Robert Shields - Nutt Era won't survive Kentucky loss as Football Program Flounders

[Robert Shields]

Nutt Era Won't Survive Kentucky Loss as Football Program Flounders

Robert Shields

Houston Nutt will not survive this loss to Kentucky unless the Razorbacks go on another winning streak that includes Tennessee at Knoxville and LSU at Baton Rouge. That is the only way he returns as coach next season after what may have been his jump-the-shark game. Frank Broyles, with his last good firing already out of the way, will leave the duty to the new athletic director, who has no understanding of the nuances of Razorback football, and Chancellor John White. The politics of the firing will be entertaining and great for several columns with the result being an executive search firm recommending Alabama offensive coordinator and former Texas Longhorn, which ironically may be just what the doctor ordered to re-establish a recruiting stronghold in Texas, now absent since the fans ran off Ken Hatfield and Broyles moved UA athletics to the grand SEC.

The loss against Kentucky was highly predictable, despite what the Vegas odds makers tried to tell us. Trends occur for a reason, and often past history is our best indicator of future events. History does repeat itself. Incredibly, Nutt lost his second SEC game after losing his first SEC game for the 10th season in a row. I have to give credit where it is due. Scott Faldon, sports editor of the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, picked up on this trend, and reported it four years ago. Nutt is a very emotional coach and his team responds as he does. There was no way his team was going to be ready for another test after the dramatic Alabama loss the previous week. Nutt's teams have tended to ride up and down with their coach's emotions.

Strikingly, Hog Fan had to be hurt when he found out his Program now has a losing record in football to Kentucky. Let me restate that for clarity, not basketball but football. Shockingly and matter of fact, Nutt only has winning records over four SEC schools. Nutt has mastered winning records over Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and South Carolina. He also has a winning record against the Auburn Tigers, probably his most impressive series record although most of those wins came earlier in Nutt's Arkansas career. Amazingly, Nutt is dead even with Vanderbilt (1-1). And in fairness, he is also dead even with Alabama. He has losing series records to everyone else. Stunningly, in those records he has chalked up home losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky twice at Fayetteville. There's no place like home, but I will get to that later.

Astonishingly, post-Kentucky Nutt has a winning percentage at Arkansas of only 59.6 percent in his 10th year as the Razorbacks coach. His overall coaching record is slightly better at 60.5 percent. Actually, his overall record would be 59.9 percent had he not gotten the forfeit from a Cal State-Northridge loss while at Boise State. (Remember, he came to Arkansas as the 4-7 coach from Boise.) Horrifyingly, a percentage such as this nets you a 7-5 overall record most years.

Soberingly, Nutt is only 51.4 percent (38-36) in SEC games, and that makes him slightly better than a coin toss. In future conference results based on history, expect the Hogs to go 4-4 in conference play most years under Nutt. His best year statistically was his first year, winning 75 percent of the games. Last year was good being 10-4, but that is still just 71 percent. Terrifying, his latest trend is also not very good as Nutt has lost five out of his last six games and his last four SEC games in a row.

Nutt has amassed the best backfield in Arkansas history with Peyton Hillis, Darren McFadden, and Felix Jones. McFadden is a once-in-a-lifetime back and the best since Herschel Walker, maybe better. When a school gets a back the caliber of Herschel Walker or an Earl Campbell, many of them win a national championship or a Heisman Trophy or both. As coach of these guys, Nutt is probably never going to win you anything.

The Hogs created almost 400 yards of offense in the first half and got one touchdown out of it. Kentucky inserted its fourth-string tailback and scored three touchdowns in the last 11 minutes of the fourth quarter. Felix Jones ripped off a long run that ended up inside the Kentucky 10-yard line in the first half. Hog Fan, though, had to know in his gut when Felix did not make it to the goal line the Hogs would squander the next three plays and not get a touchdown, which is what happened. That scenario has played out over and over again in Nutt's tenure as the Hogs coach, unable to finish and get pay dirt after the hard work earned by a back. Tosses, sweeps, and pitches are not in the play book to help these backs just a little with some inventiveness in the powerful running attack. Instead, the Wildcat is set up as the go-to offense in dire situations making McFadden play 10-on-11 against the defense.

Statistically, Hog Fan, how could you have expected anything any differently from Nutt in Fayetteville when history was pointing for the last 10 years to a loss in the Kentucky game? And don't even get me started on that lousy home-field advantage in the temple to Razorback football they convinced some foundation to build.

