From the Bench - Texas Bowl is Must Win for Bielema and Fans

[Robert Shields]

Texas Bowl is Must Win for Bielema and Fans

Robert Shields

The Razorbacks officially found out that they were going to a bowl on Sunday for the first time since Petrino ran the motorbike off the road. The 6-6 record was enough to earn them a trip to the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl in Houston on Dec. 29 against the Texas Longhorns. It's a fitting game. 

This provides Bret Bielema and the team another chance to redeem themselves after the bitter loss to the Missouri Tigers, who were sent back down to earth against Alabama in the SEC Championship game.

For two years, Missouri has backed into the SEC Championship game playing in the weakened SEC East. In reality, Missouri is probably the sixth best team in the SEC and some might consider that generous.

They had the luck of the draw this year getting the two worst SEC West teams on their schedule. I back up my claim that Missouri is soft by the fact that over the last two years they have only beaten one SEC team that had a winning conference record.

Many Razorback fans were disappointed in the loss at Columbia and how it all went down. For a week, the radio call-in shows rehashed the fact that Brandon Allen was hurt. In hindsight, it was easy to see after losing that Austin Allen should have been given a chance because what was there to lose?

That final loss of the regular season left a bad after taste, but the team has a chance to erase it in the bowl game. Ending on a winning note would wipe out the memory of that final loss, but a bowl loss will in some way negate some of the gains the team made this year.

With a win, the Razorbacks are 7-6 and on the winning side of .500. If they lose, the opposite happens with the fact that they would be 6-7 and will finish a third season with a losing record.

Bielema needs the bowl win as bowl wins make Razorback fans happy as the Razorbacks have not always been stellar in bowl games. Also, the win helps Bielema as his own bowl record is not robust at 2-4.

Lastly, one has to hope that Bielema understands the importance of this bowl game. The rivalry against the Longhorns is legendary and it still resonates with a large portion of the fan base today. The teams played in the game of the century in 1969 that was dubbed the Big Shootout.

In some ways it seems all the more appropriate to play this game with the passing of James Street a little more than a year ago. The 15-14 loss in 1969 is still burned into the memory of the fan base, and a win against Texas will erase a lot of the losses this year.

When you beat your rival, it makes the season, especially in a bowl game. Like it or not, Texas is Arkansas' main rival even if that is not reciprocated.

It goes without saying, but a loss to the Longhorns would be unacceptable.

-

Long's Playoff Committee Gets it Wrong

And now my thoughts on the college football playoff. The Jeff Long led selection committee looked silly in the end mostly because of the weekly rankings, which were meaningless. They had to backtrack after moving TCU up to No. 3 the previous week, but on selection day they dropped them all the way to sixth, down three spots even after TCU easily won its game.

It's schizophrenic to say the least. They would have been better off not releasing polls for most of the year and only released the six teams at the end. That way nobody would have known where Baylor, TCU, and Ohio State were placed throughout the year in the selection committee's mind.

But without that charade, ESPN would not have gotten to hold the idiotic and meaningless rankings show each week as though it was something important when it was the exact opposite.

Instead, it looks like they rewarded Ohio State for one game blowing out an unprepared Wisconsin team that was also beaten by the fifth-best team in the SEC West in LSU when the Tigers did not have a quarterback.

The Big Ten looked terrible all year. The conference lost all its key matchups. Michigan got drilled by a bad Notre Dame team. TCU beat Minnesota. LSU beat Wisconsin. Oregon killed Michigan State. And most importantly, Ohio State lost to a terrible Virginia Tech team.

In the end, TCU got rewarded with a game against Ole Miss in their bowl game, which is a game TCU may very well lose as Ole Miss is very good and was the lone team to beat the two best teams in the SEC in Alabama and Mississippi State.

Also, what does it mean if TCU beat Ole Miss (the one team that Alabama did not beat) in its bowl game, and Alabama wins the playoff? It's easy to assume Alabama would crush TCU, but TCU uses close to the same crazy offense that Oklahoma used last year to crush Alabama.

