Gameday Extra

11.13.2021 Here are some selected comments from the message boards at wholehogsports.com. RAZORBACK FANS EXPRESS APPRECIATION FOR QUARTERBACK KJ JEFFERSON… youdaman: I have to admit I was not very high on KJ because I wasn't sure he would be capable of being an accurate enough passer to keep the chains moving and I didn't think he was fast twitch enough to evade SEC pass rushes. He has been a phenomenal leader, very poised and self-driven. He still has things to work on — throwing catchable slants, ball security, etc. — but to say I am very impressed with him would be a huge understatement … We got ourselves a stud at QB. adgebg: I agree. He has progressed greatly this year. His poise and determination are impressive. votan: I too had reservations, but he convinced me. I still think he needs to work on his footwork and that will help him tremendously on his slants. He seems to be getting better with his touch passes so I hope slants will come along as well. Quick slants and wide receiver screens are how you offset nasty blitzes. We need that. hogstetrician: Agree. I was (thankfully) very wrong about KJ too. Accuracy was my biggest concern. His development has been great to see. harleyhawgidson: Same here. Both paragraphs fit me to a T. I'm so happy now to have KJ as our QB. Three things that I believe really brought out the best in KJ: hard work (with his) God-given talent; great development by Kendal Briles; and outstanding tutorship from Feleipe Franks for a year. cody: KJ is a beast! He is a real leader out there. There are so many players to love on this team. We will sorely miss Treylon Burks, but continued improvement by KJ and a developing line and playmakers at running back should help. KJ as a first year starter is showing some elite poise. Love his confidence right now, too. Baumbastic_Hawg: Both Briles and Feleipe Franks had a hand in KJ's development to this point. Of course he had to listen and learn. NOW THAT ARKANSAS IS BOWL ELIGIBLE, POSTERS SOUND OFF ON WHERE THEY WANT THE TEAM TO GO … gentryrzrbk: Something warm or exotic. LDhog: Cotton Bowl for me. It was the gold standard for the Hogs back in the day. neastarkie: I'd like the most prestigious open to us. That'd require us to win out. However, from a purely selfish standpoint I'd like it to be one I can attend. The Sugar would certainly be one, but outside that, it'd probably need to be Memphis, Nashville or Dallas. I'm taking the grands to Disneyworld the second week in January so I'm not making two trips to Florida and not staying over between any bowl and the Disney trip. SwineFusion: Sugar ain't gonna happen even if we win out. I suspect 'Bama will lose to Georgia and go to New Orleans. Cotton is no longer an SEC bowl. This year it's a CFP semifinal; other years it's one of the New Year's Six. We lost our last chance at the Cotton when KJ threw out of the end zone at Oxbarn. I think Outback is probably the best we can hope for. (Charlotte) would be okay with me, only 3.5 hours away … It's now Duke's Mayo Bowl. No, I'm not going to guzzle mayonnaise if we're invited. rzbackangler: Any bowl is fine with me … we're going wherever. jmetsrule: Outback is usually a good matchup, so I'm happy with that. coloradohog: Out of the ones I think still possible, it would be Outback. We would make that trip. If we lose more than one more, I guess Texas would be OK. Memphis is close to Arkansas so probably get a nice crowd there, but does not matter to me. citgeauxhog: One we can win! And one that gives us some exposure in a market we recruit! harleyhawgidson: Outback for me. I've been to Sugar (loss to OSU) and Citrus (loss to Tom Brady). Maybe better luck with Outback. HogDoctor: Outback or Houston. Any place to get me out of town a few days. WHAT DOES ARKANSAS NEED TO DO TO WIN AT LSU? citgeauxhog: I think our defense matches up a little better. We have to stop that power counter. I also think we can block them and protect. Turnovers and special teams are, like always, going to be huge. We can beat LSU, but not if we beat ourselves. ClayHenry: Who stops the run? If Hogs do that, and get 200 on ground, they probably win. SwineFusion: Clay, what do you think of (LSU's) announcement that (the Tigers are) going to play two quarterbacks against us? Significant or playing head games with Barry Odom? ClayHenry: