How does your confidence level for Saturday's game vs Alabama

[GoHogs1091]

In 2010 when we played Alabama, they had 9 defensive starters that didn't have much playing experience.  This season, they have defensive starters with a lot of playing experience, but they are having issues with inconsistent play from their Linebackers and their Cornerbacks.

What is really surprising is the play of their current LBs.  With the way they have recruited at the LB position, you would figure that position would be the last area they would have below optimal play. 

[dynastyhog]

My confidence level for Saturday = 0%. 2010 = 75%.

2010 had an NFL level QB, a TE better than any we have right now, the best group of WRs we've ever had, and a RB that would be a Pro Bowler if he wasn't backing up a Pro Bowler in KC. That was a very good team. The current one is not. We also had a better coach then, but that's lost on some here.

True about the QB.
Debatable about the TE.
True about WR's.
Running game is currently better.
O line is currently better.
D line is currently better.
Defense as a whole is currently better.
Staff as a whole is better by leaps and bounds.

Confidence level is not good for Saturday but it will be better in BB'S 3rd year as it also wasn't high in BP's 2nd either.

[redeye]

1% for next Saturday as there's always the chance that the entire Bama team will devolve into a group of empty A&W Cream Soda cans that don't play football well.

52-0 again, I suppose.

Wanna bet?  Winner leaves the board for a year?

Is your confidence as brash as your mouth?

[proffitthog]

Hog's win 38 - 24. I will also add we beat Georgia 42 - 21

[code red]

2010- 65%
2014-45%

[razorbackchamps94]

I think we have a better chance than in years past. We have a much better defense. Our offensive line is stout. With focus on 4th quarter play on both offense and defense we will be prepared for this game. Alabama seems like their offense is not scoreing like years past. The winner will be the team with the least mistakes and who wants it the most. Alabama may have lost to Ole Miss but we are  starving for an sec win and 2 years of shut out by Bama. Don't count this teams desire out. I for one do have confidence in our hogs. We now have a coach that depends on both sides of the ball and not just offense. The main thing we have to worry about is penalties. We will be called more than Bama, look at the face mask and touch down. I will say, Go Hogs, Beat Alabama!
[/quote Our D hasn't improvement much .. We're allowing 400 plus yards on D

[razorbackchamps94]

Hog's win 38 - 24. I will also add we beat Georgia 42 - 21

Not happening

[dynastyhog]

Not happening

What other things can you predict?  I have some questions Mcfly.

[razorbackchamps94]

True about the QB.
Debatable about the TE.
True about WR's.
Running game is currently better.
O line is currently better.
D line is currently better.
Defense as a whole is currently better.
Staff as a whole is better by leaps and bounds.

Confidence level is not good for Saturday but it will be better in BB'S 3rd year as it also wasn't high in BP's 2nd either.

How can you say the D is better ? They are allowing 400 plus yards a game , that's not improvement ... Mcfly

[dynastyhog]

How can you say the D is better ? They are allowing 400 plus yards a game , that's not improvement ... Mcfly

We have played two of the best offenses in the sec.  Defense will be improved "stat wise" by seasons end.  Any other brain busters?

[Dropkick]

My confidence level for Saturday = 0%. 2010 = 75%.

2010 had an NFL level QB, a TE better than any we have right now, the best group of WRs we've ever had, and a RB that would be a Pro Bowler if he wasn't backing up a Pro Bowler in KC. That was a very good team. The current one is not. We also had a better coach then, but that's lost on some here.

Just think if Bielema never beats Bama as our HC he will beat them as many times as Bobby did. Wow? And Bobby had all those great players you named.

[ronmahony]

I feel like I am not going to be disappointed, we may lose this game but I feel like Bama is going to know they have been in a game. I would love to win and feel like we have a chance. I just hope we don't do anything crazy like passing 6 or 7 times in a row like we did to end the half.

[Breems]

Wanna bet?  Winner leaves the board for a year?

Is your confidence as brash as your mouth?

No. Those bets are stupid. If we beat Bama, I'll be here celebrating.

[MSMHawg]

Since you brought this up... Let me just remind you that, that "better Coach" never beat Bama once in his tenure here at Arkansas.  Even Houston Dale beat Bama.

Also, "Good coaches" don't inflict epic meltdowns upon their programs, via scandals... whether they result in said Coach's firing or not.

People can be brilliant offensive minds, but turn out to be horrible Coaches.

Also, I noticed in your post you didn't (couldn't) include one positive remark/stat about the defensive side of the ball under that "better Coach's" tenure.  That says a lot about that "better Coach".

