What overall grade would you give the hogs today?

[Ben]

How would you grade Arkansas's performance today

[DeltaBoy]

B+

[jmark]

not outstanding
not good
C+ for getting back on track

[Ex-Trumpet]

Offense: good solid B.  Running game was successful, receivers getting open.  AA still got hit way too much.

Defense:  C-.  Made some big plays when it counted, but got burned way too often.

This, of course, is my assessment just watching the game...haven't seen any stats.

[Locutus_of_Boar]

not outstanding
not good
C+ for getting back on track

Given this was against one of the weaker D-1 teams this is about right. 

Turnovers and near turnovers breaking the right way kept this from being a nail biter. 

Seven snaps inside the 5 yard line to finally punch it in against a front 7 this weak summarizes the OL problems pretty well.

The fear to even practice a FG shows that option is closed with the heart of the season ahead.

The defense is as has been the case for years likely to completely break down n any play.

Still looks like 4-8 or 5-7 at best.

[HotlantaHog]

Solid B.

The offense did quite well, but was less than razor sharp. The defense gave up a lot of points. The Hogs overall dominated the game from the start.

[hogsmash12]

C

Offense (C):  Good balance statistically, but agree Allen still getting hit too frequently and still did not seem to overwhelm an undersized Sun Belt opponent on the ground inside the 5.....poor job of getting T.J. Hammonds the ball more in space despite all of the talk

Defense (C):  Held Sun Belt team to 11 yards on 14 carries but still giving up too many chunk plays....just not enough pass rush and playing with an aggressive swagger

Overall just not very erotic

[The OTR]

Offense: good solid B.  Running game was successful, receivers getting open.  AA still got hit way too much.

Defense:  C-.  Made some big plays when it counted, but got burned way too often.

This, of course, is my assessment just watching the game...haven't seen any stats.

Hate to say you didn't answer the question properly.

[Youngsta71701]

C, offense was good but the defense still gave up too many passing yards and showed way to much respect for their receivers. If we have the better players maybe it's time to act and play like. Way too much room for their receivers to pick and choose where they wanted to go. They were running through our secondary with no resistance.

Ladies and gentleman our defense will never be dominate or at least have a chance to until we get rid of this soft coverage scheme and start playing at least 5yds off the receivers instead of 10.

[hogcard1964]

C+

Solid offensively.  Enos' play calling is starting to come around, but the 3-4 is awful.  Our corners also need a lot of work.

[Razor1997]

B-

Offense looked really good, Allen looked great aside from the INT but he got hit too much.  It looks like Allen is starting to trust his receivers more, we'll need that to get to six wins and a bowl.

Run defense was excellent but their QB was shredding us through the air. 

[hogpc]

B

The quality of the opponent makes an "A" difficult to give, would have had to have played perfectly to get that. Nevertheless, they played pretty well against a decent team - defense yielded too much for my comfort and AA's interception lowered the offenses grade.  Didn't learn much about the Hawgs today since we were playing an inferior opponent - still good to get the win though.

[jkstock04]

B-

About how I figured it would go. We came out and took care of business overall...effort wise was there 100% which was nice to see. We controlled the line of scrimmage pretty well. Did excellent converting on 3rd downs.

Obviously not a completely dominating performance...but that's right where we are going to be this year against a team like this if we are playing up to our potential. I'm not too down on the defense because that team has a pretty salty offense with some playmakers.

[TheRazorback500]

Good rushing defense. We held an NFL quality RB to 25 yards and their team to a net of 11.

Pass defense still needs work. Offense good, but I'd still run more.

I'll go B.

[idochog]

C

No fg kicker. That is gonna cost us at some point
Our offense shoulda scored 40+
The defense gave up way too many yds

[Josh Goforth]

C, offense was good but the defense still gave up too many passing yards and showed way to much respect for their receivers. If we have the better players maybe it's time to act and play like. Way too much room for their receivers to pick and choose where they wanted to go. They were running through our secondary with no resistance.

Ladies and gentleman our defense will never be dominate or at least have a chance to until we get rid of this soft coverage scheme and start playing at least 5yds off the receivers instead of 10.

What coverage do you suggest? Cover 1 man? Can't play with them on the outside, cover 2? Leave the middle of the field open? Press quarters? They don't seem to have the #2 corner to get that done right now without getting beat deep.

[ShadowHawg]

C

We are supposed to win.

Offensively we were more talented than their defense but they got big hits on our qb, a turnover, forced us to try and convert on 4th down several times, and took us 6 plays to score from their 4 yard line. Kelly got fewer reps today than against A&M.

Defensively we couldn't consistently get a rush and gave up big plays. Guys were wide open too often.

Special teams did get a big turnover. Still have yet to hit a field goal this season. Didn't even attempt one today. Why? Still trying the whole kick it short and to a corner stuff which resulted in one going out of bounds.

