concept I come back to. While we'd like to change 1 or 2 plays last night, think about what 1 or 2 plays Auburn or Ole Miss would change.

As far the our losses go, last night was borderline excruciating to me. (Aggies being the other.) Even though we didn't have anything like a title on the line, it's more the principle of the thing. I'm factoring in our past losses to MSU, and I wanted to get it turned around. And, Brandon deserved a W at the end of that one.

However, the silver lining—and I did NOT want to play this card yet—think about the multiple miracles that won the Ole Miss game. Compare the Hog-and-Ladder and the sack-facemask to missing the field goal last night...nothing "freak" about that. We don't have a good kicking game (placekicking game)...did any Arkansas fan feel confident about that "chip shot" attempt? Our not executing that simple play was sickening—yes. Shocking—no. The football gods gave us 2 plays 2 weeks ago, but last night was nothing supernatural. It was just bad football.

[bvillepig]

Great Summary

I felt very good about our chance to make that kick.  He had made 7 of 9 from less than 40.  He made the one at Auburn that should have been the game winner.  I haven't seen any bad misses on the shorter ones.  All everyone had to do was block and we would be celebrating and griping about the defense almost costing us one.

[LZH]

Perspective is a weird thing with how things change.

If you had told me at this time last year our defense would be awful, but that the offense would be carrying this team in high scoring shoot outs at this time this year...I would've told you you were crazy. Last year the defense carried us. This year not so much.

No kidding. All of my life, literally my whole life, during the years that our offense looks good our defense is very shaky. And then the years that our defense is kicking ass, our offense can't move the ball. This has nothing to do with who the coach is at the moment (apparently it never has) but its just a general fact of Razorback football for the last 40 years.

Maybe one of these days before I reach senility we can get them both together on the same page.

[Razor6]

Life goes on.

We hog fangs... consume our entire day/week/month and year in these Hog games.

After the emotional investment we put in... it sucks to not have the outcome we want.

however... Our families still exist.  The Paris attack still happened.  And other real word things.

Life goes on.  Perspective.

What really matters is what happens at home.

But the distraction of Arkansas sports in a pleasant distraction.  And the enjoyment of a Razorback victory is very satisfying.  And the turmoil of a Razorback loss is very painful.

But now... Today... Sunday.

Back to family time.

[Hoggish1]

I'm over last night.  Twenty years ago and more I would have not gotten over it till who knows when.  We live to fight another day and next Friday should bring sweet results and a nice bowl.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[jvanhorn]

Not even that; sometimes, a play or two.

Three weeks ago, if you would have told me that we would go into Thanksgiving at 4-3 in the SEC and 6-5 overall, I would have been extremely happy. I thought we had almost no chance to beat Ole Miss or LSU, but thought we could beat Mississippi State at home. We beat Ole Miss in a game we should have lost, and lost to Mississippi State in a game we should have won, and beat LSU (at night, in Baton Rouge, no less) like a rented mule. Won four of our last five.

I should be able to look back over that stretch and feel pretty good, instead of being down in the mouth over a one-point loss to a pretty good Mississippi State team. To be honest, I said back in August that I enjoyed going to the Texas Bowl last year, and would love to go to Nashville this Christmas for the Music City Bowl. Nice way to end the season. Three weeks ago, I told a buddy of mine that I would take the Liberty Bowl "right now." Just make a bowl; any bowl.

The attempted field goal? I have no problem with it. Hedlund had made almost 80% of his kicks in that range. The irony of it? If BA had thrown a pick in that situation (made more likely by the condensed nature of the red zone), the immediate narrative from some fans would have been, "See? Should never have put him in that situation with his track record late in games. Line the ball up and kick the short field goal." 

(I also find it ironic that the posters who are criticizing Bielema for being too conservative now were applauding him for going for the win against Ole Miss. If that had gone south, can you imagine the criticism he would have received? I wonder if it might be possible that in each case he made what he believed to be the best call at the time, only to have one work out and one not?) 
 
Hindsight, you know? Unfortunately, no coaches at any level are gifted with it.

LIVE BY THE SWORD, DIE BY THE SWORD.   

[Rockhawg]

LZH, it looks like the LSU game last week! Wish we could bottle that up each week!

[LZH]

LZH, it looks like the LSU game last week! Wish we could bottle that up each week!

