And So It Begins, Petrino Era To Kickoff Today

It's time. You know what time it is. It's time for some football baby! The Hogs football season kicks off tonight at 6:00 p.m. I'm going to be there and so will about 72,000 other crazy Hog fans looking forward to the Bobby Petrino era to get started. There should be plenty of offense tonight as Petrino would like to see what this team can do, even if it is against a Football Championship subdivision team. I think the Hogs will pour it on, showing no mercy to the Leathernecks of Western Illinois.

As far as the rest of the season goes, I think we have only two sure Ws in Western Illinois and Louisiana Monroe. After that things get dicey. I believe we have about 6 games that really could go either way in Bama, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tulsa, South Carolina, and Mississippi St. I think any of those games could be wins or losses depending on how things go with this Hog football team. That leaves 4 games against some upper echelon teams that realistically cannot be picked as Ws at this point. Those four are Texass at Texass, Florida, Auburn, and LSU. Sure the Hogs may pull one of them out and maybe even a couple of them, but that would be a miracle at this point, with as many youngsters as we're going to play this season. So basically if we win the cupcake games and split the swing games, we should end up at about 5 wins. I think we'll win a few more of those swing games, as well as possibly one we shouldn't win. Here's how I think tonight's game will go as well as the rest of the season. GO HOGS!!!!

W. Illinois: This is one of only two cupcakes on the schedule this year so the Hogs better enjoy it. I'm sure they will as will the rabid Hog fans that are ready for something other than Olympic swimming or a Tiger Woodsless golf season. It's time for football and we get a lot of it tonight as the Hogs whoop up on the Leathernecks to the tune of 56-6.

Louisiana Monroe: Ah, the second and only other cupcake on the schedule. At least this one is back up on the BCS level. This game will be a little tougher but not by much. The Hogs run and pass through the ULM defense like butter. There are signs as well of some of the Hog's defensive shortcomings as ULM hangs 21 points on the Hog's D. Hogs win 48-21.

At Texass: Normally this would be the game of the year in most Hog fan's minds. But not this year. That one would be Ole Miss, but more about that one down the post. Texass is one of those four games that the Hogs really have no business in winning, at least on paper. But that's why they play the game right? Ok I think the Hogs have a decent shot at pulling the upset. I fully expect a shootout, but I think Texass defense will stop the Hogs just enough to pull out a squeaker in Asstin. The Hogs offense impresses though and shows that they can score on anyone, not just the cupcakes. Hogs go down fighting 45-38.

Alabama: Next up is Bama, and we all know how this game usually goes. It's back and forth and close til the end. I expect this one to be no differently, as the battle among two of the most talented coaches in the SEC goes down in Fayetteville. I think the Hogs have a good shot at winning this game as Willy gets on his defense after a sub par performance the week before. Good news is they hold Bama to only 24 points this week. Bad news is.........There is no bad news, Hogs pull it out in the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter to win 28-24.

Florida: Here come the Florida Gators. The Hogs will have a tough time stopping the mighty spread offense of the Gators and this will be a long day for the Hog defense. The Razorback's offense holds it's own against the Gators, but are just out manned on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville. The Hogs keep it rather close until late in the 4th as they go down 42-31.

At Auburn: This is another one of those games that the Hogs really don't have a shot of winning on paper. But they play the game anyway. The results, well this one is interesting. Auburn in installing a new offense just like Arkansas is. It could be very interesting. I give Auburn the edge as their defense is stout and Arkansas' well, it's just flat out not. It is getting better though as they are getting some much valued experience against SEC foes, and actually does a decent job holding the Tigers to 27 points. But the bad news is the Hogs are only able to scrounge up 21 today and go down 27-21.

At Kentucky: The Hogs head into Wildcat country in search of a much needed victory and confidence booster. And they get it in a major way. Bobby Petrino owns the Wildcats and today is no different. He goes to 5-0 against the Cats as a head coach and shows the SEC what offense is. The Hogs blow out the Cats 64-31.

Ole Miss: Ah the much anticipated matchup of the former coach and the new coach. Houston Nutt comes back to town and is not greeted very kindly by the Hog faithful. Resounding boos meet HDN as he runs onto the field for the first time as Ole Miss' head coach. The Hogs come out flat in honor of Nutt, and let Ole Miss get up to an early 14-0 lead as they come out firing, and even passing the ball. But not too worry, as Nutt decides to sit on the lead until the 4th quarter. But by the time the 4th quarter gets here, the Hogs are running away with it 56-17. Houston runs to the student section to sing the fight song before he realizes that he's not the Hog's coach anymore and has to be dragged off by his ear by Matt Shanklin. Hogs win big in this anti-climatic "game of the year".

