Gameday Extra

10.9.2021 Here are some selected comments from the message boards at wholehogsports.com. HOG FANS COMMISERATE AFTER A HUMBLING 37-0 LOSS TO NO. 2 GEORGIA … hogq: The best comparison I can come up with is the beat down that the '94-95 championship basketball team put on Mizzou that year. Mizzou couldn't do anything right and the Hogs didn't do anything wrong in that game. Mizzou went on to have a successful year, winning their conference. I think that is the last time I've seen that kind of total dominance in a sporting event until yesterday. LogJam: I read somewhere today on here someone was being texted "our worst first quarter ever" or something like that. I present to you Tennessee 2000 as evidence to the contrary. I mean I get it. It was rough. But they fought even with all the adversity, self-inflicted and otherwise. rayzabackerii: I flashed to Miami 1987 which was actually a bigger wipeout and whooping with an apparently legit Razorback team with aspirations. 51-7 hurt worse. hogq: I think if (Georgia) Coach (Kirby) Smart didn't like Coach (Sam) Pittman so much it would have been that bad. They could have put 70 on us yesterday. adgebg:It felt that way. The Dawgs had their fill of Hog flesh and licked their chops and smiled at us with satisfaction that they had put us in our place. hollywoodbeachhog: In much the same way as then, the only thing we can do is try to put it behind us and not let it happen again. Hogmodo: We got their best shot from the No. 2 team in the country. They listened to all of the hype about our physical play and great defense (we are better at both than in the past). GameDay came to town, and we got their crowd's best shot as well as their team's. Surprise, their 4- and 5-star linemen, linebackers, running backs, etc. are bigger, faster and better athletes than our 2- and 3-star and no-star walk-ons, no matter how well they are developed or coached. jmetsrule: I couldn't believe how many times their offense was 2nd down and 3 yards after just a run up the middle in the first half. It was quite a sight to behold. Dejai9: This game reminded me of when the basketball team played UNLV in Fayetteville, No. 1 vs. No. 2… (and) the infamous "You need some men!" words of advice from Larry Johnson to Coach Richardson. We all thought we were gonna make a statement against UNLV and they made it look like a walk in the park. IS SATURDAY A MUST- WIN GAME FOR EITHER ARKANSAS OR OLE MISS? bushhog: If each is to keep taking steps in conference, and both coming off high profile losses? Seems like both teams need this win. Would be great to win this one and come home for a few weeks. ClayHenry: That is true. It's a big game for both. But the key will be the physical health of each team game by game the rest of the way. That's what determines the final results. Coach the guys you got and hope you got more than the other guys week to week. Jacksonreid: Good point, Clay …. This is what also concerns me about Auburn. … Concerned about how much we'll have left in the tank — physically and emotionally — come Oct. 16. youdaman: … They have had this game circled since the horn sounded last year. Got to remember they scored 20 points on us with 6 interceptions… Our defensive line is much better than last year but I still figure we've got to score a 30-plus to win it. generalhog: If Arkansas wants any shot at competing for the West, it's absolutely a must win. 'Bama is the only team from the West that I see as being on Georgia's level, so the possibility is absolutely there for us to be undefeated in the West going into the 'Bama game. OM is the toughest team (as of right now) before we get to 'Bama. So yes, must win for us. razorwill: (Ole Miss fans) are confident. The theme is we haven't scored a touchdown now in six quarters. And they know they can score. On another front, they don't like the 3-3-5 defense they run. Say we could run on them like 'Bama did. Sounds familiar? youdaman: … We are pretty much a big-play team. If you can keep from giving that up we stop ourselves most of the time … neastarkie: KJ Jefferson was hurt in the last two quarters of the A&M game. And the last four quarters of the Georgia game we played Georgia, not Ole Miss. hawgcotton: I look for KJ to have breakout game. Oxford is close to home and his running should be big factor. Burks will bounce back too. Defense needs their relentless effort from get go. arkiebarkie:Pittman is getting ready