All this is to say I predict a Jermain Taylor knockout of Kelly Pavlik in the eighth round. Why is this important? Because many Razorback fans will be at home watching the fight instead of making that long, fruitless drive all the way to northwest Arkansas.


Send your favorite replacement for Nutt to fromthebench@yahoo.com

[Albert Einswine]

Once again, Shields, you bring out the idiotic GSD.   It's over, you lost, piss off.

[DeltaBoy]

GREAT POST !

[cmakrzrbak]

What does Nutt repeatedly crapping the bed have to do with the GSD?  Can anyone logically put together a connection?  Nutt sucks no matter what the home field is.  It has nothing to do with NWA v. LR.  Get off it already.  The Dale holds no boundaries in being an obismal coach.  He spreads his incompetence far and wide.

[taintlint]

The day we take Major Applewhite over Gus Malzahn will be the day BEFORE you can read about my suicide in the Obituaries.

[go hogues]

Are you not the same "reporter" who said this:

12-0? Annual Preseason Prediction Says So

Robert Shields

If the Hootens can put out their magazine in June these days (available in the red racks at Wal-Mart and other fine stores), I guess it's not too early for my annual preseason game predictions, so I will just hop right into it. For whatever it is worth, my early predictions before two-a-days often turn up to be more accurate than my predictions during two-a-days. If you remember last year, I called 11 wins, closer than anyone else in the state making a prediction. So let it roll...

Sept. 1, Troy at Fayetteville
The season starts in Fayetteville against Troy when it could be starting in Little Rock every year against Arkansas State or even wackier UCA. The Hogs will jump on this team early. Darren McFadden will be pulled in the third quarter and will not gain 100 yards as Nutt will not want to get him hurt no matter what a Heisman Trophy might be worth. Felix Jones goes over 100 yards. The Wildcat formation is seen very little. Casey Dick puts in a lot of work including a couple of option plays installed by David Lee. Hogs 45-0.

Sept. 15, Alabama at Tuscaloosa
This is a key game to say the least. If the Hogs win, they will go on a long winning streak and be very exciting to watch. If the Hogs lose this game, look for a very average season. The game is on the road. McFadden will put on impressive stats and be the leader in the early Heisman watch. This is not the year for Saban as the Tide is still reeling from probation. London Crawford beats Bama deep for the difference in the game. Hogs 27-21.

Sept. 22, Kentucky at Fayetteville
The last time Kentucky came calling to Fayetteville, some guy name Boner or was it Bonner lit up the Hogs in an ugly loss. Since Arkansas entered the SEC, oddly this series is 2-2 with the Hogs winning at Little Rock and in a seven-overtime game in Lexington. No overtime this time. Kentucky keeps it close at the half, and McFadden is bottled up most the game. But out of the Wildcat formation, McFadden goes the distance. Kentucky turns the ball over on the next series and the Hogs win 28-24. Add a touchdown and a field goal to the Hogs' score had this game been played to a frenzied crowd in the Rock.

Sept. 29, North Texas at Fayetteville
Everyone all week says the Hogs better get ready because this team could be an upset in the making in Fayetteville. But North Texas is not Texas in Fayetteville and the beating starts to rain down on the visitors by the second quarter. Felix Jones has a kickoff return and ends up with more than 200 all purpose yards. McFadden is pulled out early in the second half and fails to make 100 yards. Chuck Barrett goes into baseball mode in the fourth quarter of this blowout and the complaints start on the message boards. Hogs 52-3.

Oct. 6, Tennessee-Chattanooga at Little Rock
It's the first Homecoming game of the year as the Hogs return to their other home in Little Rock. Who knew UT-Chat had a football team? The tailgating is great as always, but a massive wreck happens on Markham to block traffic hours before the game. Nutt takes the team buses through the cart paths on the War Memorial Golf Course, parks the buses, and walks the team through the adoring crowd. Team plays one of most fired-up games of the decade, and McFadden ends up with over 200 yards. Hogs win 48-10.

