The Arkansas Razorbacks picked up a monumental win Saturday night with a 38-14 blowout of the defending national champions, the #15 Auburn Tigers. Auburn (4-2, 2-1) came into Fayetteville undefeated in SEC play with hopes of continuing what has been a surprising season, but they ran into a dangerous Arkansas team that is finally clicking on both sides of the ball. The Hogs predictably got off to a rocky start, trailing the Tigers 14-7 at the end of the first quarter; however, they went on to hold Auburn scoreless the rest of the way while reeling off 31 unanswered points in what turned out to be a dominating performance.
Tyler Wilson once again turned in a solid performance for the Razorbacks, completing 24 of 36 passes for 262 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Between the 1st and 3rd quarters, Wilson completed 19 straight passes. The biggest offensive play of the night for the Hogs came in the middle of the 3rd quarter as they were pinned at their own 8 yard line. Wilson handed the ball off to WR Joe Adams for a simple sweep play to the outside. After catching a couple of nice blocks, Adams' speed turned what should have been a nice 8-12 yard gain into a 92 yard sprint to the endzone, putting the game out of reach, 28-14. A Zach Hocker field goal and an 18 yard pass to Dennis Johnson later, the Hogs had pushed their lead out to the final of 38-14.
Many landmarks were reached by the Hogs in this game. Tyler Wilson's 19 consecutive completions tied for the third longest completion streak in SEC history. The win itself was also monumental for the team as a whole. It marked only the second time in program history that the Hogs have knocked off top 15 teams in consecutive weeks (#14 Texas A&M last week, #15 Auburn this week). The only other time this occurred was back in 1999 as the Hogs defeated #3 Tennessee and #12 Mississippi State in back-to-back weeks. The win also moved the Hogs' record to 5-1, their best start under coach Bobby Petrino and only their second 5-1 start since joining the SEC in 1992.
This win has given fans hope that a return trip to the Sugar Bowl is still possible. The Hogs will be favored in the rest of their games up until their November 25 showdown with #1 LSU in Baton Rouge and will likely enter that game with a 10-1 record and possibly as a top 5 team. It will be very interesting to see how things shake up as the season rolls on. How do you guys see the season playing out from here?
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Hog Wild in Arlington
It's funny how there are a few things in this world that can take you on such an emotional roller-coaster ride that you literally feel exhausted at the end. For me, Razorback football is definitely one of those things and Saturday's game against the Texas A&M Aggies in Arlington, TX did every bit of that and then some.
For anyone who missed it, #18 Arkansas met #14 Texas A&M Saturday in a game between two teams trying to recover from disappointing losses the week before. On September 24, Arkansas was completely dominated at #2 Alabama 38-14 while Texas A&M blew a 17-point halftime lead to #5 Oklahoma State, losing 30-29. With Arkansas and A&M both having preseason hopes of a national championship, the loser of this game could definitely hit the panic button and I am proud to say it was not my Razorbacks.
I have to admit, I was more than a little worried about this game before it even started. Aggie QB Ryan Tannehill gave the Hogs trouble last season as did RB Cyrus Gray. Both came ready to play on Saturday as well, but the real shocker to me was the Aggie RB by the name of Christine Michael who torched the Arkansas defense for 230 rushing yards. Largely because of the efforts of Michael, the Hogs were playing catch-up all day and trailed 35-17 at halftime. From that point, it looked like deja vu for the Aggies as they watched that lead evaporate quickly in the second half. Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson proceeded to go crazy on the A&M defense, hooking up with WR Jarius Wright for most of the damage. By the beginning of the final quarter, the Hogs had trimmed the Aggie lead to 8, 35-27. At the 11:00 mark of the 4th quarter, Wilson connected on a pass to Cobi Hamilton, who fumbled the ball into the endzone where it was recovered by Wright for an Arkansas touchdown. After Wilson ran it in for the 2-point conversion the game was tied 35-35. A&M marched the ball right back down the field, connecting on a 23-yard field goal at the 4:22 mark to regain the lead at 38-35. Unfortunately for the Aggies, they left more than enough time on the clock for Tyler Wilson and company as the Razorback offense simply would not be denied. After several more passes down the middle of the field, the Hogs were back within striking distance. With 1:41 remaining in the game, Arkansas RB Broderick Green scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to give the Hogs their first lead of the game, 42-38. Thirty seconds later, the Arkansas defense sealed the game by stuffing Christine Michael behind the line of scrimmage when the Aggies went for it on 4th and 2 and the Razorbacks' half of the 65,000+ fans in attendance erupted.
