Title: Best Backfield in Arkansas History

[razorjack12]

Subtitle:  Why You Should Hate Houston Dale for Squandering So Much Talent Enroute to an 8-4 Season

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oTE31QcWMY

Arkansas vs #1 LSU 2007

Its unreal the talent we had on that team.  Its even more unreal that they lost 4 regular season games.

[Killean]

Mcfadden and Jones didn't play on defense.


The offensive talent wasn't wasted.  That team averaged more PPG than any Petrino offense.  The defense though was horrible.  It was a giant dropoff from the prior year.

[razorjack12]

Mcfadden and Jones didn't play on defense.


The offensive talent wasn't wasted.  That team averaged more PPG than any Petrino offense.  The defense though was horrible.  It was a giant dropoff from the prior year.

Yes, but they only scored 7 points against Auburn at home.   And 13 points against Tennessee on the road.  Inexcusable.

Blowing games against Kentucky and Alabama were absolutely inexcusable.

[latrops]

Mcfadden and Jones didn't play on defense.


The offensive talent wasn't wasted.  That team averaged more PPG than any Petrino offense.  The defense though was horrible.  It was a giant dropoff from the prior year.

The lack of balance was an issue, as was the slippage on defense.  That said, the point remains that a remarkable backfield was wasted in the sense that that's collection of talent should all but guarantee 10 plus wins with good coaching.  It was anything but wasted in terms of usage, however, which was part of the problem.  Ultimately, there is no good excuse for having a lousy defense and Qb 10 years in.

[Hoggish1]

Blowing games against Kentucky and Alabama were absolutely inexcusable.

Blowing games he should have one was a nutts trademark.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

Mcfadden and Jones didn't play on defense.


The offensive talent wasn't wasted.  That team averaged more PPG than any Petrino offense.  The defense though was horrible.  It was a giant dropoff from the prior year.

The offensive stats on that team were insanely inflated because of a horrible non sec schedule. 58 points vs Florida int, 63 vs north Texas, 46 vs Troy.
We laid down 7 on auburn, 13 on Tennessee, and only scored one offensive td vs Kentucky. Horrible year considering the talent.

[Mike Irwin]

In '07 Nutt was the play caller until after the Auburn game. He wasted Felix and Peyton. D-Mac was going off tackle way too much. By the middle of the season he was really banged up and missing practices. When Nutt realized he was about to end up with no options after the season was over he let Lee take over the play calling and Lee started spreading the talent around. I don't think of Lee as a great play caller but compared to Nutt he was awesome.

Nutt was the most predictable, one dimensional play caller I've ever seen.

I was on the photo deck for the Auburn game in 07. The game was a snore. Auburn ended up winning 9-7. The crowd was dead for large portions of the game. It was so quiet that for a couple of Arkansas possessions in the 2nd half I could hear some lady right below the photo deck clearly calling the plays before they happened. She ended up being right about 80% of the time. At first only her husband was laughing but later an entire second of fans was in stitches as she'd call out the play and that would be the play Nutt ran. It was hilarious and depressing at the same time.

[BigoBoys]

Let's get a couple of things straight.

1. Nutt's best game was the running game.
2.  This has been discussed many times.   

[Mike Irwin]

Let's get a couple of things straight.

1. Nutt's best game was the running game using false rumors to make himself look like a victim.
2.  This has been discussed many times.

[Locutus_of_Boar]

The lack of balance was an issue, as was the slippage on defense.

Dale was on Sirius XM's College Sports Network this very morning still defending his practice of not worrying about balancing his recruiting classes.

The best moment of the morning though was when some Tennessee fan asked him when he was returning to coach in the SEC again and he was just muttering under his breath the answer..

[tophawg19]

nutt run a lot of games on hog fans .

[Big Poppa Z]

Mcfadden and Jones didn't play on defense.


The offensive talent wasn't wasted.  That team averaged more PPG than any Petrino offense.  The defense though was horrible.  It was a giant dropoff from the prior year.

Definitely some validity here but ultimate responsibility still resides at the top.

