Welcome back to Earth, Hog fans. After Georgia served up a heaping dose of reality, there is no rest for the weary, as the Razorbacks travel to Tuscaloosa to face the #3 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.
The Tide, coached by Nick Saban (3rd year, 22-8), are brimming with confidence…and they should be. Returning ten starters from a defense that ranked as one of the best in the country last year will do that for you. Led by junior linebacker Rolando McClain, the Tide ‘D’ is talking it up this week.
“They’re a good offense, and they score a lot of points,” McClain said of Arkansas. “But they haven’t played us.”
Their formula for success is simple: establish physical play on both sides of the ball. Run the ball, stop the run. When you have “planetary-sized” senior nose tackle Terrence Cody (6-5, 365) on your side, that helps too.
The offense is led by junior quarterback Greg McElroy, who has been very efficient (46-69-1, 647 pass yards, 4 TDs) and has protected the ball thus far. The running game has been a ‘committee approach’ led by Mark Ingram (297 YPG, 3TDs) and true freshman Trent Richardson, who is averaging a whopping 7.4 yards per carry.
And yes, to answer the question, Javier Arenas (20.5 yards/punt return in ’09) is still there…playing corner and returning kicks. Seems like he should have graduated by now, doesn’t it? Also, our good buddy Leigh Tiffin, whose 2006 meltdown in Fayetteville helped the Hogs escape 24-23 in overtime, is now in his senior year as the Tide kicker. LT has missed 2 PATs already this year.
This one’s going to be an uphill battle. But it might be a good time to get out on the road, band together as a team, and take an “us against the world” approach. If you’re headed down for the game, be sure to hit Dreamland at least once…it might be the highlight of the trip.
Stop at Rendezvous in Memphis for ribs because Dreamland probably has the most overrated ribs in the South. They're about as tough as beating Alabama is going to be.
AD Jeff Long would agree with you on Rendezvous!
http://twitter.com/jefflongUA/status/4304186929
X2 on Dreamland. I heard so much hype over that place before I went, but once there I thought a big joke had been played on me. The place was a total dump, the bread served with the ribs is literally a loaf of white bread straight from the grocery store (still in packaging). Maybe some people call that "atmosphere" – I call it BS. I now laugh at people when they say that Dreamland has the best ribs, because that tells me how little they know about ribs.
If you are in Tuscaloosa, the best ribs there are Archibald's in Northport.
Dreamland has nothing compared to putting some South in my Mouth from Memphis, but Archibald's gets close.
Nope, not much to hang your hat on here.
Their O-line is a bit undersized compared to last year; that might give our D-line a chance, or not. They are not going to be overlooking the conference opener or looking ahead to Kentucky. You know, in the locker room, they are telling themselves this is another blowout.
We missed our chance to steal a win. Our season begins in Oxford. These next few games are about getting into form and becoming a team.
Each game is it's own dynamic. Washington beat USC; it could happen.
Arkansas boasts the second-best offense in the Football Bowl Subdivision, averaging 538.0 yards. Alabama is going down!!
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Try Big Bad Wolves BBQ in Tuscaloosa. It'll be set up on the patio of the Houndstooth bar on The Strip by the stadium (it's not an actual place, just a tent like you would see at a carnival or festival.) Get the BBQ Nachos, you won't be sorry. What's not to love about barbecued pork, sauce, chips, nacho cheese and jalapenos all mixed together? I thought it sounded nasty the first time I heard about it, but it is really good. I think Dreamland took a serious dip in quality after the founder passed away and they started franchising. They really used to be epic, but not such much anymore.
Yes, it definitely is just one game and they will improve. My west coast team upset a much more talented football team from LA. Carroll is perhaps the best recruiter in college ball but he is a horrible motivator or bad play caller. With his talent, he should never lose a game but he regularly does. When properly motivated, his team can beat anybody, especially in the Pac 10.
Depth for most colleges, except the west coast Trojans, Alabamas, Floridas, Georgias, LSUs, is a big issue with the low amount of scholarships that NCAA allows. With schools such as Arkansas, Carolina, Ole Miss, etc. a loss of a key player can be a huge challenge to overcome, such as may be the case in the Hogs' secondary.
I would not bet on Hogs beating Alabama but I certainly would not say they cannot win there because they have done so previously even with a freshman QB (Lunney) , albeit Saban was not the coach. An example of what can be done was the Huskies knocking off the Trojans. Take it one game at a time and do not say all is lost until Ole Miss. Ole Miss has not been tested this year but I do not count them out as being one of the best in the west. They have something this year that thus far the Hogs have not displayed and that is a kicking game and running game.
I am not sure of the underling coaches that we have since last year we had great talent on the offensive line but it did not always show up…which I attribute to the line coach. Same with the hot shot who was supposed to cure our special teams which have been everything but special thus far. Why can't we kick the ball into the end zone? Can't we find someone who can do so? The one bright spot may be with our field goal kicker hitting a couple.
It appears that all of the speed has been put on the offensive side of the football, and that is what some of our fans have been calling for.
Meanwhile, remember football is just a game…nothing more…nothing less. And remember these are just very young men. So, let's not get down on them.
Go Hogs!