Some random thoughts from Sunshine after the Mississippi State game.
The Good
- 2006 SEC Western Division Champions…that has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season. Terry Wood said it best in his Sunday column: “Hog fans should be happy the Razorbacks have taken them along for this ride.”
Let’s start with Chris Houston, who gathered the first two interceptions of his career. Houston saved our bacon all day, and set a school record for most interception return yards in a game (129) in the process. Maybe critics like 10KHog will get off his back for a while. 
- On a day where we needed some other playmakers to step up, Damian Williams made arguably his best catch as a Razorback; a 29 yard TD reception right before the half. The catch on the fade route gave the Hogs some momentum going into halftime.
- Stephen Parker showed a lot of guts in playing on that injured knee Saturday. Parker begged to get into the game after the running game came to a screeching halt in the first half (22 yards). The Hogs fared a little better in the second half, rushing for 106 yards.
The Bad
- Still no hot water in the visiting locker room showers in Davis Wade Stadium. Boy, there’s a shocker! Quite the facility they have down there in Starkville.
Matt Hewitt’s knee injury, which left him in street clothes on the sideline, is very bad news for this defense. Hewitt, the junior linebacker converted from safety, has been an important cog in the Razorback D since taking over for injured LB Freddie Fairchild early in the season.- The Cal Bears did us no favor, as they could not pull off the upset against USC Saturday night. It looks like now that the USC-Notre Dame winner will get a chance to play for the National Championship if it is not a Michigan-Ohio State rematch.
The Ugly
- There was a lot of ugly about this win, as the Razorbacks showed to be mentally and physically weary at times. However, Matterral Richardson and his penalties stand out…they really killed us at critical points in the game. His four flags were the only four penalties committed by the Hogs all day. One negated a third Chris Houston interception; all four resulted in Mississippi State first downs. But like Reggie Herring said, “When you don’t play your best and you still win, it’s not all that bad.”
The Good
We won!!!
Chris Houston's first interception! – needed this one
Did I say we won?
The Bad
Kicking game
Casey Dick's passing
Lack of playing Mitch and others
The Ugly
Pretty much all of the rest
Chris Houston's second interception! – fumble
Once again, too little offensive production in the second half
Lost standing in the AP polls (5 voters downgraded us this week from last week poll) – Lost a BIG opportunity here
Michigan STILL #2
I'm still a bit torqued out of shape over the Ohio St – Michigan game. When there is over 900 yards in offense in a football game, you cannot ever convince me that the game was well-played…as these commentators across the nation kept spewing through my television.
There was absolutely very little defense played in this game. A number 1 or number 2 team in the nation is not going to give up that many yards in a game and hold on to their lofty rankings…unless the teams happens to be the darlings of the media. OH, WAIT A MINUTE…Ohio State and Michigan ARE darlings of the media. As Lou Holtz says over and over…defenses win championships. In my view…no defense = no championship.
Another irritant pertains to the lack of conference championship game in the Big-10 and Pac-10. In my view, the conferences should lose their abilities to play for the BCS if they don't have a conference championship game…or, if nothing else, get docked x number of BCS points if no conference championship game is played.
I don't know if Arkansas will beat LSU and Florida or not, the odds are stacked against them…but, then again, the odds were against Arkansas going 10-1 at this point in the season anyway. But, I'm fearful that even if we win out, the penalties for losing to USC as bad as we did will be too severe to overcome to allow us to play in the National Championship game.
Well…I'm still riding the hog…Woo Pig!
#77 the left tackle for Miss. State needs to be signed up for the WWE. I watched him several times (especially on one play throwing out of their endzone) Robinson was in position to blow by him for a sack and he would drag him to the ground by his collar. The hold in the endzone should have been a safety for us. The no-calls in that situation hurt us all day. This goes to prove that you don't get the calls on the road.