[BigoBoys]

The running game was pretty good under Nutt.  That is all

[Mike Irwin]

The running game was pretty good under Nutt.  That is all

How good was it in '05 when Nutt ran the same D-Mac off tackle right play 4 straight times inside the South Carolina 30 with the game on the line? Arkansas was stopped on 4th and 1 and the ball went over. Arkansas never got that close to the goal line again.

If Casey Dick had faked to D-Mac and bootlegged on that play he could have walked into the endzone. The Gamecocks entire defense was cheating to the right side because they knew what play was coming.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when Matt Jones was calling his own plays in the huddle from 01 through 04.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when Gus Malzahn was calling plays in the 2nd through 7th games of the '06 season.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when David Lee was calling plays the last three games of the 07 season.

[Iwastherein1969]

How good was it in '05 when Nutt ran the same D-Mac off tackle right play 4 straight times inside the South Carolina 30 with the game on the line? Arkansas was stopped on 4th and 1 and the ball went over. Arkansas never got that close to the goal line again.

If Casey Dick had faked to D-Mac and bootlegged on that play he could have walked into the endzone. The Gamecocks entire defense was cheating to the right side because they knew what play was coming.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when Matt Jones was calling his own plays in the huddle from 01 through 04.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when Gus Malzahn was calling plays in the 2nd through 7th games of the '06 season.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when David Lee was calling plays the last three games of the 07 season.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

[Big Poppa Z]

I remember it like it was yesterday.

When we had a darned fine running game for approximately ten years?

Me, too.

[BigoBoys]

How good was it in '05 when Nutt ran the same D-Mac off tackle right play 4 straight times inside the South Carolina 30 with the game on the line? Arkansas was stopped on 4th and 1 and the ball went over. Arkansas never got that close to the goal line again.

If Casey Dick had faked to D-Mac and bootlegged on that play he could have walked into the endzone. The Gamecocks entire defense was cheating to the right side because they knew what play was coming.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when Matt Jones was calling his own plays in the huddle from 01 through 04.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when Gus Malzahn was calling plays in the 2nd through 7th games of the '06 season.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when David Lee was calling plays the last three games of the 07 season.

Nutt was a Dork!  Wait someone said that already. I don't remember any of those plays, but  I remember a bunch of plays that I wished Nutt had called something different.  For me the one I remember the most was the pass play that Stoerner fumbled at Tennessee.   

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

How good was it in '05 when Nutt ran the same D-Mac off tackle right play 4 straight times inside the South Carolina 30 with the game on the line? Arkansas was stopped on 4th and 1 and the ball went over. Arkansas never got that close to the goal line again.

If Casey Dick had faked to D-Mac and bootlegged on that play he could have walked into the endzone. The Gamecocks entire defense was cheating to the right side because they knew what play was coming.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when Matt Jones was calling his own plays in the huddle from 01 through 04.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when Gus Malzahn was calling plays in the 2nd through 7th games of the '06 season.

Nutt had a pretty good running game when David Lee was calling plays the last three games of the 07 season.

That Carolina game in 05 was such an embarrassment. He should have been fired on the spot.
That year we were ahead 24-13 against Vanderbilt at home in the 4th and found a way to lose.

[LZH]

The running game was pretty good under Nutt.  That is all

The military was pretty good under George W. Bush, too.  That is all.

[Jek Tono Porkins]

The 2007 Auburn game was unquestionably the worst game I have ever attended. Between the complete lack of offensive production and the plowed fans around me informing me that if I didn't stand up and yell (in the nosebleed section) the team was going to lose the game, I wanted to turn around and jump off the railing.

Nutt did have a knack for squandering talent. The most frustrating thing was that he could go into an incredibly hostile environment against a top-ranked team and pull a convincing win out of some unknown orifice. The next week, he would totally blow a game at home against an unranked team. It was incredible how he could do that season after season.

[ThisTeetsTaken]

The 2007 Auburn game was unquestionably the worst game I have ever attended. Between the complete lack of offensive production and the plowed fans around me informing me that if I didn't stand up and yell (in the nosebleed section) the team was going to lose the game, I wanted to turn around and jump off the railing.