We lost to three top five teams in two years. Two national champs, no one else beat Bama those two years either. 2-16. Soon to be 2-17 since Long fired Bobby. The coaching abilities are not even comparable

[Dropkick]

We lost to three top five teams in two years. Two national champs, no one else beat Bama those two years either. 2-16. Soon to be 2-17 since Long fired Bobby. The coaching abilities are not even comparable

Where you been man? We couldn't find you over on your money making thread for several days after you lost a few in a row.

[MSMHawg]

Where you been man? We couldn't find you over on your money making thread for several days after you lost a few in a row.

You must not be talking about this past weekend.

[Dropkick]

You must not be talking about this past weekend.

According to your post you would have won one bet after losing how many in a row?

[greasy_corner]

70% (chance we'll win)   :razorback:

[redeye]

No. Those bets are stupid. If we beat Bama, I'll be here celebrating.

Yea, I agree that they're stupid, but then I'm not the one pretending we're as bad as last year.  That's the only reason I'm willing to bet this time, because I know you're spitting out more then you can chew.  So, I'm not at all surprised to hear you're not interested.

We lost to three top five teams in two years. Two national champs, no one else beat Bama those two years either. 2-16. Soon to be 2-17 since Long fired Bobby. The coaching abilities are not even comparable

If you mean offensive coordinator abilities, then I might agree, but Bielema isn't too shabby, either.

I feel like I am not going to be disappointed, we may lose this game but I feel like Bama is going to know they have been in a game. I would love to win and feel like we have a chance. I just hope we don't do anything crazy like passing 6 or 7 times in a row like we did to end the half.

Same here and I hope we stomp them up and down the field.

As Arkansas fans, I think we fear Alabama more then we should.  They've obviously had the best 5-year span of any team in the nation, but even though we also had some great years in there, we also fared worse against Bama then most teams during that span.  Blame Petrino, blame JLS and blame Bielema, if you must, but the fact is that we haven't fared as well against them as we should have.  Auburn, LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and now, Ole Miss have all beaten them, while Georgia and Tennessee have come close.  We should have lost most of those games, but not by such huge margins.

It's time to change that.

[bigpigonthehill]

My confidence level is much higher than the last couple of years. I feel we can keep up with Bama until the fourth quarter. We still have to prove we can finish big games in the fourth quarter.

I don't think they can keep us off the score board. We can keep up with them because of the offense. However, we cannot (cannot turnover the ball) in this game if we want to win. Their defense is too good.

The one area we must attack is their quarterback and offensive play. If they have a weakness, it may be at quarterback which can cause problems for their offense. However, they do have some good receivers. We can shut down their run, I think, but we must put pressure on the quarterback and force errant throws. This can keep us in the game for a while. What I worry about is our defense getting worn down in the fourth quarter and not having the depth to combat Bama. We know Bama's defense has three deep depth. This may be where Bama wins the game in my opinion.

My prediction is 35 to 28 in favor of Bama but I hope my prediction is wrong. I hope like everything we win but I know defense will determine the game.

[Piggfoot]

When we came into the SEC I gave us a 30 % chance against Bama. Considering everything now. I'm raising my expectation to 45%. Go hogs.
I think we are still a year away but we are improving rapidly. Still weak in the secondary,LB's and WR. I fear Cooper kills us across the middle.

[MJ2]

Not a good situation for the Hogs.   Saban will take out his frustration on us.   It will be a statement game for the Tide.

[MSMHawg]

According to your post you would have won one bet after losing how many in a row?

up two grand for the year, hardly losing.

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

We also had a better coach

He laughed his freaking head off..!

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

We lost to three top five teams in two years. Two national champs, no one else beat Bama those two years either. 2-16. Soon to be 2-17 since Long fired Bobby. The coaching abilities are not even comparable

Long didn't fire Bobby... Bobby went off and got himself fired...

[Kevin]

confidence level has not changed.

bama by 14 or more.

we have no answer for cooper.

i want to be wrong.

[bphi11ips]

Don't think it will be close, but you guys are starting to convince me we have a "puncher's chance". 

[Dropkick]

up two grand for the year, hardly losing.

interesting math...............................

[eusebius]

Hog's win 38 - 24. I will also add we beat Georgia 42 - 21

Are you also predicting Alabama to lose 4 regular season games? In addition to OM who has already beat them, are you predicting them to lose to Ark, MSU and Aub? Do you think Alabama is going to lose back to back games? They are not out of National Title hunt. Ranked 7th they have a great shot to get back in it as they have MSU and Aub left.     

[proffitthog]

I am just predicting what the Hog's will do. The Iron bowl is a crap shoot. I think they beat MSU.

[The Great Hogsby]

compare with your confidence level of Arkansas vs Alabama in 2010 - Mallet's last year? We went into that game thinking that we were as good if not better. How do we compare now?