Tulsa: Next up Gus Malzahn returns to the Hill after a one year absence from his one year stint as the Hogs "offensive coordinator". There is much hype about this game as well, but the Hurricane is out manned from the get go. They do score some points on the Hogs hot/cold defense. The Hogs win big though 63-24 clinching bowl eligibility.

At South Carolina: This is a huge game as the Hogs try and get win number 7. This will be a very tight game, tighter than it needs to be as the turnover bug hits the Hogs hard. This one goes down to the wire and the Hogs get a chance to win it with a last minute field goal from 53 yards. Tejadamatic comes through and nails it. Hogs win 24-22.

At Mississippi State: The Hogs are on the road again and this one is tougher than anyone expected. Ok not really, as MSU always gives the Hogs a tough game. The Hogs get off to a good start up 13-10 at halftime but Sylvester Croom's defense is stout and holds the Hogs scoreless until late in the 4th. By that time it's too late and the Hogs go down in Starkville 24-20.


LSU: LSU comes into War Memorial Stadium with vengeance on their minds even though they won the national championship the year before. There will be no national championship berth on the line this time, and there will be no D-Mac or Felix Jones on the field either. LSU's defense comes up huge in the 4th quarter and pulls out the victory 31-28.

That leaves the Hogs with a 7-5 regular season record and a berth in the Independence bowl. There they play Kansas which is disappointed to be there with a 9-3 record. The Hogs take advantage and win in a shootout 59-49. Hogs finish at 8-5. Not bad for a first year coach with a fairly bare cupboard. It was exciting to say the least and with all of the youth that played, it should mean great things for the future of Hog football. The future in Hogland is bright to say the least.

GO HOGS!!!!!!!!!

A New Beginning

Ah, yes. Football is here. Last time I wrote, we had just gone through the most transition that Hog Nation has seen, probably ever. Frank had stepped down, we had brand new football and basketball coaches, and everything was a bit chaotic. Things have settled down these last several months, even though we've had a few more monumental changes take place on the Hill.

One being that legendary track coach, John McDonnell, has retired, and been replaced by Chris Bucknam from the University of Northern Iowa. I'm not much of a track and field guy, but everyone in Arkansas knows what McDonnell did here winning national championship after national championship, almost too many to count. Good luck to Bucknam trying to fill even one of McDonnell's shoes. They are rather large.

We've also had other rather large changes in the Athletic Department itself. One being that the men's and women's programs have merged and are now one happy family. Not that the changes have really been so obvious. Except for the fact that the Lady Backs are no longer to be called that, but the Razorback Women instead. Whoopie. I have seen a few journalists, and people that call themselves journalists (Wally Hall)make a big deal about this, but really, in the big scheme of things, it's not. Just more political correctness I guess. It doesn't really bother me, in fact I'm kind of indifferent to the whole idea. But hey, if it helps the program as a whole, I'm all for it.

There have been a few other changes, but probably the biggest, most recent change has been the transition in the chancellor's office. This one happened very quietly, with very little fanfare across the state. John White was replaced by G. David Gearhart on July 1. He is of the opinion that the chancellor's job is not to run the athletic department, but to hire really good people to do so, and let them do their job. This is great news after what we were put through the last several years with White at the helm. I won't rehash that, but everyone knows that White tended to meddle with things in the athletic department. And we saw how that turned out. It wasn't pretty.

So we've made it through all of that and more and here we are on the precipice of a new football season, with a brand new administration from top to bottom for the most part. Bobby Petrino is ready to start taking us to what we all hope is that next huge step in Hog football. That would be getting us back on the national scene on a regular basis. That could be viewed as something different by pretty much anyone, but here is what I think it means. I think we can realistically be a top 20 team on a consistent basis. I also think we can win an SEC Championship, which has never happened before. I think if we win an SEC Championship we will be in pretty good shape to play in the National Championship game, or a BCS game at the very least. That is the next level that we all want to be at, and I think we will be there sooner rather than later.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't think it's very likely that we will make it that far this season. Not at all. If you want to know what I think will happen this season, read my next post. But as for now, I think we are all ecstatic about what these changes have brought to the Hill, and what that means for the future of the Hog athletic program as a whole. I think we've got a very bright future in Hogland, and one we can all be very optimistic about. I know I am.


GO HOGS!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOO PIG SOOOOOIIIEEEEE!!!!