For longtime Razorback football fans, it’s still a little hard to believe.  And with those years (and years…and years) of run-oriented history still fresh, you’ll have to forgive us when we chuckled at what Coach Petrino said after Tuesday’s practice.

“We’re just getting thin [at receiver]. We can’t afford to have another injury there, that’s for sure.”

Thin?  Seriously?  Yeah…because if we lose another one…we might only be able to complete passes to 11 different players in a game instead of 13?  Only 300+ instead of 400+ passing yards?!

Coach Petrino is fairly new to these parts, so we wouldn’t expect him to completely understand.  But you see here at Arkansas, Coach, we had formed a little different perception over the years about what the word ‘depth’ meant.

But now that’s all changed.  Chris Bahn summed it up well in a column he wrote earlier this week.

Gone are the days when a single injury could derail the team and its hopes for the season.  Remember the shockwaves that went through Razorback Nation when Marcus Monk blew out a knee prior to 2007?

Remember how fans and coaches counted down the days until he returned?  Remember how people were convinced that Monk was the difference between BCS or B.S. bowls?

He’s not kidding.  We were there at practice on the day that Monk was injured.  You would’ve thought the world was about to end based on the glum faces of coaches and fans as they left the practice fields that day.

Now…the juggernaut just keeps rolling on.  No excuses are made.  If a receiver goes down in practice or a game, it’s a story for a day.  And while it might give Coach Petrino some cause for concern, it doesn’t derail him…or the team…or the fan base.

Don’t misunderstand…like all Hog fans, we hated to see Lucas Miller, London Crawford and Chris Gragg go down with injuries.  Two of those guys are seniors and surely want to cherish every game left in their college careers.

And all three have worked hard and paid the price and should be rewarded for that sacrifice with the opportunity to contribute on Saturdays.  Certainly all Hog fans will be happy and excited for them (and the team) when they’re able to get out there again.

We just won’t be counting down the days anymore until they return.

The Good

• Let’s start with Tyler Wilson.  After spending what seemed to be every series changing the color of his jersey, Wilson took turns shredding both the Red and the White teams combining for a 23-36, 301 yards, 2 TD performance.  Razorback fans have to feel good about depth at the quarterback position heading into the fall.
• Receivers Joe Adams (118 yards, TD), Jarius Wright (125 yards) and London Crawford (85 yards, TD) all showed flashes Saturday of good things to come.  All three, even the oft injured “LC,” can be electric playmakers with the ball in their hands.
• After watching the performances of safety Tramain Thomas and cornerback Andru Stewart, one was left wondering why they weren’t wearing red jerseys full-time.  Thomas picked off a Ryan Mallett pass and returned it 20 yards in the first quarter.  Both he and Stewart showed good skills and seemed solid hitting and playing the run.  Nice job.
• Three 2-minute drill TD scores capped the end of both halves Saturday night.  Wilson, who led two of the drives, and Mallett both looked sharp in these hurry-up situations.
• The defensive front four seems improved and showed as much Saturday night.  Despite all being 20+ pounds heavier this year, Adrian Davis (Sr., 6-4, 255), Jake Bequette (So., 6-5, 271), Zack Stadther (So., 6-1, 289) and Malcolm Sheppard (Sr., 6-2, 280) seem quicker off the ball.

The Bad

• Both quarterbacks tossed first quarter interceptions they wished they had back.  Quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee said Wilson missed a read, and Mallet was “just kind of being lazy back there” and threw one off his back foot.  Both correctable mistakes.
• Hope everyone enjoyed (and maybe even bought a piece of) the lush, green grass that is (was) Frank Broyles Field…since that’s the last time you’ll see it.  Construction on the new synthetic surface for RRS begins next week.

The Ugly

• After suffering through a freshman campaign plagued by critical fumbles, De’Anthony Curtis tempered his rushing success Saturday (10 rushes, 103 yards, 2 TDs) by throwing it on the ground twice.  If Curtis wants playing time in the fall, he’s got to work on securing the ball.

Casey Dick ended his career with a heroic touchdown pass to London Crawford…and as the third all-time leading Razorback in completions, attempts, yards, and touchdown passes.

On the ground, I loved the way that Dennis Johnson brought the ‘will to win‘ into the game.  His 127 yards rushing was not only a testament to him, but to the entire offensive front.

And whenever questioned about different players stepping up like Carlton Salters, I loved that Bobby Petrino said, “He’s a guy that we have a lot of confidence in.”  That’s exactly what all these players (especially the younger ones) needed from their coach.

And in the finest (or perhaps only) second half performance all season by the Razorback defense, LSU managed only 19 yards on their last six possessions of the game.

The Hogs had nine players with four or more tackles.  Malcolm Sheppard, Jerico Nelson and seniors Cord Gray and Walner Leandre came up big on the refurbished (yet again) defensive line.  Maybe Robinson and Mitchell should have been banished earlier.

But admit it…when the Hogs got the ball on their 31 yard line with 2:14 showing on the clock, you thought we had an outside chance to win, didn’t you?  The progress made this year is illustrated by the fact that not only did we actually run a two-minute drill, but that we scored on it to win the game.

For the season, eight games were decided by less than 10 points — the Hogs lost four of those.  The inability to play with any consistency, along with consistently losing the special teams battle, doomed the young (very young) Hogs to a losing record.

While this year will not go down as one for the ages, it will be remembered as the year that the battleship that has been Arkansas football began to turn in a different direction.  The focus has been changed from feeling limited in what we can do…to becoming confident in what we want to do.

This year was about starting over.  Next year the true journey will begin.

ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Dick leads Hog rally past LSU, 31-30

Casey Dick threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to London Crawford on fourth-and-1 with 22 seconds remaining to give Arkansas a 31-30 victory over LSU on Friday night.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats, Post-game Notes, Post-game Quotes, Hogs rally to down LSU, retain The Boot (Video)
• ESPN.com: Arkansas wins finale as last-minute TD beats LSU
• ArkansasSports360.com: Dick, Crawford Lead Razorback Rally Against LSU, Harris: Do You Believe in Miracles?
• YouTube (Video): Arkansas vs. LSU Highlights, Casey Dick on Comeback Win

RazorBloggers Network

• HogBlogger: The End Of The Start

Razorback Central

• Alex Abrams: Another Miracle
• Robbie Neiswanger: Dick’s Career Ends in Dramatic Fashion, Arkansas Defense Stands Tall in Finale
• Harry King: Casey to Crawford carries UA

WholeHogSports.com

• Tom Murphy: Markham Miracle redux
• Bob Holt: Reunion created by sacks, Instant replay
• Rob Keys: Fantastic finish
• Marty Cook: Johnson’s runs get Hogs started
• Chris Givens: Miles ‘sick’ over defensive lapses
• Wally Hall: With one pass, Casey Dick goes out a winner
• Nate Allen: Another Markham miracle
• Heath Allen: UA defense bends, but eventually breaks down LSU
• Terry Wood: Victory adds hint of redemption to Hogs’ season

Other Sites and Blogs

• New Orleans Times-Picayune: Foiled Finale, DeShazier: Jefferson could be QB LSU looking for
• The Shreveport Times: Arkansas gets ‘Miracle on Markham No. 2′, Penalties by LSU help Hogs, Guilbeau: LSU on verge of the blues

Updated 11/29/08 9:30 a.m.

The Good

• Let’s start with D.J. Williams, who had 10 catches for 129 yards, including a big 41-yard reception on the opening drive.  Williams and his knee looked healthy for the first time in a few weeks.  His 10 receptions in a game were the most by a Razorback in 24 years.
• The Fayetteville crowd came to play.  The loud and raucous fans were wild down the stretch as the Hogs tried to rally. “The crowd was great,” Petrino said.  “Our fans have been great all season.”
• Finally, we give the Hogs special teams unit a ‘good’ for the first time this year.  Sophomore linebacker Aaron Fenton made a nice play to recover the onside kick with 1:07 left.  And the kick by Alex Tejada was perfect…skimming the turf, then bouncing up before the scramble ensued.  It was flawless execution that gave the Hogs a chance in the waning seconds.

The Bad

• The ‘Shay Haddock experiment’ may be coming to a close.  After the defense held the Rebels to a three-and-out to start the game, Haddock’s missed 34-yard field goal would have given the Hogs the early lead and kept the momentum going.  It’s worth noting that Alex Tejada was warming up (kicking into the net) as Arkansas’ final minute rally expired.
• It’s too bad that an official had to decide a hard-fought game instead of letting players make plays.  The pass interference call on London Crawford should have been a no-call, as both he and Ole Miss cornerback Marshay Green were both leaping for the ball.  Interestingly, the side judge closest to the play didn’t throw his flag.  The line judge, who was following some distance behind the play, felt the need to make his presence known.

The Ugly

• Similar to the Florida game earlier this year, the Hogs squandered a chance in the third quarter to take the momentum by going three-and-out after junior safety Rashaad Johnson’s pick of Jevan Snead.  A failed reverse to Joe Adams yielded a first down loss of seven yards.  After two incompletions, a punt of 30 net yards into the end zone let the Rebels off the hook.
• Instead of running off the field at halftime and taking the fans ‘reception’ in stride, former Arkansas assistant Danny Nutt chose instead to encite the crowd by waving his arms and asking for more boos.  Nutt was the only person from the Ole Miss team above the age of 25 (at least that we saw) who thought this was appropriate behavior.  It was a certainly a reminder of how fortunate we are to have grown men leading our team now.

The Good

• Casey was the man.  He played a part in all four scores and set a career high with 318 passing yards.  We don’t win that game without him.
• Some of the freshman defensive players can really hit and hit hard.  Linebacker Jelani Smith completely blew up WIU running back Herb Donaldson and forced a fumble that stalled the Leathernecks first possession.
• As Bobby Petrino might say, the field looked ‘tight.’  The classic logo at midfield is just the right size and is flanked nicely by the SEC logos.

The Bad

• The protection breakdowns in the offensive line, an assumed strength of this team, was surprising and disappointing.  The sacks and negative plays allowed doomed several first half drives.
• As feared, the defensive front showed no signs of being able to stop the run.  Granted, Herb Donaldson was as good as advertised (35 carries for 157).  But still, we got pushed around pretty good.
• Several kickoffs by Jeremy Davis barely made it to the 20-yard line.  We need to try Tejada kicking off ASAP.
• Pile up those red pants on the 50-yard line and burn the damn things!  We’ve had enough of them in 2008.

The Ugly

• Elton Ford’s fumble on the opening kickoff immediately took the crowd out of the game.  It also set a tone of tentativeness by the Hogs that lasted well into the second quarter.
• I lost count of the dropped passes and dropped interceptions.  I know the humidity was really high, but it sure didn’t seem to affect the Leathernecks as much as the home team.
• When the going got tough, London Crawford took it to the house…just not the end zone.  The oft-injured receiver got his ‘bell rung’ on a fourth quarter kickoff return and was later carted off the field as a precaution.  Coach Petrino couldn’t specify on Sunday when he thought Crawford would be able to return to practice.