I went into that Mallett game thinking we could win, maybe 50/50. This year, I see no chance. Maybe if they were still undefeated I would feel differently but I just don't see Saban losing the Ole Miss and Arkansas back-to-back.

The run has been stopped in the second half of each of our two losses and I believe Bama will do the same.

[The Great Hogsby]

Are you also predicting Alabama to lose 4 regular season games? In addition to OM who has already beat them, are you predicting them to lose to Ark, MSU and Aub? Do you think Alabama is going to lose back to back games? They are not out of National Title hunt. Ranked 7th they have a great shot to get back in it as they have MSU and Aub left.   

With that young quarterback, I see them getting better and better as the year goes on. I don't see another loss on their schedule.

[superior_wang]

i just dont see bama losing two in a row

[southarkhog06]

im confident because at this point we are playing with house money, we need to be a bowl team this year to keep the rebuild on schedule anything above that is gravy. the only reason not to be confident is if you have an agenda for us to either fall apart or beat the world so you can gloat on here about your fav/most hated coach/asst coach.

[The Great Hogsby]

im confident because at this point we are playing with house money, we need to be a bowl team this year to keep the rebuild on schedule anything above that is gravy. the only reason not to be confident is if you have an agenda for us to either fall apart or beat the world so you can gloat on here about your fav/most hated coach/asst coach.

You can be confident about the future, or us making a bowl game, without having confidence that we will beat Alabama. Seeing things for what they are doesn't make you a bad fan, it makes you realistic.

If we beat Alabama I'll be happy and probably pretty surprised. I expect them to beat us because they are the better football team, not because we are going in the wrong direction.

[010HogFan]

I'm not afraid of Alabama at all. They looked very pedestrian against Ole Miss. They have some areas in the secondary that we can exploit if we can establish a running game. Our passing game isn't as bad as everyone around here wants to make it out to be. We actually slung it around pretty good against A&M. If I'm Alabama, I'm pretty nervous about going up against the best running combo in the nation. They are as good as ever on the d-line, but they haven't played anyone with a rushing attack like ours yet. If our D-line can generate pressure on Sims, he WILL throw up a pass or two that we will have a chance to intercept. He's not McElroy or McCarron, and Cooper can't beat us by himself.

...and it's tough to win on the road. Just ask our basketball team. Coming off the bye week, I think we will be ready, and I think we will have a very good chance to win.

[PennHOG]

I wonder if this counts for anything.  Tthis will be the 3'd year that Brandon Allen will be facing Alabama.

1.  He's healthy
2.  He's more accurate
3.  He's making better decisions
4.  He's studied Alabama's Defense for 3 years
5.  He's studied his mistakes against Alabama for 2 years

I have to wonder if we may see an emergence of a Brandon Allen that wants to erase the last two years of failure.  Stranger things have happened.

It's still going to be very tough to keep the Tide under 35-40 points.  We are just not there defensively to stop all that talent.  Offensively, if Brandon Allen can keep the chains moving on 3 down we can possibly keep pace with them.  Also, special teams could provide us a lift.

However, I'm just simply hoping for something better than 52-0.

[three hog night]

I'm not afraid of Alabama at all. They looked very pedestrian against Ole Miss. They have some areas in the secondary that we can exploit if we can establish a running game. Our passing game isn't as bad as everyone around here wants to make it out to be. We actually slung it around pretty good against A&M. If I'm Alabama, I'm pretty nervous about going up against the best running combo in the nation. They are as good as ever on the d-line, but they haven't played anyone with a rushing attack like ours yet. If our D-line can generate pressure on Sims, he WILL throw up a pass or two that we will have a chance to intercept. He's not McElroy or McCarron, and Cooper can't beat us by himself.

...and it's tough to win on the road. Just ask our basketball team. Coming off the bye week, I think we will be ready, and I think we will have a very good chance to win.

Our safeties have to play over their heads for us to be competitive.  Cooper and OJ Howard will stress our safety decision making.  The Bama Oline is good but not as good as in the past, so our def front should be competitive.  Sims has a good arm but before Ole Miss he had played teams with defense issues.  Our LB's are going to earn their scholarships in this game, because Yeldon and Henry will make them pay for taking the wrong gaps or keys.

[eusebius]

I'm not afraid of Alabama at all. They looked very pedestrian against Ole Miss. They have some areas in the secondary that we can exploit if we can establish a running game. Our passing game isn't as bad as everyone around here wants to make it out to be. We actually slung it around pretty good against A&M. If I'm Alabama, I'm pretty nervous about going up against the best running combo in the nation. They are as good as ever on the d-line, but they haven't played anyone with a rushing attack like ours yet. If our D-line can generate pressure on Sims, he WILL throw up a pass or two that we will have a chance to intercept. He's not McElroy or McCarron, and Cooper can't beat us by himself.