No doubt brotha.....

[WorfHog]

I think kicking on fourth down is fine, but BA was on fire, MAYBE take a shot on first or second down. State's secondary was just as bad as ours and they've stopped the run all game. All in all, the offense played a good game, I just cannot believe the coaches took the ball away from BA at the end of the game.

[The_Hog_Father]

I just cannot believe the coaches took the ball away from BA at the end of the game.

I cannot agree more... Feeds the studs, dance with the one you brought and those other axioms. :razorback:

[Razor6]

Good comments and info in this thread.

I am over last night too.  Enjoy this week, enjoy your families.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy a win Friday... Watch recruits start jumping on board.  And go WIN a bowl game!

WPS, Go Hogs, and Happy Thanksgiving!

[mckinneyhog5]

People who think we should have gone for it on 4th down and not tried the field goal are message board posters for a reason.  To me, it's beyond stupid to even contemplate it.  I mean really stupid.  I wish one of those people could show me an example of a game where the head coach with a competent FG kicker choose otherwise.

[WorfHog]

People who think we should have gone for it on 4th down and not tried the field goal are message board posters for a reason.  To me, it's beyond stupid to even contemplate it.  I mean really stupid.  I wish one of those people could show me an example of a game where the head coach with a competent FG kicker choose otherwise.

Don't go for it on fourth, but maybe take a shot on 1st, 2nd or 3rd?  Our receivers and BA were in rhythm, and you give it to our RB's who haven't done anything all game. Not a good idea, and we payed the price.

[WilsonHog]

Don't go for it on fourth, but maybe take a shot on 1st, 2nd or 3rd?  Our receivers and BA were in rhythm, and you give it to our RB's who haven't done anything all game. Not a good idea, and we payed the price.

I would have loved to hear the comments from the peanut gallery if BA had thrown a pick.

I'm sure everyone would have been completely okay with us not playing for the field goal, right?

[jry04]

Well said....the loss stings, but today is a new day, we will be playing in a bowl, and we should pound Mizzou. Still a lot to be joyful about.

Agreed. I am usually extremely PO'd after a loss. Not today. 3 weeks ago we were saying "lose at OM/LSU, beat MSU and Mizzou and we are bowling at 6-6." Everyone seemed to think that would be a satisfying ending to a season full of injuries. It appears we will finish 7-5. Most expected 8-4 or 9-3 with JWill and Hatcher. 7-5 without them is still a positive. We are going to a bowl game in consecutive seasons when before last season we were coming off 2 straight years or missing a bowl game.



To those saying we should have gone for the TD instead of the FG: I agree completely. We took the ball out of our best player's hands. We were rolling, and took our foot off the gas. HOWEVER, with that said, Bielema still played the odds. Most experienced, good coaches would have played for the FG there. If you cannot execute a 29 yard FG to win the game, than you probably don't deserve to win anyways. That FG was a brutal way to lose, but there were so many thing that happened before that attempt that could have/should have gone differently. The dropped interception right before the half that put MSU up double digits. The failed 4th and 1 attempt, the fumble that wasn't given to us. There are a lot of things that went into us losing. Luckily MSU loses and Dak, and will slip back into mediocrity.

[Biggus Piggus]

This has NOTHING TO DO WITH HINDSIGHT.

It has to do with the head coach choosing a less likely path to try to win a football game.

Arkansas's field goal kicking situation is poor. It's not even average, it's bad. And that is the way you want to try to win a darned game?

I do not understand what went wrong with the fourth and 1, agree that blowing that situation set the wheels in motion that caused the game to turn. Seemed like Manny was guessing right much of the night + we still scored 50. He got one. OK.

But deliberately choosing to play for the field goal? Not trying to keep pushing toward the end zone? Why would you trust your kicking game more than Brandon Allen? Why would you ask Cole Hedlund and the rest of the unit to win the game instead of your high-powered offense?

I had foresight on this one, and I am sure lots of other people did, too. Something was going to go wrong. The odds of making a field goal there were low. It is obvious that Bielema does not give half a darn about special teams. He consistently allows the placekicking game to be unreliable. They keep finding things to screw up, and opponents gleefully find holes in our protection when they scout us. And then sometimes the holder presents the football with the laces facing the kicker, or the snap's awful, or half a dozen other ways show the lack of preparation. Bielema has his priorities, and field goals are last on the list.

