Tough loss but finish the year with progress

[Bacon_Bitz]

With all the injuries, 8-5 and 3rd in the west would be acceptable progress for me. We have left behind the 52-0 losses to Bama and similar beat downs to other teams. We lost three games by one possession and really should have won all three with better player execution, and our only other losses were two scores. Led Bama at halftime. Just got beat by TTU. We've got four four-star QBs who will have all been on campus at least a year competing for a starting job. I am more confident than most that we can figure out the o-line and that we will be ok at running back. Our offense should be excellent again next year with less early season hiccups. Defense, I don't know how that gets fixed. Maybe time to let Segrest go if CBB and Smith think somebody else could get the line in better shape. Agim, Bell, somebody - we just need one difference maker at DE and one at DT (Chris Jones affected last game so much by himself). LBs and the back 5? All we can do is hope and pray.  I'm not a coach. I don't know anything. Coaching turnover/turmoil in the west will help us these next two years (Malzahn dumpster fire will keep burning; Mullen bolts this offseason w/o Dak next year; Miles could be gone and I wouldn't be surprised if Sumlin even makes a move; hopefully Freeze sticks around Ole Miss). With our favorable home schedule next year and one non-conference loss to TCU, we will still only win 7 or 8 games, but we will be competitive week in and out. Two or three years, we could be having ten win seasons. I'm not defending how long it takes. That's just reality. And it's not so bad. We will have hard nosed teams that will get up to play anybody every year, and occasionally be in the mix for the West championship. That's just Arkansas football but I'm looking forward to every minute of every game.

[hobhog]

Friday must win against very emotional Mizzou team.

[DeltaBoy]

If we whizz it away against Mizzo I will be extra PO'ED. No sense in getting a FG blocked like we did last night .

[Pig in the Pokey]

With all the injuries, 8-5 and 3rd in the west would be acceptable progress for me. We have left behind the 52-0 losses to Bama and similar beat downs to other teams. We lost three games by one possession and really should have won all three with better player execution, and our only other losses were two scores. Led Bama at halftime. Just got beat by TTU. We've got four four-star QBs who will have all been on campus at least a year competing for a starting job. I am more confident than most that we can figure out the o-line and that we will be ok at running back. Our offense should be excellent again next year with less early season hiccups. Defense, I don't know how that gets fixed. Maybe time to let Segrest go if CBB and Smith think somebody else could get the line in better shape. Agim, Bell, somebody - we just need one difference maker at DE and one at DT (Chris Jones affected last game so much by himself). LBs and the back 5? All we can do is hope and pray.  I'm not a coach. I don't know anything. Coaching turnover/turmoil in the west will help us these next two years (Malzahn dumpster fire will keep burning; Mullen bolts this offseason w/o Dak next year; Miles could be gone and I wouldn't be surprised if Sumlin even makes a move; hopefully Freeze sticks around Ole Miss). With our favorable home schedule next year and one non-conference loss to TCU, we will still only win 7 or 8 games, but we will be competitive week in and out. Two or three years, we could be having ten win seasons. I'm not defending how long it takes. That's just reality. And it's not so bad. We will have hard nosed teams that will get up to play anybody every year, and occasionally be in the mix for the West championship. That's just Arkansas football but I'm looking forward to every minute of every game.

Wait, You are CONCEEDING to TCU? Texas Christian University? Our long gone Hog Forefathers are rolling over in their graves on that one, bud. TCU is hot garbage. We are gonna paddle their asses like a school bully.

[Bacon_Bitz]

Wait, You are CONCEEDING to TCU? Texas Christian University? Our long gone Hog Forefathers are rolling over in their graves on that one, bud. TCU is hot garbage. We are gonna paddle their asses like a school bully.

Ok you are right I take it back

[lahawg1]

Mullins to LSWho

[Hoggish1]

Excellent post.  It's always best to look on the bright side, especially after a gut wrenching loss like last night.

To finish 5-3 in the SEC would be a significant improvement over last year's 2-6.  I'm looking forward to us rebounding next Friday and getting to 5-3 in SEC play.

Haters hate for whatever reasons but it's clear they aren't fans of this team and our program.

[Ironhawg]

Excellent post.  It's always best to look on the bright side, especially after a gut wrenching loss like last night.

To finish 5-3 in the SEC would be a significant improvement over last year's 2-6.  I'm looking forward to us rebounding next Friday and getting to 5-3 in SEC play.

Haters hate for whatever reasons but it's clear they aren't fans of this team and our program.