for heavy warfare, bully ball. It looks to be our best chance to control the clock, but score. The more he can keep it away from Ole Miss the better. We have a stable full of running backs ready to roll. KJ can throw over the top when Ole Miss decides to crowd the line of scrimmage. HOG FANS PREDICT THE OUTCOME OF SATURDAY'S GAME AT MISSISSIPPI … stillgreghog:I don't feel good about this one. Ole Miss 45, Hogs 24. youdaman: OM 37-24. Just don't think our offense will be able to sustain enough drives and score touchdowns to be able to hold them off. neastarkie: I'm starting to feel good about this game. But I've learned my pre-game feelings are absolutely meaningless. The D has to corral Corral. If it does, we win something like, 34-28. If it doesn't, we could lose by three scores. planohog: Coach Pitt rights the ship and Ole Miss gets overly cocky! Hogs 42, Black Bears 27. bballhawg: Hogs 31, Ole Whatever 27. This is not a Chad Morris team! white25: Ark 37, Miss 33. Arkansas has to rush for at least 250 yards. Pavlovhog1: Boy Howdy. John Ford could make a western out of this one. Gunfight at the Not So OK Corral. Wyatt, Morgan, Virgil and Doc say, "Woo Pig Sooie." Hogs 40, Bears 39. I hope I don't Earp all over this post come Sunday. armyhog: Hogs win! Who cares what the final score is? Our defense will do what it takes. Ole Miss has the walking wounded at WR! It is difficult to throw to receivers that havrn't had a lot of reps.Our offense will dominant by running the ball and controlling the clock. SWHog: Unfortunately things get worse before they get better. Matt Corral has his day of redemption. Rebs 42, Hogs 31. LDhog: Hogs 37, Rebs 24. Rebs, Black Bears, Land Sharks…. whatever. poochpunt: Ole Miss 36, Arkansas 26. Ole Miss was good enough to score in garbage time against Alabama. Arkansas did absolutely nothing against the Georgia scrubs. georgiahawg: Ole Miss 27, Ark. 24. Will need three picks to win this one. Ole Miss too tough at home and they have had this game circled for a year. KenCarylHOG:Arkansas wins by 10. Will be close at half and we dominate second half. Road game last week will help to make this road game more simple. Their atmosphere will be nothing like Georgia. I think the offense gets back in a big way. We will be in the 40's. razorwill: I am concerned about our offense. Our special teams way below average. They have better qb, rbs. If we pull this one out it will be a huge win. Revenge game for Corral and Rebels plus home field advantage. Briles needs to step it up. Overtime, Arkansas 30, Ole miss 27. sdhog: I just don't think our secondary can stop the Ole Miss passing game… I think they'll sell out to stop the run and make us prove we can beat them passing. Don't have enough confidence in that aspect of our game … I so hope I'm wrong but, Hogs 23, whatever they are 35. lilhawg: Corral is the best we will face all year. We fall short 38-28… hogstetrician: I feel the biggest key in this game will be the coaching. Rebounding from last week. Scheming for each other. Adjusting in game. Our coaches are better. Hogs win a very well played game, 34-31. cody: I had this game circled as a loss at the first of the year. Still think we get an L at the end of it. Not impressed with our secondary. Too many holds or busted coverage. Don't think we can consistently get to Corral and rattle him. He was embarrassed by us last year. He will want blood. We battle, but won't have enough. OM has the better OC and QB. They win. 45-34. silverlakehog:OM 27, Ark 17. Kiffin will score. Can we? BEST OF THE WEB spots the Hogs offered between the tackles. Pittman has indicated all week that he likes the Hogs plan, but would not reveal specifics, only noting they won't do the same thing. But he knows that Ole Miss is dangerous throwing the ball with Corral, but Kiffin has always established a strong running game. "You think about Lane and Ole Miss, and you think about throwing the football," Pittman said, "but they're rushing for almost 250 a game. We have to make them one- dimensional." Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom had the Hogs work on four-man line schemes in spring and August, but has rarely showed them. This might be the week that the Hogs unveil their new toys on defense. BACKFIELD DEPTH Both teams feature a good stable of running backs. They may have the deepest group of running backs in the SEC. Ole Miss three runners with at least 26 carries, but the leading ball carrier in attempts is Corral with 43. He's the top choice on the goal line with six touchdowns. Trelon Smith is clearly the top Arkansas threat with 62 carries for 302 yards. Jefferson, perhaps a bit hobbled last week and not used much as a runner, is next with 40 carries. Can either quarterback establish something with the running game? It might be one of the big keys in the game. It's hard to focus on quarterback draws and keepers in the RPO game because both teams have so many other threats. Pittman said earlier this week that Jefferson is 100%. If that's the case, this might be a break-out game for the quarterback. He's from nearby Sardis, Miss. On stopping Corral's running, Pittman said the goal of the UA defense is to "push the pocket and set the edge to where there is nowhere to go." LINE GAMES Will the Hogs change their offensive line? Pittman wouldn't say when that came up twice this week, but he has mentioned that Jalen St. John (330 pounds) and Ty'kieast Crawford (350) are working at guard. St. John is listed on the depth chart as the backup at left tackle, but he's moved to right guard. Crawford is listed as the backup at right tackle, but is working in practice at left guard. Pittman prefers to have beefy guards. He liked Denver Kirkland and Sebastian Tretola at guard when they were the beefiest on his lines in the Bret Bielema era. St. John might be the closest to getting on the field in meaningful action. Pittman said he's better on the guard assignments than Crawford. He said that's why St. John moved to right guard, to challenge Beaux Limmer and Ty Clary, neither who has much bulk. "For what we're doing offensively, having those big guards in there, I've always been a favorite of having huge guards and moving those guys in I think will help us in the long run," Pittman said. "We have to get better at that position. The other kids worked hard this week, as well, but I think St. John … is a little ahead of where Ty'Kieast is, as far as assignment goes." TIGHT ENDS The Hogs have lacked productivity from their tight ends this season. Starter Blake Kern has just five catches. Backup Hudson Henry has yet to catch a pass this season. Pittman said Henry has battled injuries all season. With little practice time, Henry has seldom played. That might change this week. He's still not 100%, but has practiced more. The Hogs have worked Nathan Bax and Trey Knox in the practice rotation at tight end. Knox is a converted wide receiver. He'll try to gain weight, but that likely won't come until the offseason. "I think Trey Knox could be a really good tight end for us if he can put on 25-30 pounds, which I think he'll be able to do in the offseason," Pittman said. "He's a willing blocker. He's got good leverage. He's really good with his hands. And, of course, we know he would be a fast tight end." There was praise for Kern. Pittman said his blocking has been solid. "I think Coach [Dowell] Loggains is doing a good job with them," he said. "I want all of them to be more physical, but they're working toward that. I've been pleased with the tight end group. They haven't caught a lot of balls but I've been pleased with the way they've been blocking." BE A GOLDFISH This may be lost on some, but anyone who has watched Ted Lasso, a comedy series on AppleTV that dominated the Emmy Awards, will know that the animal with the shortest memory is the goldfish. Who can be a goldfish this week? No. 2 Georgia thrashed Arkansas while No. 1 Alabama stomped Ole Miss, 42-21. Kiffin said it took the Rebels about two days to flush the Alabama loss. Pittman said he tried to get his squad to change its focus to Ole Miss in a hurry. "What I decided was we need to move on," Pittman said. "We've got good coaches and they went over what we need to improve on from the game. Our players, there were a lot of tears — it was tough on us Saturday. That's what you want to see; you want to see it means something to them, and I knew it did. "At some point you can't let that loss end up being two. You can't let Georgia beat you when we play Ole Miss. We moved on." Keys n Continued from Page 1 NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe Jalen St. John (74) is practicing at right guard as Sam Pittman looks for more size in the interior of the offensive line. www.innisfreeseniorliving.com "Treating you like family" NOBODY'S PRICES OR CARE CAN COMPARE IN NWA! 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