So then - to deliberately play for the field goal at the end of a game where you're afraid of giving the opponent another chance? Even if he had made the field goal, Mississippi State could have gotten in field goal range within a couple of plays. They had a kicker who had made 12 of 14 field goal attempts inside of 50 yards.

Arkansas needed another touchdown. It was the best chance the Razorbacks had to win that football game. Another touchdown.

If something was incredibly stupid on the fourth and 1, please inform me. I hated the way the play failed, but going for it was a good idea. Right? We had reached the MSU 26-yard line. Would have been a 43-yard field goal. Not sure what the wind was doing at that point. Had been pretty squirrely.

But Hedlund had been 8-12, season to date. He was 1-4 beyond 27 yards. Made the one 45-yarder against Ole Miss. Missed from 47 (blocked), 41 and 37.

The fourth and 1 play did not seem to have enough high-percentage pass options involved in the play. I would have liked a rollout where BA would have forced the defense to choose whether to go after him, or stay with the receiver. Handing off and running into the pile would have sucked. Maybe a quarterback sneak? We did not trust our offensive line, for good reason. Mississippi State's defensive line whipped us often, and they also were good at bringing in defensive backs to help against the run.

That fourth and 1 play didn't work from the beginning, and the longer it went on, the uglier it got. Nobody seemed to break off his pattern and come back for the ball. It was a strange play.

Anyway, the Hogs had first down at the MSU 19-yard line and never tried to make a first down or a touchdown. Ran into the pile three times and settled for a field goal, which was PREDICTABLY blocked. Predictably. Soooooooooooooo predictably. It was not a surprise. Were you surprised? I had the utmost confidence it would be blocked. I said it out loud, "They're going to block it."

All you had to do was watch the fricking game to know MSU was going to block any field goal we tried, when the game was on the line. We couldn't block them with our starters, and we had our special teams unit on the field. Absolutely horrendous execution once again. Ole Miss had a guy in our backfield on a potential game-winning field goal attempt. He went right up the middle. MSU's Beniquez Brown just ran right past the so-called blocking. This stuff doesn't happen if the special teams unit practices, say, once every two weeks. Just to keep a hand in.

[Franchise_Hog]

This has NOTHING TO DO WITH HINDSIGHT.

It has to do with the head coach choosing a less likely path to try to win a football game.

Arkansas's field goal kicking situation is poor. It's not even average, it's bad. And that is the way you want to try to win a darned game?

I do not understand what went wrong with the fourth and 1, agree that blowing that situation set the wheels in motion that caused the game to turn. Seemed like Manny was guessing right much of the night + we still scored 50. He got one. OK.

But deliberately choosing to play for the field goal? Not trying to keep pushing toward the end zone? Why would you trust your kicking game more than Brandon Allen? Why would you ask Cole Hedlund and the rest of the unit to win the game instead of your high-powered offense?

I had foresight on this one, and I am sure lots of other people did, too. Something was going to go wrong. The odds of making a field goal there were low. It is obvious that Bielema does not give half a darn about special teams. He consistently allows the placekicking game to be unreliable. They keep finding things to screw up, and opponents gleefully find holes in our protection when they scout us. And then sometimes the holder presents the football with the laces facing the kicker, or the snap's awful, or half a dozen other ways show the lack of preparation. Bielema has his priorities, and field goals are last on the list.

So then - to deliberately play for the field goal at the end of a game where you're afraid of giving the opponent another chance? Even if he had made the field goal, Mississippi State could have gotten in field goal range within a couple of plays. They had a kicker who had made 12 of 14 field goal attempts inside of 50 yards.

Arkansas needed another touchdown. It was the best chance the Razorbacks had to win that football game. Another touchdown.

If something was incredibly stupid on the fourth and 1, please inform me. I hated the way the play failed, but going for it was a good idea. Right? We had reached the MSU 26-yard line. Would have been a 43-yard field goal. Not sure what the wind was doing at that point. Had been pretty squirrely.

But Hedlund had been 8-12, season to date. He was 1-4 beyond 27 yards. Made the one 45-yarder against Ole Miss. Missed from 47 (blocked), 41 and 37.