It seemed like the only separation between the teams was available talent. I am not so sure that some of that gap wasn't eaten up by the Aggies execution on the offensive side of the ball.A

[Hawgphat]

According to what my TV screen showed:

(1)  The OL still got little or no "push" against an overall relatively much lighter NMSU defensive line; unfortunately, true-to-form.

(2)  AA got repeatedly driven to the turf (again) by the "mighty" NMSU defense.

(3)  On a number of running plays, the Hogs RBS could not clear the line of scrimmage, and were tackled in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage by the "mighty" NMSU defense.

(4)  The Hogs publicly-stated intention to "run the ball" took a hit (again) in The Red Zone, where they ended up being forced to abandon the run in favor of the pass on more than one occasion against the "mighty" NMSU defense.

(5)  The NMSU QB repeatedly found wide open receivers to throw to; our secondary could not seem to contain the fleet, elusive NMSU receivers.  I'm sure they'll do much better against SEC competition.  (Wink, wink!)

C-.

[Ex-Trumpet]

Hate to say you didn't answer the question properly.

I was wearing my tux while typing...quite proper if I do say so myself!

[RedRazorHog]

C

We are supposed to win.

Offensively we were more talented than their defense but they got big hits on our qb, a turnover, forced us to try and convert on 4th down several times, and took us 6 plays to score from their 4 yard line. Kelly got fewer reps today than against A&M.

Defensively we couldn't consistently get a rush and gave up big plays. Guys were wide open too often.

Special teams did get a big turnover. Still have yet to hit a field goal this season. Didn't even attempt one today. Why? Still trying the whole kick it short and to a corner stuff which resulted in one going out of bounds.

It seemed like the only separation between the teams was available talent. I am not so sure that some of that gap wasn't eaten up by the Aggies execution on the offensive side of the ball.A

good post/reply -  your points are all valid.  I agree.  The hits on AA will knock him out of a game, and unless we get CK some snaps, we will be unprepared for that moment.  I keep wondering why we don't give Brian Wallace or Jalen Merrick some snaps to see if they can handle it.

[hogblitz]

C

We are supposed to win.

Offensively we were more talented than their defense but they got big hits on our qb, a turnover, forced us to try and convert on 4th down several times, and took us 6 plays to score from their 4 yard line. Kelly got fewer reps today than against A&M.

Defensively we couldn't consistently get a rush and gave up big plays. Guys were wide open too often.

Special teams did get a big turnover. Still have yet to hit a field goal this season. Didn't even attempt one today. Why? Still trying the whole kick it short and to a corner stuff which resulted in one going out of bounds.

It seemed like the only separation between the teams was available talent. I am not so sure that some of that gap wasn't eaten up by the Aggies execution on the offensive side of the ball.A

Pretty good assessment.

[code red]

Offense B-. Defense C-.

[Hoggish1]

I gave a B

[The_Iceman]

3 people said D+ or lower. Wonder if they watched Tennessee or LSU yesterday.

[hogcard1964]

A solid D. All the same problems were present, just an inferior opponent

I think the offense looked much improved.  But there's still a lot of problems with the 3-4.  And our secondary is a mess.

[GuvHog]

good post/reply -  your points are all valid.  I agree.  The hits on AA will knock him out of a game, and unless we get CK some snaps, we will be unprepared for that moment.  I keep wondering why we don't give Brian Wallace or Jalen Merrick some snaps to see if they can handle it.

Merrick played yesterday. They were subbing O-Linemen in and out frequently.

[NuttinItUp]

D for diploma.

[GuvHog]

Good rushing defense. We held an NFL quality RB to 25 yards and their team to a net of 11.

Pass defense still needs work. Offense good, but I'd still run more.

I'll go B.

That was the defensive game plan. NMS has both a very good running game and a very good passing game so the defensive game plan going in was to make New Mexico State's offense one-dimensional, putting pressure on the QB to win with his arm. They knew going in that they'd give up a lot of passing yardage but the Idea was to limit the Aggies points which they did. Even though the Aggies piled up a lot of yards, they only managed 3 TDs and a field Goal while the Hogs scored 6 TDs.

[Boardon Hamsay]

P for participation.

[jgphillips3]

C

All the same errors but against an outmatched team. 

[LZH]

C

There was a time not too long ago that we would have expected to win 63-7...and be pissed and complain if we didn't win by at least 35.

[rowdy1]

Only because of the offensive play...I'm still not sold on the o line play but they are getting better...
The d line....maybe a D+...NO PENETRATION of the line...NMS quarterback had way too much time to throw the ball

[1highhog]

I'll go with a D.  While AA did get aquainted with some new receivers the Oline once again was a major concern, allowing and outmatched opponent to actually do very well against us and giving Allen fits once again.  Also they were unable to get much push in the run game and even though our RB Corp had over 200 plus yds rushing it should have been far more as our running game got shutdown consistently in the 2nd half.  By the way, after seeing a few glimpses of the steamboat package yesterday perhaps this will shut down all the posts we were seeing of this new dual threat QB we had that could run and run and run.  Kelley is going to make a good QB I'm sure of it, but a dual threat he is not and I'm sure he would tell anyone that himself.