...and it's tough to win on the road. Just ask our basketball team. Coming off the bye week, I think we will be ready, and I think we will have a very good chance to win.

The reason they looked pedestrian vs Ole Miss is that Ole Miss is good. They match up well with Alabama with the ability to put pressure on the QB and tackle in space. Ark can put pressure on the QB, but we can't cover in space and have not tackled well in space. If you watched the OM game, Bama would throw short passes to Cooper and OM would make the open field tackle. Cooper had his lowest output of the season on Sat, 9 catches for 90 yds. It's the only game that he has been under a 100 yds all season. Cooper is the key.     

[three hog night]

The reason they looked pedestrian vs Ole Miss is that Ole Miss is good. They match up well with Alabama with the ability to put pressure on the QB and tackle in space. Ark can put pressure on the QB, but we can't cover in space and have not tackled well in space. If you watched the OM game, Bama would throw short passes to Cooper and OM would make the open field tackle. Cooper had his lowest output of the season on Sat, 9 catches for 90 yds. It's the only game that he has been under a 100 yds all season. Cooper is the key.     

Ole Miss is talented at every level of their defense so they have a complete defense that is rare.   Bama couldn't get Cooper freed up with coverage that kept him in front.   Bama looked great against UF but that is a terrible UF team.    Bama has not played any offense like us this year, but we have played multiple teams with that quality of player and scheme.   They have quick def tackles that we need to run straight into so we negate their lateral quickness.  We learned a lot from the AU and A&M games in this regard and changes we should be prepared for.

[010HogFan]

Agreed on all counts. I, for one, wasn't particularly impressed with Henry. That's the first time I've watched him play this year, but he just looked big and slow to the hole. Think Broderick Green. I'm used to our guys hitting the hole super quick, I guess, but it seemed like he's gotten significantly slower since their bowl game last year. Yeldon is better.

[MSMHawg]

He laughed his freaking head off..!

Because that is what lunatics do

[MSMHawg]

interesting math...............................

LV 4-2 to spread Ark 3-1 so for me that is 5-5. Auburn is 4-1. That is 9-6 so in those games +900

[Dropkick]

LV 4-2 to spread Ark 3-1 so for me that is 5-5. Auburn is 4-1. That is 9-6 so in those games +900

Your topic stated betting on LV and against Hogs all year. You never stated you were betting Auburn every game. You also disappeared from that thread after your losing hat trick weekend but magically re-appeared after this weekend. Have fun with your charade, it is entertaining.

[MSMHawg]

Your topic stated betting on LV and against Hogs all year. You never stated you were betting Auburn every game. You also disappeared from that thread after your losing hat trick weekend but magically re-appeared after this weekend. Have fun with your charade, it is entertaining.

Disappeared,? This board is not that important to me as it is to you evidently. It is not how I identify myself.

[BOAR_N2BWILD]

confidence level has not changed.

bama by 14 or more.

we have no answer for cooper.

i want to be wrong.

While a kind of agree with you, I see that the answer to Cooper is to keep cooper on the side lines. We have done a pretty good job of keeping the ball out of our opponents hands thus far.

[MSMHawg]

Your topic stated betting on LV and against Hogs all year. You never stated you were betting Auburn every game. You also disappeared from that thread after your losing hat trick weekend but magically re-appeared after this weekend. Have fun with your charade, it is entertaining.

Spread right now is Bama 9.5, how about you and I bet 10 grand, I will give you 10.5 and take Bama. Show us all you are a big fan and defender of the Hogs.

[Dropkick]

Spread right now is Bama 9.5, how about you and I bet 10 grand, I will give you 10.5 and take Bama. Show us all you are a big fan and defender of the Hogs.

Thanks for the PM, I will forward to the mods. I wouldn't trust you with a 10 cent bet even if you are a keyboard millionaire. You wouldn't even come back to the thread you started till you won a game.  But as I said you are entertaining.

By the way, I don't bet with my heart and wouldn't touch either side of that line.

[southarkhog06]

You can be confident about the future, or us making a bowl game, without having confidence that we will beat Alabama. Seeing things for what they are doesn't make you a bad fan, it makes you realistic.

If we beat Alabama I'll be happy and probably pretty surprised. I expect them to beat us because they are the better football team, not because we are going in the wrong direction.

60% Bama 40% Us all things considered

[Dropkick]

Thanks for the PM, I will forward to the mods. I wouldn't trust you with a 10 cent bet even if you are a keyboard millionaire. You wouldn't even come back to the thread you started till you won a game.  But as I said you are entertaining.

By the way, I don't bet with my heart and wouldn't touch either side of that line.

Changed my mind about forwarding PM, wouldn't want to lose your comedic value here, lol.