The fourth and 1 play did not seem to have enough high-percentage pass options involved in the play. I would have liked a rollout where BA would have forced the defense to choose whether to go after him, or stay with the receiver. Handing off and running into the pile would have sucked. Maybe a quarterback sneak? We did not trust our offensive line, for good reason. Mississippi State's defensive line whipped us often, and they also were good at bringing in defensive backs to help against the run.

That fourth and 1 play didn't work from the beginning, and the longer it went on, the uglier it got. Nobody seemed to break off his pattern and come back for the ball. It was a strange play.

Anyway, the Hogs had first down at the MSU 19-yard line and never tried to make a first down or a touchdown. Ran into the pile three times and settled for a field goal, which was PREDICTABLY blocked. Predictably. Soooooooooooooo predictably. It was not a surprise. Were you surprised? I had the utmost confidence it would be blocked. I said it out loud, "They're going to block it."

All you had to do was watch the fricking game to know MSU was going to block any field goal we tried, when the game was on the line. We couldn't block them with our starters, and we had our special teams unit on the field. Absolutely horrendous execution once again. Ole Miss had a guy in our backfield on a potential game-winning field goal attempt. He went right up the middle. MSU's Beniquez Brown just ran right past the so-called blocking. This stuff doesn't happen if the special teams unit practices, say, once every two weeks. Just to keep a hand in.

This is exactly how I saw it....felt sick to my stomach the second I saw we were settling for the FG.  we just drove from our 10 yd line in the blink of an eye with a QB that threw 7 TDs and we settled. 

[McKdaddy]

Well said....the loss stings, but today is a new day, we will be playing in a bowl, and we should pound Mizzou. Still a lot to be joyful about.

Agreed.

[Kevin]

This has NOTHING TO DO WITH HINDSIGHT.

It has to do with the head coach choosing a less likely path to try to win a football game.

Arkansas's field goal kicking situation is poor. It's not even average, it's bad. And that is the way you want to try to win a darned game?

I do not understand what went wrong with the fourth and 1, agree that blowing that situation set the wheels in motion that caused the game to turn. Seemed like Manny was guessing right much of the night + we still scored 50. He got one. OK.

But deliberately choosing to play for the field goal? Not trying to keep pushing toward the end zone? Why would you trust your kicking game more than Brandon Allen? Why would you ask Cole Hedlund and the rest of the unit to win the game instead of your high-powered offense?

I had foresight on this one, and I am sure lots of other people did, too. Something was going to go wrong. The odds of making a field goal there were low. It is obvious that Bielema does not give half a darn about special teams. He consistently allows the placekicking game to be unreliable. They keep finding things to screw up, and opponents gleefully find holes in our protection when they scout us. And then sometimes the holder presents the football with the laces facing the kicker, or the snap's awful, or half a dozen other ways show the lack of preparation. Bielema has his priorities, and field goals are last on the list.

So then - to deliberately play for the field goal at the end of a game where you're afraid of giving the opponent another chance? Even if he had made the field goal, Mississippi State could have gotten in field goal range within a couple of plays. They had a kicker who had made 12 of 14 field goal attempts inside of 50 yards.

Arkansas needed another touchdown. It was the best chance the Razorbacks had to win that football game. Another touchdown.

If something was incredibly stupid on the fourth and 1, please inform me. I hated the way the play failed, but going for it was a good idea. Right? We had reached the MSU 26-yard line. Would have been a 43-yard field goal. Not sure what the wind was doing at that point. Had been pretty squirrely.

But Hedlund had been 8-12, season to date. He was 1-4 beyond 27 yards. Made the one 45-yarder against Ole Miss. Missed from 47 (blocked), 41 and 37.

The fourth and 1 play did not seem to have enough high-percentage pass options involved in the play. I would have liked a rollout where BA would have forced the defense to choose whether to go after him, or stay with the receiver. Handing off and running into the pile would have sucked. Maybe a quarterback sneak? We did not trust our offensive line, for good reason. Mississippi State's defensive line whipped us often, and they also were good at bringing in defensive backs to help against the run.

That fourth and 1 play didn't work from the beginning, and the longer it went on, the uglier it got. Nobody seemed to break off his pattern and come back for the ball. It was a strange play.