[elksnort]

I give the offense a B and I give the defense a D+

[elksnort]

C, offense was good but the defense still gave up too many passing yards and showed way to much respect for their receivers. If we have the better players maybe it's time to act and play like. Way too much room for their receivers to pick and choose where they wanted to go. They were running through our secondary with no resistance.

Ladies and gentleman our defense will never be dominate or at least have a chance to until we get rid of this soft coverage scheme and start playing at least 5yds off the receivers instead of 10.

Good POST.

[SemperFi]

B

The offense scores a B. The OL struggles continue, AA gave one away and once we're near the goal line the offense struggles big time.

C- for the defense. Stellar run defense, but the breakdowns in the secondary and the lack of a pass rush stood out to me.

Special Teams gets an A-. The kickoff coverage was solid and causing and recovering a fumble is a huge boost. Let's hope that they build from here and that Limpert can actually make a FG.

[longtimeHogfan]

C

No fg kicker. That is gonna cost us at some point
Our offense shoulda scored 40+
The defense gave up way too many yds

C on 'O'
C on 'D'

No fg kicker is gonna' haunt us at some point....

[Youngsta71701]

What coverage do you suggest? Cover 1 man? Can't play with them on the outside, cover 2? Leave the middle of the field open? Press quarters? They don't seem to have the #2 corner to get that done right now without getting beat deep.

Cover 1 or Cover 2 is fine with me as long as we don't give them 5 free yards at a time. Cover 2 zone doesn't leave the middle of the field open if played correctly. The MLB is supposed to drop into middle coverage.

[hoghiker]

I actually re watched the game on youtube yesterday and felt better after the second go through. I listened to it on the radio first time through. We did play better. Moved the pile some. Hit some good passes and ran with some attitude. Defense is pretty porous. We won.

[DeltaBoy]

Well here my 2 cents.   NMSU more than likely played over there heads Saturday.  Decades of scholarship limits by the NCAA had leveled up the field and teams like this one today can bite people.
WR played better
We ran the Rock better and the Oline showed some improvement.

[GuvHog]

I actually re watched the game on youtube yesterday and felt better after the second go through. I listened to it on the radio first time through. We did play better. Moved the pile some. Hit some good passes and ran with some attitude. Defense is pretty porous. We won.

If a person understands Defensive scheming, the defensive secondary didn't look that bad. New Mexico State had an NFL caliber QB and an NFL caliber RB along with a couple of good receivers. Rhoads knew that the Hogs wouldn't be able to stop both their running and their passing so he schemed the Hog defense to shut down NMS's NFL caliber RB (which they did) and force the QB to beat them with his arm. The hogs knew going in that they would give up a lot of passing yards but in doing so, they limited NMS to 3 TDs and a field goal while the Hog offense scored 6 TDs. Mission accomplished.

[LRHawg]

I figured with their RB we would make them pass, but I didn't expect their big receiver to have quite as big of a day as he did. Still, we won and showed improvement in QB/WR timing, which was desperately needed. It was embarrassing that their line play was equal and sometimes better than ours.

B- because I saw improvement in a few areas.

[GuvHog]

To me, the hope with a new Defensive coordinator is that we'd stop the bend but don't break crap, since our secondary is weak, and start sending some pass rushers. While I have seen this some, what we saw Saturday sure looked like more of the same. That was by design I suppose, and it worked because we scored more points than they did, but if we try that crap against USCe or Auburn they're going to light us up.

B- because I saw improvement in a few areas.

South Carolina's QB is not near as good as what we saw against NMS nor is their RB as good.

[Youngsta71701]

South Carolina's QB is not near as good as what we saw against NMS nor is their RB as good.

[GuvHog]

NMS has both an NFL caliber QB and an NFL caliber RB. Bentley and the SC running back are pretty good but they aren't NFL caliber.

[Bigmac2]

C, offense was good but the defense still gave up too many passing yards and showed way to much respect for their receivers. If we have the better players maybe it's time to act and play like. Way too much room for their receivers to pick and choose where they wanted to go. They were running through our secondary with no resistance.

Ladies and gentleman our defense will never be dominate or at least have a chance to until we get rid of this soft coverage scheme and start playing at least 5yds off the receivers instead of 10.

Have to agree. Was yelling from my seats to stop the 10 yard cushion. When we finally pressed their QB seemed a more rushed and not sure where to throw it to making bad throws. Watching other games throughout the day I didn't see many 10 yard cushions for the outside receiver. Our DBs should have out athletic their receivers.
Offense B- still can't control the line
Defense C- this rush 3 and bend don't break thing along with playing soft on the outside is confusing me. Are they doing the 10 yard cushion to help out on any jet sweeps to help contain the corners?
Special teams C still no field goal kicker and consistent kickoff. Coverage was better against weaker opponent.
Overall C+

[PigPusher]

C- for performance
D- for team enthusiasm. Yes what happened to the enthusiasm as that sideline is dead.