The AP had Baylor No. 4, not Ohio State, at the end of the season. But ESPN got the matchups that it would want to televise. An Ohio State and Alabama matchup brings more viewers than a game with TCU or Baylor. In the end, isn't it always about the money and thus the big name money teams? If it was the Texas Longhorns instead of TCU, do you think they fall to sixth?



Send your playoff solutions to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

[BorderPatrol]

Oh good lord....

bp

[DLUXHOG]

Your opinion... I'm just happy these players on this team get to go bowling!

[ricepig]

In b4 Delta says "good read"

[HawgNthaWater]

This is not a must win. This will be a very difficult game. Please find the nearest cliff

[Hoggy Hogalot]

I had to stop reading after the first paragraph

[clew]

In before...

[Dr. Starcs]

So was the Texas tech game according to you. We won that and you said it would shut the critics up. So....why are you still posting every week?

[Hogfaniam]

The most important sentence  was the last.  It's the whole reason for the committee and a nice coup for the networks.  Otherwise, they could've just kept the BCS formula and took its top four.  I wonder how the NY6 bowl committees feel about losing their power of choice to the selection committee. (This is like government.  To many committee's)

[DeltaBoy]

In b4 Delta says "good read"

LOL Robert your correct if it had been TEXAS they would be in the playoffs.  No respect for TCU.

[John Futrall]

LOL Robert your correct if it had been TEXAS they would be in the playoffs.  No respect for TCU.

Figure out a way to play a conf championship and get back to me. Texas would not have been in the playoff if they had the same schedule and results as TCU

[The_Iceman]

[Grizzlyfan]

I don't think there is any question that if you replaced TCU and Baylor with OU and Texas, one of those would be in the playoff. 

also, one thing forgotten in this about TCU and Baylor.  With OU losing, again, the wins by TCU and Baylor over OU became significantly less important.

[FutureMan]

Pathetic

[HF#1]

Bielema needs to win this bowl game because he is 2-4 in Bowl games.  But as far as his job security at Arkansas, this bowl game has no bearing on it.

[Science Fiction Greg]

Didn't read the article, never do.

The titles are all the indication I need that you should just stop because you have no clue what you are talking about.

[Doug]

If I actually wasted my time reading the OP... this is how I'd feel.

[GuvHog]

This is not a must win. This will be a very difficult game. Please find the nearest cliff

Wrong. For recruiting purposes, it is indeed a must win.

[GuvHog]

Bielema needs to win this bowl game because he is 2-4 in Bowl games.  But as far as his job security at Arkansas, this bowl game has no bearing on it.

I agree. The Hogs 2 conference shutouts against ranked teams bought Bret some time.

[thefisher]

That op by Shields truly sucked ..... just awful. 

The only thing in it worth catching was the 

[smb]

Now here we go again Isn't this a classic Vent N Rumors? Just saying Robert is trying his best to make hog fans think that this is being said. But how does he know how Arkansas feels?

[Ex-Trumpet]

I agree. The Hogs 2 conference shutouts against ranked teams bought Bret some time.

Guv, Nutt isn't coming back.

[The_Iceman]

If I actually wasted my time reading the OP... this is how I'd feel.

or maybe....

[ifghog]

Not a must win...really want to though!!!

[HawgTide]

Didn't read the article, never do.

The titles are all the indication I need that you should just stop because you have no clue what you are talking about.

Exactly.

I'm not sure why Robert feels the pathological need to post his darn weekly

[HammusArkansus]

Words mean things.  'Must' win no, 'important' win yes.  Improvement has been shown (mostly) from one season to the next, so only a 'Wisconsinesque' vs O-St' collapse would dishearten most hog fans.  That said, if I've only one hog victory to see before dying, may it be over Texas.

[Tripod1]

Wrong on all accounts. 