Anyway, the Hogs had first down at the MSU 19-yard line and never tried to make a first down or a touchdown. Ran into the pile three times and settled for a field goal, which was PREDICTABLY blocked. Predictably. Soooooooooooooo predictably. It was not a surprise. Were you surprised? I had the utmost confidence it would be blocked. I said it out loud, "They're going to block it."

All you had to do was watch the fricking game to know MSU was going to block any field goal we tried, when the game was on the line. We couldn't block them with our starters, and we had our special teams unit on the field. Absolutely horrendous execution once again. Ole Miss had a guy in our backfield on a potential game-winning field goal attempt. He went right up the middle. MSU's Beniquez Brown just ran right past the so-called blocking. This stuff doesn't happen if the special teams unit practices, say, once every two weeks. Just to keep a hand in.

great post

[ricepig]

This has NOTHING TO DO WITH HINDSIGHT.

It has to do with the head coach choosing a less likely path to try to win a football game.

Arkansas's field goal kicking situation is poor. It's not even average, it's bad. And that is the way you want to try to win a darned game?

I do not understand what went wrong with the fourth and 1, agree that blowing that situation set the wheels in motion that caused the game to turn. Seemed like Manny was guessing right much of the night + we still scored 50. He got one. OK.

But deliberately choosing to play for the field goal? Not trying to keep pushing toward the end zone? Why would you trust your kicking game more than Brandon Allen? Why would you ask Cole Hedlund and the rest of the unit to win the game instead of your high-powered offense?

I had foresight on this one, and I am sure lots of other people did, too. Something was going to go wrong. The odds of making a field goal there were low. It is obvious that Bielema does not give half a darn about special teams. He consistently allows the placekicking game to be unreliable. They keep finding things to screw up, and opponents gleefully find holes in our protection when they scout us. And then sometimes the holder presents the football with the laces facing the kicker, or the snap's awful, or half a dozen other ways show the lack of preparation. Bielema has his priorities, and field goals are last on the list.

So then - to deliberately play for the field goal at the end of a game where you're afraid of giving the opponent another chance? Even if he had made the field goal, Mississippi State could have gotten in field goal range within a couple of plays. They had a kicker who had made 12 of 14 field goal attempts inside of 50 yards.

Arkansas needed another touchdown. It was the best chance the Razorbacks had to win that football game. Another touchdown.

If something was incredibly stupid on the fourth and 1, please inform me. I hated the way the play failed, but going for it was a good idea. Right? We had reached the MSU 26-yard line. Would have been a 43-yard field goal. Not sure what the wind was doing at that point. Had been pretty squirrely.

But Hedlund had been 8-12, season to date. He was 1-4 beyond 27 yards. Made the one 45-yarder against Ole Miss. Missed from 47 (blocked), 41 and 37.

The fourth and 1 play did not seem to have enough high-percentage pass options involved in the play. I would have liked a rollout where BA would have forced the defense to choose whether to go after him, or stay with the receiver. Handing off and running into the pile would have sucked. Maybe a quarterback sneak? We did not trust our offensive line, for good reason. Mississippi State's defensive line whipped us often, and they also were good at bringing in defensive backs to help against the run.

That fourth and 1 play didn't work from the beginning, and the longer it went on, the uglier it got. Nobody seemed to break off his pattern and come back for the ball. It was a strange play.

Anyway, the Hogs had first down at the MSU 19-yard line and never tried to make a first down or a touchdown. Ran into the pile three times and settled for a field goal, which was PREDICTABLY blocked. Predictably. Soooooooooooooo predictably. It was not a surprise. Were you surprised? I had the utmost confidence it would be blocked. I said it out loud, "They're going to block it."

All you had to do was watch the fricking game to know MSU was going to block any field goal we tried, when the game was on the line. We couldn't block them with our starters, and we had our special teams unit on the field. Absolutely horrendous execution once again. Ole Miss had a guy in our backfield on a potential game-winning field goal attempt. He went right up the middle. MSU's Beniquez Brown just ran right past the so-called blocking. This stuff doesn't happen if the special teams unit practices, say, once every two weeks. Just to keep a hand in.

So, you wanted to give them 3 TO's if we had scored a TD and 1:15? I thought going for the FG was the correct play, I could have lived with a bootleg on 3rd and said throw it in the stands if nothing is open. Hedlund had made a pressure FG in that same end zone with the same time left against Auburn, correct call IMO. Sure, they may have scored a FG, just like they might have scored a TD if they had needed one. The screw up was the protection.