Oct. 13, Auburn at Fayetteville
This is the game that determines if the season is going to be like 2003 playing Auburn in Fayetteville when the Hogs had reached No. 7 in the polls but lost to the Tigers 10-3 thanks to the worst officiating in SEC history. The Hogs have slipped up into the top 15 at this point. Auburn says it's not looking ahead to the LSU game and wants revenge on the Hogs for putting one of its two losses on them last year. Not the case, Auburn is clearly distracted. The Hogs show a passing game and the Wildcat formation to boot. Auburn's defense cannot find a solution for McFadden. The game, though, remains tight. On the Hogs last drive, they get inside the Auburn 35 with three seconds remaining with the game tied. Alex Tejada arrives on the field and without batting an eye hits the game winner. Hogs 31-28.

Oct. 20, Ole Miss at Oxford
The Rebels still have the same coach so you get the same result. McFadden gains 120 yards and is still leading the Heisman watch after the impressive Auburn game. Peyton Hillis has best game so far catching two passes out of the backfield for touchdowns. Even on the Internet, criticism of Nutt has gone strangely silent as the fans are enjoying yet another fun season. Hogs are sloppy but win 38-24.

Oct. 27, Florida International at Fayetteville
Fayetteville's Homecoming. Peyton Hillis wins the Cripp Hall Award. This game is boring from the get go. Nutt comes with a very conservative game plan. Fans get angry at the lack of inventiveness. The student section, not full to begin with, empties out in the third quarter thanks to too much to drink prior to the game and a hotter than normal October that makes many students want to get out of their dress clothes they wore especially for Homecoming. DPS busts a record 55 students for drinking in the bathrooms. Michael Smith goes over 100 yards. Hogs win 35-7.

Nov. 3, South Carolina at Fayetteville
The Hogs have climbed into the Top 10 and fans are getting anxious waiting for the typical Nutt letdown of three losses in a row late in the season. The game is in Fayetteville, also notorious for late-season losing save for last year's big win over Tennessee (luckily last season Tennessee had to play without its quarterback and had its running back suspended). Steve Spurrier also does not have a suspended quarterback this time as he did last season. The first real cold front of the season pushes down on Fayetteville on Friday night. The rain of the week soaks the field and makes it a slow surface. Many are worried McFadden may be slowed by it. The winds blow hard and the temps drop into the high 30s. Alex Tejada misses two field goals in wretched conditions. It turns into a defensive struggle. Nutt embarks on a policy of bludgeoning the Gamecocks on the ground. Jones and McFadden combine for over 350 yards on the ground but fail to get in the end zone much. Score late in the game finds the Hogs trailing 16-14. Tejada gets called on as the Hogs enter the Gamecock 40. Nutt takes a rare chance on the field goal risking giving up field position. The wind is at Tejada's back and kicks it good for a 17-16 win. Defense holds out Gamecocks the rest of the way.

Nov. 10, Tennessee at Knoxville
This game determines if the season is going to look like the 1998 season, and there are eerily similar findings. Both teams are undefeated and both are in the Top 10. The game is in Knoxville just as the 1998 game. The Stoernover is shown on ESPN several times in the week leading up to the game. Hogs open the game throwing a lot and even open up a big lead early. Tennessee abandons its running game and goes to no huddle to catch up. By the fourth quarter, the Volunteers have pulled within a touchdown. The Hogs need to run out the clock. On two previous plays, the Wildcat fails to get the first down. On third down out of the straight I formation on a draw play, McFadden carries the Tennessee defense across the first-down marker. On replay, it is evident Peyton Hillis saved the play as he blocks blitzing linebacker from hitting McFadden in backfield. Hogs win 41-35.

Nov. 17, Mississippi State at Little Rock
Bulldogs have the same coach so it's the same result. Hogs are sluggish after big win. McFadden gets overworked for third week and Jones has to help carry the load. Wildcat formation is seen a lot. Casey Dick has career day only missing on two pass attempts. No fan has thought about Springdale in months. Hogs win in Little Rock 32-14.

Nov. 23, LSU at Baton Rouge
It's in Baton Rouge. So the odds are against the Hogs not having won in some time in Red Stick, but almost every time it has been close. This game is no different. The Hogs are close late. Tejada has already kicked four field goals but the Hogs trail 14-12. Hogs are trying to set up for a fifth field goal, but Jones breaks a long one off tackle and goes the distance. Hogs win 19-14. Lee Corso says on GameDay that Hogs are his pick for national champion.

Dec. 1, SEC Championship Game at Atlanta
Rematch with Tennessee. I will let you write the ending and what happens after that in the BCS bowl game.



Send your predictions to fromthebench@yahoo.com

Way to flip-flop bozo.