Nutt did have a knack for squandering talent. The most frustrating thing was that he could go into an incredibly hostile environment against a top-ranked team and pull a convincing win out of some unknown orifice. The next week, he would totally blow a game at home against an unranked team. It was incredible how he could do that season after season.

It's because some Saturdays the team would buy the used car he sold them in the locker room and some Saturday's they wouldn't.  It was all smoke and mirrors with Nutt and I'm not talking play calling obviously. 

[Tick Hog]

Dale says talk to him when you have a coach that goes to Atlanta twice until then shut up!!

[Mike Irwin]

Dale says talk to him when you have a coach that goes to Atlanta twice until then shut up!!

Bobby says to talk to him when another Arkansas coach gets to a BCS game (impossible now).

Two can play that game.

Nutt went to Atlanta in 02 and got run out of the Georgia dome. Went back in 06 and would have won the game if he'd stayed away from the Wildcat in the first half.

Nutt had the two most talented teams I've seen at Arkansas. The 03 team ended up in the Independence Bowl.

The 06 team played in the Capitol One Bowl.

Both had national championship potential.

[Tick Hog]

Bobby says to talk to him when another Arkansas coach gets to a BCS game (impossible now).

Two can play that game.

Nutt went to Atlanta in 02 and got run out of the Georgia dome. Went back in 06 and would have won the game if he'd stayed away from the Wildcat in the first half.

Nutt had the two most talented teams I've seen at Arkansas. The 03 team ended up in the Independence Bowl.

The 06 team played in the Capitol One Bowl.

Both had national championship potential.

Did Bobby beat Saban?

[Tick Hog]

 Too many people around here only look at one side of the story with Nutt. All those talented teams who recruited them. O yea the talent was from Arkansas. Well the last couple of coaches can't even sign the best rated players from this state. Do I think Nutt was a great coach? Nope but he's not near as bad as folks round here make him.

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

Mcfadden and Jones didn't play on defense.


The offensive talent wasn't wasted.  That team averaged more PPG than any Petrino offense.  The defense though was horrible.  It was a giant dropoff from the prior year.

Crazy talk.  Nutt was an incompetent jerk.  HE cost McFadden the Heisman and us an NC.

Defense?  Really?  Please.

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

More Nuttzis?  Unbelievable.  Read my sig line.

THAT is the TRUTH.

[Tick Hog]

Crazy talk.  Nutt was an incompetent jerk.  HE cost McFadden the Heisman and us an NC.

Defense?  Really?  Please.

And how did he cost DMac the Heisman he let him do everything but punt?

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

Too many people around here only look at one side of the story with Nutt. All those talented teams who recruited them. O yea the talent was from Arkansas. Well the last couple of coaches can't even sign the best rated players from this state. Do I think Nutt was a great coach? Nope but he's not near as bad as folks round here make him.

What part of the FOI's, cell phone records, first-hand accounts, e-mails and OTHER FACTS that are IRREFUTABLE do you not believe???  Enlighten us all, please..

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

And how did he cost DMac the Heisman he let him do everything but punt?

That's EXACTLY how..

[Tick Hog]

What part of the FOI's, cell phone records, first-hand accounts, e-mails and OTHER FACTS that are IRREFUTABLE do you not believe???  Enlighten us all, please..

Records about what exactly? All I did back then was watch the games. Honestly I'm going on just Wins and losses on Nutt. As far as what he did or why he was fired I honestly have no idea besides the fact he wasn't winning enough

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

Records about what exactly? All I did back then was watch the games. Honestly I'm going on just Wins and losses on Nutt. As far as what he did or why he was fired I honestly have no idea besides the fact he wasn't winning enough

Then read my sig line.  You need to educate yourself.  He squandered our best talent and an NC run and it's all part of the record.  He didn't "overstay" or wasn't just "incompetent".  He ran our best players and coaches off, and ruined McFadden's college career, as well as our BCS run.  It's all there.
I'm amazed at how many Hog fans are unaware or refuse to believe this when the facts are there.