[RazorChuck]

if and buts.... Last years D with this years offense,(last 3 games anyway), candy and nuts.........

[Biggus Piggus]

This is exactly how I saw it....felt sick to my stomach the second I saw we were settling for the FG.  we just drove from our 10 yd line in the blink of an eye with a QB that threw 7 TDs and we settled. 

I thought at the time...Bielema's auditioning for the NFL. He is doing the thing that an NFL coach would do, not doing what his team needs him to do. He is showing the NFL guys watching him that he knows what to call at the right time. This is the situation where an NFL team plays for the field goal. You keep pushing there, and say something goes wrong. The NFL guy says, "That was an unwise risk. Should have settled for the field goal."

[Biggus Piggus]

if and buts.... Last years D with this years offense,(last 3 games anyway), candy and nuts.........

Last year's defense was the same. It looked great against inaccurate passers + pro-style offenses, poor against accurate passers + spread offenses.

[jkstock04]

Last year's defense was the same. It looked great against inaccurate passers + pro-style offenses, poor against accurate passers + spread offenses.

I must have a selective memory. My feelings are that they carried the team for majority of season.

[S.A.D.C]

I thought at the time...Bielema's auditioning for the NFL. He is doing the thing that an NFL coach would do, not doing what his team needs him to do. He is showing the NFL guys watching him that he knows what to call at the right time. This is the situation where an NFL team plays for the field goal. You keep pushing there, and say something goes wrong. The NFL guy says, "That was an unwise risk. Should have settled for the field goal."

I was about to congratulate this thread for finding all of the rational people on Hogville and putting their thoughts in one spot.  But, of course Biggus couldn't let that happen. 

I wanted to at least take one shot at the endzone or at least the first down as well.  Just seems like their D was as bad as ours and BA is the man.  BUT...3 things could happen there that you didn't want to happen:  you stop the clock on an incomplete, turn the ball over on a pick, or kill the FG chances with a sack.  I get why they played for the FG.  Probably wouldn't have done the same but it isn't an indefensible decision like some are making it. 

At the end of the day: If you give up 50 points in a game you are gonna lose more than you win no matter how good your offense is.  And this team needs a special team coach.  Not having one has been a glaring issue all year. 

[Kevin]

my perspective has not changed. record is about where i thought it would be.

as far as saturday's game, simple question: who do you want to have the ball to try to win the game, ba & the offense or special teams, & the defense.

[Oliver]

This has NOTHING TO DO WITH HINDSIGHT.

It has to do with the head coach choosing a less likely path to try to win a football game.

Arkansas's field goal kicking situation is poor. It's not even average, it's bad. And that is the way you want to try to win a darned game?

I do not understand what went wrong with the fourth and 1, agree that blowing that situation set the wheels in motion that caused the game to turn. Seemed like Manny was guessing right much of the night + we still scored 50. He got one. OK.

But deliberately choosing to play for the field goal? Not trying to keep pushing toward the end zone? Why would you trust your kicking game more than Brandon Allen? Why would you ask Cole Hedlund and the rest of the unit to win the game instead of your high-powered offense?

I had foresight on this one, and I am sure lots of other people did, too. Something was going to go wrong. The odds of making a field goal there were low. It is obvious that Bielema does not give half a darn about special teams. He consistently allows the placekicking game to be unreliable. They keep finding things to screw up, and opponents gleefully find holes in our protection when they scout us. And then sometimes the holder presents the football with the laces facing the kicker, or the snap's awful, or half a dozen other ways show the lack of preparation. Bielema has his priorities, and field goals are last on the list.

So then - to deliberately play for the field goal at the end of a game where you're afraid of giving the opponent another chance? Even if he had made the field goal, Mississippi State could have gotten in field goal range within a couple of plays. They had a kicker who had made 12 of 14 field goal attempts inside of 50 yards.

Arkansas needed another touchdown. It was the best chance the Razorbacks had to win that football game. Another touchdown.

If something was incredibly stupid on the fourth and 1, please inform me. I hated the way the play failed, but going for it was a good idea. Right? We had reached the MSU 26-yard line. Would have been a 43-yard field goal. Not sure what the wind was doing at that point. Had been pretty squirrely.