Wright finished the game with 13 catches for 281 yards, both single-game school records. He also caught a touchdown pass and recovered the Hamilton fumble in the endzone for a touchdown. Wilson completed 30 of 51 passes for 510 yards (a school record), 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Wilson's 510 yard performance is also the 5th most passing yards by a QB in SEC history, 13 yards shy of Peyton Manning's 523-yard performance against Kentucky in 1997.
This may prove to be a landmark win for Coach Petrino and his Razorbacks, as it catapulted the Hogs back into the top ten and sets up a huge showdown next week in Fayetteville as the #10 Razorbacks will host the defending BCS National Champions, the #15 Auburn Tigers. How do you guys see this game going? Should Arkansas have jumped 8 spots in the AP rankings? Is Auburn coming into Fayetteville a bit overrated?
For anyone who missed it, #18 Arkansas met #14 Texas A&M Saturday in a game between two teams trying to recover from disappointing losses the week before. On September 24, Arkansas was completely dominated at #2 Alabama 38-14 while Texas A&M blew a 17-point halftime lead to #5 Oklahoma State, losing 30-29. With Arkansas and A&M both having preseason hopes of a national championship, the loser of this game could definitely hit the panic button and I am proud to say it was not my Razorbacks.
I have to admit, I was more than a little worried about this game before it even started. Aggie QB Ryan Tannehill gave the Hogs trouble last season as did RB Cyrus Gray. Both came ready to play on Saturday as well, but the real shocker to me was the Aggie RB by the name of Christine Michael who torched the Arkansas defense for 230 rushing yards. Largely because of the efforts of Michael, the Hogs were playing catch-up all day and trailed 35-17 at halftime. From that point, it looked like deja vu for the Aggies as they watched that lead evaporate quickly in the second half. Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson proceeded to go crazy on the A&M defense, hooking up with WR Jarius Wright for most of the damage. By the beginning of the final quarter, the Hogs had trimmed the Aggie lead to 8, 35-27. At the 11:00 mark of the 4th quarter, Wilson connected on a pass to Cobi Hamilton, who fumbled the ball into the endzone where it was recovered by Wright for an Arkansas touchdown. After Wilson ran it in for the 2-point conversion the game was tied 35-35. A&M marched the ball right back down the field, connecting on a 23-yard field goal at the 4:22 mark to regain the lead at 38-35. Unfortunately for the Aggies, they left more than enough time on the clock for Tyler Wilson and company as the Razorback offense simply would not be denied. After several more passes down the middle of the field, the Hogs were back within striking distance. With 1:41 remaining in the game, Arkansas RB Broderick Green scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to give the Hogs their first lead of the game, 42-38. Thirty seconds later, the Arkansas defense sealed the game by stuffing Christine Michael behind the line of scrimmage when the Aggies went for it on 4th and 2 and the Razorbacks' half of the 65,000+ fans in attendance erupted.
Wright finished the game with 13 catches for 281 yards, both single-game school records. He also caught a touchdown pass and recovered the Hamilton fumble in the endzone for a touchdown. Wilson completed 30 of 51 passes for 510 yards (a school record), 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Wilson's 510 yard performance is also the 5th most passing yards by a QB in SEC history, 13 yards shy of Peyton Manning's 523-yard performance against Kentucky in 1997.
This may prove to be a landmark win for Coach Petrino and his Razorbacks, as it catapulted the Hogs back into the top ten and sets up a huge showdown next week in Fayetteville as the #10 Razorbacks will host the defending BCS National Champions, the #15 Auburn Tigers. How do you guys see this game going? Should Arkansas have jumped 8 spots in the AP rankings? Is Auburn coming into Fayetteville a bit overrated?
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