[chitwnhog]

Records about what exactly? All I did back then was watch the games. Honestly I'm going on just Wins and losses on Nutt. As far as what he did or why he was fired I honestly have no idea besides the fact he wasn't winning enough

Ignorance thy name is Tick Hog...geeze if you have no idea of what went on then keep your ill informed opinions to yourself.

[Mike Irwin]

And how did he cost DMac the Heisman he let him do everything but punt?

Misused the hell out of him the first half of the '07 season.

The Florida International game in Little Rock cost D-Mac the Heisman. He had only 66 yards in 19 carries against a below average mid major. Nutt ran him off tackle repeatedly. FAU's Mike LB'er was standing D-Mac up while the others took shots at him from the side. He was so beat up he could not practice the next week.

Go look up the South Carolina game from 07 when David Lee started calling the plays. D-Mac ran for 326 yards. He piled up over 700 yards in his last four regular season games with Lee running the offense. Around 175 yards per game. That's 2100 yards in 12 games. If D-Mac had done that instead of the 1,830 he finished with he would have won the Heisman.

[Tick Hog]

Ignorance thy name is Tick Hog...geeze if you have no idea of what went on then keep your ill informed opinions to yourself.

See that's where you're wrong. I'm seeing from a fan that is looking from a win/loss/getting to Atlanta twice/beating Saban point of view. Do I think Nutt is a great football coach No. Has he forgotten more about coaching a football team than 99 % of people on this board absolutely yes.

[Boared Stiff]

Houston? You came home? Your food is still outside, next to the dog's.

[Steef]

Nick Saban.'s first few years at Bama were like Bobby' first two here. Like Bret's. Like any coach who has to rebuild.

Nick lost almost half his games his first season. He wasn't "unbeatable" then.

And Nutt had DMac/Felix/Peyton. And SHOULD have won back-2-back Crystals with that team. A collection of talent that mostly fell into his lap.

Also, the SEC west wasn't nearly as powerful then as it is now. Both Miss schools were doormats. No TAMU. So Car (our yearly eastern opponent)...had Lou instead of Steve.

Really, the only formidable opponent we faced was LSU.

As far as "worst ever".... a case could be made that Crowe was worse...from a purely technical POV. we'll never know. But when we consider the damage done by a decade of Nutt, followed by five years of Bobby, we were/are a wounded program/fanbase. Nerves are raw.

And memories can sometimes be selective.

Nutt is the only coach I have ever seen in college ball, to DELIBERATELY lose a game, because he was pissed (Tennessee). The only coach whose spouse lamented she had missed a chance to bludgeon a players mother with a 2x4. And mean it.The only coach to tell his boss, fans and PLAYERS..." I need a two year pass cause we're about  his start losing big time". And then do it. At a point in the program when it should have already been rebuilt, no less.

He won at Ole Miss, too. For the first two years, with Orgeron's leavings. Until he couldn't hide any more, how he was destroying them too.

His won/loss record with us, does not tell the story by itself. Its not apples/apples with today's conference.

He was a mediocre coach. I will reserve my opinion about him as a person. His actions can speak to that.

[chitwnhog]

See that's where you're wrong. I'm seeing from a fan that is looking from a win/loss/getting to Atlanta twice/beating Saban point of view. Do I think Nutt is a great football coach No. Has he forgotten more about coaching a football team than 99 % of people on this board absolutely yes.

Without a doubt he knows more about football than 99% of the people on this board and yes he accomplished what you mention. There is much more being discussed in this thread than won/loss and when you defend the Dork in any way shape or fashion here people will react negatively.

[hoglady]

All you have to do is try to imagine what Malzahn (with free reign) or Petrino could have done with that backfield. Arkansas would have probably had a NC and DMac would have a Heisman.
Nutt is, was and will always be a bad football coach. He's a great motivator but his pride seems to not allow him to do what is in the best interest of his team. I can't stand the guy.