[Hugulus Hog]

He is right in that there is no home field advantage at RRS.  It will probably take a new coach to prove how correct that is.

If Shields in on the anti-hdn bandwagon, then the hdn era is probably coming to a close.

[rzrbckfan426]

Looks like another hugger has jumped on the wagon.  Welcome to the good side, now piss off

[jackwalker]

with the result being an executive search firm recommending Alabama offensive coordinator and former Texas Longhorn,Major Applewhite

This has to be the DUMBEST thing I've ever read in my entire life.

You've got to be either 9 years old. Or it's a joke, one.


The day we take a 25 year old ex-longhorn with ZERO head coaching experience, over the 40 year old razorback Malzahn, with head coaching/ college asst. head coaching experience, is the day the earth explodes.

[stevenwayneslane]

The day we take Major Applewhite over Gus Malzahn will be the day BEFORE you can read about my suicide in the Obituaries.

I second that brother.

[The Marmot]

STAY IN LR SHIELDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No one here wants you.

[FBPLAYER65]

Applewhite has a hell of a future. Brilliant offensive mind.

[jackwalker]

Applewhite has a hell of a future. Brilliant offensive mind.

It'll be 5 years before he gets a HC job. He's good.  Way ahead of his time.

But he's too dang young.

[Flatfoot]

Great Post Robert.  Wish more people would tell it like it is in the media instead of sugar coating the truth.  Wish the powers on the hill would finally see the light.

[parrishw]

This the same guy that was telling us that we were wrong about Nutt for the last..........................ever so how many long disjointed diatribes he has posted on Hogville.

So does he think we won't remember his previous post and run history?

If you respond he won't read your response I guess because he has the sam e size ego as HDN. As in only his opinion matters

[WoooPigSooie]

Ranks of the Insane Should Turn Focus off Nutt


If you are a Razorback football fan, Houston Nutt will now be your coach as long as he wants to be it. He has survived back-to-back losing seasons and this enormous attack from a small group of fans obsessed with his every move. He also has an annuity coming up, so he is going nowhere even if Florida State comes calling when Bobby Bowden retires.


Nutt already has 20 commitments for the next signing class. His recruiting class that was signed in the middle of all the tumultuous uproar that many lamented was bad is starting to look like a class that may have some contributors.

The season starts soon and you have before you one of the most talented Razorback teams in a very long time. You have Darren McFadden to watch for one more season. You have an easy schedule that should deliver a very good record. It is now time to depart from the ranks of the insane and join the majority getting ready to enjoy this once-in-a-blue-moon season.

So does this mean you insane now too?

[anthonytkr]

Ranks of the Insane Should Turn Focus off Nutt


If you are a Razorback football fan, Houston Nutt will now be your coach as long as he wants to be it. He has survived back-to-back losing seasons and this enormous attack from a small group of fans obsessed with his every move. He also has an annuity coming up, so he is going nowhere even if Florida State comes calling when Bobby Bowden retires.


Nutt already has 20 commitments for the next signing class. His recruiting class that was signed in the middle of all the tumultuous uproar that many lamented was bad is starting to look like a class that may have some contributors.

The season starts soon and you have before you one of the most talented Razorback teams in a very long time. You have Darren McFadden to watch for one more season. You have an easy schedule that should deliver a very good record. It is now time to depart from the ranks of the insane and join the majority getting ready to enjoy this once-in-a-blue-moon season.

So does this mean you insane now too?




pwned

[TorsinAHog]

Rather take the Bama OC and fmr texas longhorn rather than that rinky dinky HUNH offense.  Sorry but that is my opinion

[Flatfoot]

I would take Gus right now in a hearbeat and this is why.

Everywhere he has gone has produced a winning program even if it was in high school. 

With his offense he will absolutely be able to go in a offensive recruits house and say, "We are going to put up big numbers on the offensive side of the ball.  How would you like to come and be part of the success."  Tell me what young man would not like to hear that when your at their home. 

[orvillesghost]

Hiring a Longhorn?....arrgh........

[HamShank]

Glad to see Shields is finally pissed enough to join the darkside.  I hope this is the tipping point for others in the Arkansas media.  (I do wish he had said something about actually being "wrong" for a long while now rather than jumping the Nuttship Lollipoop and hoping nobody would notice.)