[Cresthog]

It baffles me why people are surprised they left out two second tier programs from their second tier conference.

OSU's alumni base and tradition alone warrant them getting in. Do you think the committee is stupid?

OSU $$$>Baylor+TCU combined.

[DOGALUM]

Who the hell is Robert Shields?

More crap.......ugh.....

[Bacons Rebellion]

Wrong. For recruiting purposes, it is indeed a must win.

So if we don't win, we won't recruit anymore?

It's not a must win. It would be a nice win.

[Cresthog]

So if we don't win, we won't recruit anymore?

It's not a must win. It would be a nice win.

Literally sick of this notion.

Texas isn't relevant right now and beating them in the Texas bowl on December 29th isn't going to make or break any class.

Weren't the classes following the Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl some of our weakest to date?

[bigdaddyhawg]

Would someone please walk up to Robert Shields and kick him HARD in the balls??

And video it.  PLEASE!!

[Robert Shields]

Your opinion... I'm just happy these players on this team get to go bowling!

For certain, the seniors with all they have been through deserve it.

[zane]

Once again- RS comes up just a bit short............

[DeltaBoy]

It is a must win for me since we chocked the TAMU game away.  It is inbearable down here some times when we lose to TAMU and TEXAS!

[BorderPatrol]

For certain, the seniors with all they have been through deserve it.

But only the seniors, right?

bp

[The_Iceman]

Once again- RS comes up just a bit short............

[ldfergu]

Who the hell is Robert Shields?

More crap.......ugh.....

I would actually like to know the answwr

[DOGALUM]

I would actually like to know the answwr

Well.....I keep asking the question.

[Ex-Trumpet]

[HotlantaHog]

Too much hate on RS.

[Sir Oinksalot]

...LMAO, how many "must wins" now have you had this year and more importantly, HOW MANY ARE THERE ?!?

I'll read it, I'm not a "didn't read queeeen" but dang dude,  A Must Win.......??

We will win the faking game, but the must win was LSU...

[Inhogswetrust]

Oh good lord....

bp

I didn't read it since it was RS and I could have typed what you did and been 100% accurate.

[Inhogswetrust]

Haha! He couldn't have even found his way to the track OR football field.

[RazorbackRon]

I agree. The Hogs 2 conference shutouts against ranked teams bought Bret some time.

Even though I did not read the OP, I know this is the worst statement in the thread.  No matter, what Bret had time.

[Calling All Hogs]

[Nipsey Mussle]

It baffles me why people are surprised they left out two second tier programs from their second tier conference.

OSU's alumni base and tradition alone warrant them getting in. Do you think the committee is stupid?

OSU $$$>Baylor+TCU combined.

TCU vs Bama would've still been a sellout with excellent tv ratings.

The money that specific teams bring to the table becomes pretty negligible in this situation. The interest in the playoff will create all anyone needs in terms of money.

The difference between the Texas Bowl choosing the Hogs or Marshall is huge in terms of money. The difference between the playoff getting Tcu or tOSU is pretty small in terms of money.

[Dirty]

Didn't read it?  Just looking at the responses.

[urkillnmesmalls]

This is the first bowl game for anyone on our team.  I would have to believe that provides some motivation.  Texas improved as the year went on, and to be blunt...this isn't the easiest match up for us.  They're stingy against the run, and we'll have to pass the ball to beat them.  My hope is they don't continue to improve in the next three weeks, and our kids come out with something to prove. 

I have to admit...I'm a little more worried than some people.  When Vegas only picks us by 6, that's a bad bounce or blown call away from losing, and Vegas typically does pretty well on their predictions. 

Take about a bad taste...  It's not a must win though...I disagree with that.  We're still missing some difference makers at WR, and depth on both sides of the ball in places.  That's coming, but it's not here yet....and we saw a dramatic improvement over last year.  NOT a must win...not even close.   

[strokerhog]

Who is Robert Shields?