What do I think? Interesting. I've wondered why they don't play the other backup given the lack of consistency and lack of mobility. I doubt that either Sam Pittman or Barry Odom is surprised. hogmaestro: Coach O never grew up. Sometimes that is a compliment. "He's a big kid" can often mean someone is really overtly friendly, loving, fun. Coach O may be all those things. But he is also irresponsible, has no filter, impetuous, petulant. I don't worry about any coaching move O ever makes. I do worry about the athletes LSU runs out on the field, though. THOUGHTS ON SATURDAY'S LAST-SECOND 31-28 WIN OVER MISSISSIPPI STATE… hgray479: I for one am glad the margin was only three points, which lured MSU into attempting a tying FG … I was actually relieved when they went for the FG as I felt it was lower odds than them completing a pass into the end zone on the last play. neastarkie: I had the same thoughts. Especially since even a made FG was only going to send the game to OT. poochpunt: If (Arkansas') fourth field goal had been successful, when we got the ball back with 2:22, we would have only needed a field goal to win. I'm not sure the coaches would have had the same aggressive approach in the closing seconds. It may have come down to a successful FG to win the game. I would have been having flashbacks to the … blocked FG by the same team probably from about the same distance. neastarkie: I've decided when we win, it's better that we don't have the ability to change a thing. That even includes getting points when they were missed. Too many different variables that can come into play. When we play the "what if" game, we ought to consider scenarios like you describe. adgebg: Always and always true. That river keeps moving and we can never know where the next step will end up taking us. I am remembering the Heavenly Heave that ripped what seemed like a certain Ole Miss victory and put us in the win column. What torment that must rack their brains with. When the final whistle blows and we have won, it is enough. coloradohog: In the SEC, if you end the game with one more point that the other guy, it is a great day. Thank your lucky stars. Victories in this league are special. dbhog: This was what I was thinking too. I would rather have a kicker attempt to tie than give Rogers more attempts at the end zone. nlrbuzzard: I would have been a lot more nervous about Rogers throwing one into the end zone as time expired than I was about a tying field goal-which probably would have meant I would be reading this board from the cardiac care unit of a NW Arkansas hospital. HOG FANS PREDICT THE RESULTS OF SATURDAY NIGHT'S GAME AGAINST LSU … gentryrzrbk: Hogs 38, Corndogs 24. jmetsrule: Hogs 42, LSU 17. We're going to take it to them. neastarkie: I have no idea what to expect. I'll let loyalty rule the day for me: Hogs 35, Corndogs 28. hogsrus: Hopefully the stands will only have 40,000 drunks and 8,000 sober drivers to take them home. Hogs 27, the land of strange 21. citgeauxhog: I think we can block them, and I think we can get a pass rush on them … but can we stop that power running game? I think we win, 31-23. lovemyhogsforever: In Death Valley, I have to give the edge to the home team. LSU 24, Hawgs 21. bayouhog: We were at Tiger Stadium for the 2015 night game — sent the fans to the exits early! Our offensive line played pancake with their defensive line. It was a dominant performance. Don't expect as dominant a performance but the Hogs will prevail, 28-21. bballhawg: Here, Kitty! Hogs 31, Kittens 24. LDhog: Hogs 35,LSU 14. Watch out for those battery throwing grannies. white25: LSU 26, Ark 25. Playing in Death Valley at night is a 7-point disadvantage. planohog: LSU is gonna be emotionally spent and have nothing in the tank. Close first half but the Hogs take it to them in the second half. Hogs 42, LSU 27. lilhawg: We are better than they are. It stays close 'till the end. Hogs 24 Corndogs 21. Snout: Fried Battered Hot Dogs 27, U of A 34. coloradohog: I think I have picked against the Hogs in these games they have won so do I dare pick them now? I am pretty sure what the Hogs will bring — a solid and developing offense and a marginal at best defense. They will play hard on both sides. The question is what will LSU bring? None of us know. They certainly have talent. Just to not jinx the Hogs, I will