[HognotinMemphis]

I don't think a 9 game win streak will save Nutt's neck this time. Besides, we all know that is literally impossible for Nutt to accomplish.

I was shocked that Vegas had the Hogs favored by 7. They usually pick up on things like Nutt losing his next SEC game after losing his first. 9 years of doing that is a pretty strong trend...one not usually ignored by people who set the lines. In the face of that, I still picked KY to win 45-35. It ended up being a little worse than that though...KY won by 13.

[OneLardAlmighty]

Most of this is usual Shields blather, the fans running off Hatfield, GSD, blah, blah, blah. 

However, let there be credit where credit is due.  This line is gold: 

"Soberingly, Nutt is only 51.4 percent (38-36) in SEC games, and that makes him slightly better than a coin toss."

I'd rather have a coin toss for a coach than a Nutt toss.

[Silver Hog]

About time you saw the light Robert!

[intoxhog]

piss off shields!!!!!!!!! it too late now to change your tune!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[moonswine]

Hiring a Longhorn?....arrgh........

Texas did pretty well in the 60's and 70's with an Oklahoma Sooner as their Head Coach.

[FAABrad]

You never miss an opportunity to bash NWA.

[Robert Shields]

Two years ago in 2005, I wrote a column that Nutt "must" be fired.  I was the only one in the Arkansas media at that time calling for his head for is coaching.  I never joined the crowd that wanted him fired for the Mitch Mustain drama.

[Silver Hog]

I never joined the crowd that wanted him fired for the Mitch Mustain drama.

Well you should have!

[LSUFan]

Somebody needs to ban this poor alzheimer patient from computer time at the home.

[Hugulus Hog]

Rather take the Bama OC and fmr texas longhorn rather than that rinky dinky HUNH offense.  Sorry but that is my opinion

Preach on my Brother.

Applewhite is the real deal.  Applewhite is FAR more responsible for the good things that happened at Rice last year than graham.  Saban wouldn't make him OC if he wasn't ready for it.  Applewhite has the pedigree and the track record of success.  I'd hire him in a second.

[Albert Einswine]

Two years ago in 2005, I wrote a column that Nutt "must" be fired.  I was the only one in the Arkansas media at that time calling for his head for is coaching.  I never joined the crowd that wanted him fired for the Mitch Mustain drama.

So you got back on his bandwagon for what?  His coaching?  It never changed.

[IMAballHawg]

For some reason I thought we were back to 38 -38 against SEC competition?

[W_KY_Hog]

You should try to write a column without mentioning the little rock-fayetteville thing.

Otherwise, the best thing said was about the Hogs having the best set of backs in history and HDN is screwing it up.

[Silver Hog]

For some reason I thought we were back to 38 -38 against SEC competition?

You are correct, 50% winner, 50% loser.  The perfect definition of mediocre.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Nutt Era Won’t Survive Kentucky Loss as Football Program Flounders

Robert Shields

Houston Nutt will not survive this loss to Kentucky unless the Razorbacks go on another winning streak that includes Tennessee at Knoxville and LSU at Baton Rouge. That is the only way he returns as coach next season after what may have been his jump-the-shark game. Frank Broyles, with his last good firing already out of the way, will leave the duty to the new athletic director, who has no understanding of the nuances of Razorback football, and Chancellor John White. The politics of the firing will be entertaining and great for several columns with the result being an executive search firm recommending Alabama offensive coordinator and former Texas Longhorn, which ironically may be just what the doctor ordered to re-establish a recruiting stronghold in Texas, now absent since the fans ran off Ken Hatfield and Broyles moved UA athletics to the grand SEC.

The loss against Kentucky was highly predictable, despite what the Vegas odds makers tried to tell us. Trends occur for a reason, and often past history is our best indicator of future events. History does repeat itself. Incredibly, Nutt lost his second SEC game after losing his first SEC game for the 10th season in a row. I have to give credit where it is due. Scott Faldon, sports editor of the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, picked up on this trend, and reported it four years ago. Nutt is a very emotional coach and his team responds as he does. There was no way his team was going to be ready for another test after the dramatic Alabama loss the previous week. Nutt's teams have tended to ride up and down with their coach’s emotions.