IMHO the loss to MSU makes the Mizzou game a must win game in order to keep the positive feelings around the program going forward.  If you win, you get to 7 wins in a season where you suffered multiple season - ending injuries to critical players.  You also get a winning conference record.  You also get a home win.  You can't keep losing home games and expect the fans to not get restless.  It gives you an opportunity to get to 8 wins, which a lot of folks, myself included, didn't think possible after Toledo and TT.  Lose and you drop to 6-6 and you are staring at the possibility of a losing season with a bowl loss.  Just win.

[Hogarusa]

Wait, You are CONCEEDING to TCU? Texas Christian University? Our long gone Hog Forefathers are rolling over in their graves on that one, bud. TCU is hot garbage. We are gonna paddle their asses like a school bully.

Hahaha.  TCU is probably the toughest game on the schedule next year.  Early season and on the road for a new QB

[SRV]

Thanks for a brighter thread. Despite some dissapointments,  I see progress being made. I hope Les stays put. I always like our chances against LSU with him as their coach.

Woo pig

[westside_player]

With all the injuries, 8-5 and 3rd in the west would be acceptable progress for me. We have left behind the 52-0 losses to Bama and similar beat downs to other teams. We lost three games by one possession and really should have won all three with better player execution, and our only other losses were two scores. Led Bama at halftime. Just got beat by TTU. We've got four four-star QBs who will have all been on campus at least a year competing for a starting job. I am more confident than most that we can figure out the o-line and that we will be ok at running back. Our offense should be excellent again next year with less early season hiccups. Defense, I don't know how that gets fixed. Maybe time to let Segrest go if CBB and Smith think somebody else could get the line in better shape. Agim, Bell, somebody - we just need one difference maker at DE and one at DT (Chris Jones affected last game so much by himself). LBs and the back 5? All we can do is hope and pray.  I'm not a coach. I don't know anything. Coaching turnover/turmoil in the west will help us these next two years (Malzahn dumpster fire will keep burning; Mullen bolts this offseason w/o Dak next year; Miles could be gone and I wouldn't be surprised if Sumlin even makes a move; hopefully Freeze sticks around Ole Miss). With our favorable home schedule next year and one non-conference loss to TCU, we will still only win 7 or 8 games, but we will be competitive week in and out. Two or three years, we could be having ten win seasons. I'm not defending how long it takes. That's just reality. And it's not so bad. We will have hard nosed teams that will get up to play anybody every year, and occasionally be in the mix for the West championship. That's just Arkansas football but I'm looking forward to every minute of every game.

There's some progress but don't get too excited yet. We beat LSU basically without a coach. Anytime we beat someone who's team has fallen apart and they get rid of the coach at the end of the year, which LSU will, take things in to consideration and put an asterix beside it. That LSU team could lose to a Sun Belt team right now.

Do you really count the  Ole Miss flukes as a win? Sure, but if we play that game over this year 10 times, the other 10 times they would win.

We just barely scraped by a pitiful Auburn team in over time that's at the bottom.

Tennessee game could have gone either way but when that game was played they didn't know how to win and most of their fans had been wanting to leap off the stadium tops for weeks.

As easily as we lost a toss up game to the Bull Dogs last night at home and were only in the game b/c we scored on 3 turnovers, we could just as easily be 2-9 right now.  A Bull Dog game we thought we would win, things kind of settled back down and the reality of who we are kicked in again. 

[Bacon_Bitz]

There's some progress but don't get too excited yet. We beat LSU basically without a coach. Anytime we beat someone who's team has fallen apart and they get rid of the coach at the end of the year, which LSU will, take things in to consideration and put an asterix beside it. That LSU team could lose to a Sun Belt team right now.

Do you really count the  Ole Miss flukes as a win? Sure, but if we play that game over this year 10 times, the other 10 times they would win.

We just barely scraped by a pitiful Auburn team in over time that's at the bottom.

Tennessee game could have gone either way but when that game was played they didn't know how to win and most of their fans had been wanting to leap off the stadium tops for weeks.

As easily as we lost a toss up game to the Bull Dogs last night at home and were only in the game b/c we scored on 3 turnovers, we could just as easily be 2-9 right now.  A Bull Dog game we thought we would win, things kind of settled back down and the reality of who we are kicked in again.

Using what ifs like this you could argue we should be 9-2 with wins over Toledo, A$M, and Miss St. But we are not. Regardless of some In game calls, I think CBB has done a great job getting the team competitive after the early season injuries. We will probably have a lot of what if games the next season or two, but I do think he is building towards having less of those, and instead these being the difference between 9-2 and 2-9, it'll be the difference between 8-4 and 11-1.