But Hedlund had been 8-12, season to date. He was 1-4 beyond 27 yards. Made the one 45-yarder against Ole Miss. Missed from 47 (blocked), 41 and 37.

The fourth and 1 play did not seem to have enough high-percentage pass options involved in the play. I would have liked a rollout where BA would have forced the defense to choose whether to go after him, or stay with the receiver. Handing off and running into the pile would have sucked. Maybe a quarterback sneak? We did not trust our offensive line, for good reason. Mississippi State's defensive line whipped us often, and they also were good at bringing in defensive backs to help against the run.

That fourth and 1 play didn't work from the beginning, and the longer it went on, the uglier it got. Nobody seemed to break off his pattern and come back for the ball. It was a strange play.

Anyway, the Hogs had first down at the MSU 19-yard line and never tried to make a first down or a touchdown. Ran into the pile three times and settled for a field goal, which was PREDICTABLY blocked. Predictably. Soooooooooooooo predictably. It was not a surprise. Were you surprised? I had the utmost confidence it would be blocked. I said it out loud, "They're going to block it."

All you had to do was watch the fricking game to know MSU was going to block any field goal we tried, when the game was on the line. We couldn't block them with our starters, and we had our special teams unit on the field. Absolutely horrendous execution once again. Ole Miss had a guy in our backfield on a potential game-winning field goal attempt. He went right up the middle. MSU's Beniquez Brown just ran right past the so-called blocking. This stuff doesn't happen if the special teams unit practices, say, once every two weeks. Just to keep a hand in.

I never give +1's or -1's but this post deserves a +1.  It deserves a thousand of them.  It's flawless in its analysis of what happened, why it happened, and why it shouldn't of happened.  A lot of people talk about whether Bielema was too conservative or aggressive on this decision.  It has nothing to do with either.  It had everything to do with knowing your team and making the smart choice.  If we had a Saban-like defense or a great special teams, then Bielema would have handled the situation correctly.  We don't have either.  It was extremely clear in this game and in previous games.  Hell, I was worried that if we scored a TD and a 2 point conversion that State might still be able to drive the length of the field in 55 seconds and tie it up.  I was damn certain that even if we miraculously made that FG attempt, State could drive half the field to hit a game winning FG.  But even if State would have scored a TD to tie the game, the right choice and the smart choice would have been made and our coach would have put us in the best position to win this football game.

[HotlantaHog]

Don't go for it on fourth, but maybe take a shot on 1st, 2nd or 3rd?  Our receivers and BA were in rhythm, and you give it to our RB's who haven't done anything all game. Not a good idea, and we payed the price.

Exactly. The first, second, and third down plays seemed to be running plays designed to set up a field goal. Try to win the game outright rather than set up a field goal.

I have watched the Hogs over the years and have trouble remembering a end of game field goal winning many games, but remember LOTS of mishaps on special teams. The one that comes to mind was the game at Starkville a few years back when Bobby Petrino went for a field goal as the game was ending ... and it missed .... The game went to overtime.

I have no problem with a NFL team with pros like Indianapolis setting up a game winning field goal -- the odds totally favor a pro kicker and pro line making the kick. With a college team, especially one that is not exactly proficient on special teams, I can't imagine why your strategy would be to play for the field goal. I have not seen data on it, but I would bet that the odds of failure are high enough that it is not worth being your main goal.

[PossumFan]

I would have loved to hear the comments from the peanut gallery if BA had thrown a pick.

I'm sure everyone would have been completely okay with us not playing for the field goal, right?

I guess I trust BA more than you do. I'm quite sure that under those circumstances, if he didn't have a receiver wide open he would throw the ball away.

[HotlantaHog]

I thought at the time...Bielema's auditioning for the NFL. He is doing the thing that an NFL coach would do, not doing what his team needs him to do. He is showing the NFL guys watching him that he knows what to call at the right time. This is the situation where an NFL team plays for the field goal. You keep pushing there, and say something goes wrong. The NFL guy says, "That was an unwise risk. Should have settled for the field goal."

This is exactly right. An NFL team of pros can make a kick like that with no effort. For a college team, it is a very iffy proposition. That should not be the primary strategy but a backup if scoring the TD fails.