say LSU in a close one with a late drive against a tired, undermanned. eaglehog: Good 31, Evil 27. BEST OF THE WEB Alabama, allowing just a net 6 yards. The Arkansas offense averages 243.8 yards on the ground, first in the SEC. LSU's defense is seventh with a yield of 148.2. Conversely, LSU has improved its running game as the season has progressed. Tyrion Davis-Price has 731 yards on the season with a per- carry average of 5.1. But he's scored only six touchdowns on 143 carries. Johnson has six in just 56 carries for the Hogs. THE QUARTERBACKS It's always the biggest key in the game. Arkansas has gotten steady play from Jefferson. He's thrown for 16 touchdowns against three interceptions. He's also rushed for five touchdowns with 433 rushing yards. That would seem to give the Hogs the edge, especially since Orgeron split time this week between Max Johnson and Garrett Nussmeier. Johnson has gotten the bulk of the reps this year and will likely start. However, Orgeron said Nussmeier will play early and the quarterback who is most effective will finish the game. The key is that LSU's receivers have been up and down. Injuries have played a role, but this is an area where the Tigers have always had talent. They still may have an edge against a UA secondary that has often played deep to avoid big plays. Can either of these LSU quarterbacks find the soft spot in the middle exposed by Mississippi State last week? SCHEME What's the plan this week from Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom? An old coaching adage says to blitz against young quarterbacks, but defend against veterans with ability. But Odom has been reluctant to blitz much. His standard alignment the past two seasons calls for three defensive lineman and six defensive backs. Injuries in the secondary have been a big factor. Conversely, LSU abandoned what had been vanilla coverage calls and went for more blitzes against Alabama, with good success. Pittman said the blitzes seemed to come from all directions. However, the most serious problems were produced by stunts through the A gap where Alabama had to restructure its offensive line after the starting center went out with an ankle injury. A shuffle with the guard moving to center weakened two spots. SPECIAL TEAMS Perhaps never has that been so obvious than it was after last week's victory over State when the Hogs nailed three field goals and the Bulldogs missed three. Pittman reminded on his weekly radio show that there is a reason he awards scholarships to place kickers. Cam Little, the No. 1 kicking prospect last year, has dazzled as a true freshman. He's made 14 of 18 field goals this season. However, the Hogs may not have an advantage this week. LSU place kicker Cade York is one of the nation's best. He's 9 of 10 on the season with a long of 56. A second-team All- American last season, York has made 48 of 58 career field goal attempts. THE MIDDLE It's where the action is this week. After the Tigers dominated that area with their defense last week, can Arkansas center Ricky Stromberg and guards Beaux Limmer, Brady Latham and Ty Clary hold up? LSU's defensive tackles, Glen Logan and Neil Farrell, are both graduated seniors with four letters. They are studs. Linebacker Damone Clark is taking advantage of the havoc wreaked by Logan and Ferrell. He has 106 tackles, far and away the most for LSU. The Hogs rely on a steady linebacker rotation of Bumper Pool (87 tackles), Hayden Henry (69) and Grant Morgan (67) behind nose tackle John Ridgeway. How that group fares against backup guards might be a huge part of the game. Keys n Continued from Page 1 www.innisfreeseniorliving.com "Treating you like family" NOBODY'S PRICES OR CARE CAN COMPARE IN NWA! Innisfree Senior Living We are cheering on our College Team this season! GO TEAM! 300 Innisfree Circle • Rogers, AR • 479-636-7363 123 S. Maestri Road • Springdale 479-361-2000 • www.sodpartners.com Where the grass is alWays greener. The Sod Store offers the highest quality grass and mulch along with topsoil, grass seed, and several different types of rock. We supply homeowners, contractors, and builders in the Northwest Arkansas area. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk Curt Davis, shown here in 1999, knows the Tigers always boast talented players.

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