Some random thoughts from Sunshine after watching the Tennessee game.
The Good
- The bandwagon keeps on rolling. I thought we could win, but not dominate the Vols in that manner…very impressive. With four teams ranked ahead of us in the BCS losing, it appears the Hogs are poised to vault into the top 6 or 7.
Jamal Anderson was tremendous and “un-blockable” at times in posting three sacks, giving him 10 on the season. I don’t remember seeing anyone garner a sack by “shoving” the QB to the ground…but I have now.- Kevin Woods, making his start for injured FS Michael Grant was very good, gathering an interception and racking up seven total tackles. Unfortunately, his last tackle left him with a concussion which will be evaluated throughout this week.
- It’s about time that Darren McFadden is getting a little love from the national media. His performance on Saturday (181 yards rushing, and 3 total TDs) led ESPN color commentator Ed Cunningham to say he was switching his Heisman vote from Ohio State QB Troy Smith to McFadden. I’m sure Ed is not alone…especially after Darren’s last two weeks on ESPN (400 rushing yards).
The Bad
- I hope Warren, Ark. head coach Bo Hembree enjoyed his visit to Fayetteville, sitting in the Tennessee section of course, to watch his former player Bret Smith get booed off the field after making a few late, meaningless catches Saturday night. Folks around these parts don’t forget.
Why our stars (McFadden, Felix Jones, Sam Olajubutu) were still in the game during the waning minutes is baffling. The lead was 31-7, and it was time for Michael Smith and others to get some good mop-up duty. Can someone please explain this to me? And don’t come back with “Well, we’re trying to impress the voters and make a statement.” What would the “statement” have been if McFadden had torn a knee up when he carried the ball with less than three minutes left in the game? He’s the meal ticket…get his ass on the sideline!
The Ugly
- Watching Tennessee try and defend McFadden’s “Quarterback Power” package was ugly to say the least…especially in the second quarter. A timeout by the Vols didn’t help them figure it out either, as DMac tossed his TD pass the very next play. This set is obviously giving opposing defensive coordinators fits, and yet again shows the innovation that Coach Malzahn brings to the table.
I agree… Butt wooping to the nth degree… but what were they doing in the game? Oh well… I don't know what we're doing to keep the football gods on our side, but whatever it is let's keep doing it.
Just read on the espn siie we are ranked 6th usatoday poll
Sweetness!!!! Let's see how we handle respect now because we're starting to get it. Come on boys, just take care of business this weekend.
Here are 10KHog's picks from this weekend.
<a title="10KHog's Tennessee Pictures" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/86535440@N00/sets/72157594372177990/" rel="nofollow"> <a href="http://;http://www.flickr.com/photos/86535440@N00/sets/72157594372177990/” target=”_blank”>;http://www.flickr.com/photos/86535440@N00/sets/72157594372177990/
No, it was beautiful to watch Tennessee having trouble defending. Let's face it Sunshine, on this day there was no ugly!
FIFTH IN THE AP!!!! And who nailed the prediction this week? None other than BELAIRHAWG!!!!
All in all, an exciting game with lots of visibility… all adds to the "The Good".
However, you need to add to "The Ugly" list:
Lack of production in the second half.
Keep in mind that style points could have helped us gain ground on the polls. Yes, we had lots of help this week and we very well could hold our own destiny now. Watching Texas get upset was a huge break for our cause.
Obviously, the order is:
No 1 vs. No 2 – one loses next wee
We have to win out (which takes care of Florida)
USC has to lose (either California or UCLA)
Unfortunately, we didn't show up offensively over the last two games (USC and Tennesse). By not going so, we probably would have lost valuable "style" points. While the variety of upsets this week probably helped more… I don't want to think about what could have been if both Arkansas and USC win out. I realize that many wouldn't not have put us in front of USC since they beat us. However, I also realize that you have a much better chance if you lose early rather than late. Some folks also acknowledge that we gave up 31 points to USC on turnovers which was a HUGE factor in the outcome.
We are definitely a better team now vs. our first game. How much better is USC now vs that first game?
We got all the style points we needed by going 90 yrds to start the second half. We completely dominated the game and everyone knows it. We could have piled some more on I believe but why do it. We do not need bullentin board material for next year in Knoxville. Style points don't mean anything. We just need those teams in front of us to lose.
I was disappointed that Mustain and others did not play the last quarter.
I was interested to read your "Ugly". I couldn't think of anything ugly except the guy they show at BWA dancing with his shirt off. I saw him Saturday night up close. That was ugly.
I disagree with your ugly assessment. It was a thing of beauty to me. Of course you can get a few thousand Vol fans to go along with you.