Strikingly, Hog Fan had to be hurt when he found out his Program now has a losing record in football to Kentucky. Let me restate that for clarity, not basketball but football. Shockingly and matter of fact, Nutt only has winning records over four SEC schools. Nutt has mastered winning records over Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and South Carolina. He also has a winning record against the Auburn Tigers, probably his most impressive series record although most of those wins came earlier in Nutt's Arkansas career. Amazingly, Nutt is dead even with Vanderbilt (1-1). And in fairness, he is also dead even with Alabama. He has losing series records to everyone else. Stunningly, in those records he has chalked up home losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky twice at Fayetteville. There’s no place like home, but I will get to that later.

Astonishingly, post-Kentucky Nutt has a winning percentage at Arkansas of only 59.6 percent in his 10th year as the Razorbacks coach. His overall coaching record is slightly better at 60.5 percent. Actually, his overall record would be 59.9 percent had he not gotten the forfeit from a Cal State-Northridge loss while at Boise State. (Remember, he came to Arkansas as the 4-7 coach from Boise.) Horrifyingly, a percentage such as this nets you a 7-5 overall record most years.

Soberingly, Nutt is only 51.4 percent (38-36) in SEC games, and that makes him slightly better than a coin toss. In future conference results based on history, expect the Hogs to go 4-4 in conference play most years under Nutt. His best year statistically was his first year, winning 75 percent of the games. Last year was good being 10-4, but that is still just 71 percent. Terrifying, his latest trend is also not very good as Nutt has lost five out of his last six games and his last four SEC games in a row.

Nutt has amassed the best backfield in Arkansas history with Peyton Hillis, Darren McFadden, and Felix Jones. McFadden is a once-in-a-lifetime back and the best since Herschel Walker, maybe better. When a school gets a back the caliber of Herschel Walker or an Earl Campbell, many of them win a national championship or a Heisman Trophy or both. As coach of these guys, Nutt is probably never going to win you anything.

The Hogs created almost 400 yards of offense in the first half and got one touchdown out of it. Kentucky inserted its fourth-string tailback and scored three touchdowns in the last 11 minutes of the fourth quarter. Felix Jones ripped off a long run that ended up inside the Kentucky 10-yard line in the first half. Hog Fan, though, had to know in his gut when Felix did not make it to the goal line the Hogs would squander the next three plays and not get a touchdown, which is what happened. That scenario has played out over and over again in Nutt’s tenure as the Hogs coach, unable to finish and get pay dirt after the hard work earned by a back. Tosses, sweeps, and pitches are not in the play book to help these backs just a little with some inventiveness in the powerful running attack. Instead, the Wildcat is set up as the go-to offense in dire situations making McFadden play 10-on-11 against the defense.

Statistically, Hog Fan, how could you have expected anything any differently from Nutt in Fayetteville when history was pointing for the last 10 years to a loss in the Kentucky game? And don’t even get me started on that lousy home-field advantage in the temple to Razorback football they convinced some foundation to build.

All this is to say I predict a Jermain Taylor knockout of Kelly Pavlik in the eighth round. Why is this important? Because many Razorback fans will be at home watching the fight instead of making that long, fruitless drive all the way to northwest Arkansas.


Send your favorite replacement for Nutt to fromthebench@yahoo.com

You are the same guy who was saying how great the season was going to be prior to the first game. No guts, no glory. You sir, are nothing more than a "wannabee". In fact, I believe it was you who said Arkansas would beat Kentucky. What you know about football could be contained in a nano second.

[MsNuttsandBolts]

Sheilds, you write pretty well, but you are like a dishonest preacher. All you want to do is "tickle our ears." You dont really speak the truth. Its just your "today" version of the truth.

[Big_D]

Rather take the Bama OC and fmr texas longhorn rather than that rinky dinky HUNH offense.  Sorry but that is my opinion

Preach on my Brother.

Applewhite is the real deal.  Applewhite is FAR more responsible for the good things that happened at Rice last year than graham.  Saban wouldn't make him OC if he wasn't ready for it.  Applewhite has the pedigree and the track record of success.  I'd hire him in a second.

Well since we are so stupid over here as to have Keith (ghetto language, Sooner licking balls) Jackson as our color man. And now you want Major Applewhite as our Head Coach. While you are at it ,,let's just see if old Darrell Royal will come out of retirement to be our AD.

We never cease to amaze me , do you think Oklahoma would EVER hire a player who left the state of Oklahoma to play at Arkansas and then wanted to crawl back and be their color guy on broadcast.

Unfricking believable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Since 1894]

Shields = Just another Darksider "slap" trying to confuse the issue with facts.