[GuvHog]

The offensive stats on that team were insanely inflated because of a horrible non sec schedule. 58 points vs Florida int, 63 vs north Texas, 46 vs Troy.
We laid down 7 on auburn, 13 on Tennessee, and only scored one offensive td vs Kentucky. Horrible year considering the talent.

All because of a serious lack of receivers. the only good one the Hogs had they lost to injury. One has to wonder what 2007 would have been like if the Warren 3 and Joe Adams had arrived on campus a year earlier.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

All because of a serious lack of receivers. the only good one the Hogs had they lost to injury. One has to wonder what 2007 would have been like if the Warren 3 and Joe Adams had arrived on campus a year earlier.

Anyone who has read my posts knows that I am neither a "Gus Lover" or a "Gus Hater", but I do appreciate his work ethic and ability as a football coach. 2007 might have been a bigger and better season for the Hogs had Nutty Boy not turned play calling over to David Lee in the 2006 S. Carolina game and had been secure enough with himself to just allow Gus to run the offense for 2006.

Had he done that and not engaged in all of his Jr. High/Posse/MSM antics, had he just shown respect for Gus as he would have any other college Coach, Gus would probably have still been here for the 2007 season, along with a few transfers that left after the debacle of 2006, and we would have been very successful in 2007. With McFadden, Jones and Hillis in the backfield and an average or better defense, we would have won a lot more than 8 games.

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

I remember it like it was yesterday.

The Petrino scab get's picked off too often, but why in the world we take a scalpel and repeatedly cut open the HDN scar is beyond me...   

[hoggusamoungus]

The Petrino scab get's picked off too often, but why in the world we take a scalpel and repeatedly cut open the HDN scar is beyond me...   

+1.  Its been seven years, guess they gotta scratch that itch.

[chitwnhog]

The Petrino scab get's picked off too often, but why in the world we take a scalpel and repeatedly cut open the HDN scar is beyond me...   

We all have PTSD from the Nutt years.

[razorjack12]

The Petrino scab get's picked off too often, but why in the world we take a scalpel and repeatedly cut open the HDN scar is beyond me...   

A program like Arkansas must take advantage of its opportunities.

The SEC West was down that year, and we had the best backfield in school history.  We dropped 3 games that should have been gimmes.   No excuse for that.

[razorjack12]

We all have PTSD from the Nutt years.

I dont blame Nutt as much as I blame the media - local and national - who covered for Nutt and/or lambasted the Arkansas fan base.

The media was proved wrong when Nutt flamed out at Ole Miss.

The media was also proved wrong as evidenced by the lack of institutions lined up to hire Nutt.

[chitwnhog]

  I dont blame Nutt as much as I blame the media - local and national - who covered for Nutt and/or lambasted the Arkansas fan base.

The media was proved wrong when Nutt flamed out at Ole Miss.

The media was also proved wrong as evidenced by the lack of institutions lined up to hire Nutt.

Some in the media positioned themselves squarely behind Nutt and were exposed when he was gone. The biggest problem is that because of politics and money the main characters in this drama got off scott free.

[razorjack12]

This is Houstons' career in a Nuttshell:

He loses to a 7-6 Vanderbilt at home.

Then turns around the next week and beats #1 and eventual National Champion Florida Gators in The Swamp.

The following week he loses to a 7-6 South Carolina team at home.

He's up. He's down.  He's in.  He's out.

He wins enough to keep hope alive.  Then snatches defeat out of the jaws of victory.  No consistency.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

This is Houstons' career in a Nuttshell:

He loses to a 7-6 Vanderbilt at home.

Then turns around the next week and beats #1 and eventual National Champion Florida Gators in The Swamp.

The following week he loses to a 7-6 South Carolina team at home.

He's up. He's down.  He's in.  He's out.

He wins enough to keep hope alive.  Then snatches defeat out of the jaws of victory.  No consistency.

Was never more apparent than in 02 and 03. Win at auburn then lose to Kentucky at home. Win at Texas then at Alabama then lose to auburn and Florida at home.

[Sueie]

The military was pretty good under George W. Bush, too.  That is all.

They were BETTER under Ronald Reagan.