Razorback Blogs

Michael Washington scored 18 of his 30 points in the second half and led Arkansas to a 91-87 overtime win Friday night over Southeastern Louisiana in the season opener for both teams.

Arkansas rallied from a 9-point deficit in the closing minutes of regulation on a 3-pointer from freshman Rotnei Clarke and a driving layup by freshman Courtney Fortson that tied the game at 77.

In overtime, Washington scored seven straight points to give Arkansas (1-0) a lead they would not lose. Southeastern pulled within 88-87 on a pair of 3-pointers from Kevyn Green, but Arkansas hit its free throws down the stretch.

Source - AP

 

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Steve Spurrier shuffled things up again Saturday, alternating quarterbacks Stephen Garcia and Chris Smelley most of the way in South Carolina's 34-21 victory over Arkansas.

The Gamecocks (7-3, 4-3) have won four of their past five Southeastern Conference games since starting 0-2 in the league, snapped a two-game losing streak to Arkansas (4-6, 1-5) and put themselves in position for a New Year's Day bowl game.

And they did it through one of the South Carolina coach's quirkiest trademarks.

The former Heisman Trophy winner is known for being tough on quarterbacks. Only a short time after freshman Stephen Garcia threw two touchdowns to bring South Carolina its first home win over Tennessee in 16 years last week, Spurrier complained that Garcia wasn't ready to run the offense.

Spurrier kept everyone guessing about the quarterbacks this week, only saying he planned to play both. No one figured he meant every other snap.

Smelley got first chance, overthrowing receiver Jason Barnes. Then Garcia entered and hit Kenny McKinley with a 30-yard pass to the Arkansas 14. After Smelley was incomplete on the next play, Garcia rushed past the Razorbacks for a touchdown.

Spurrier kept up the pattern much of the opening period: Smelley, a sophomore, would start the sequence, with Garcia coming in every other play.

The two shared time in leading a drive that ended with Ryan Succop's 54-yard field goal -- missing the senior's career mark by a yard.

It was Smelley who found tight end Jared Cook for a 66-yard touchdown pass and a 17-7 lead.

It's far from the first time Spurrier's gone through such QB issues. The most famous coming the season after Florida's national title in 1996, when Spurrier rotated Gator passers Doug Johnson and Noah Brindise. The result? A satisfying 32-29 victory over rival Florida State.

Down 20-7, Arkansas got back into it with a 15-play, 8 minute drive that ended with Casey Dick's 4-yard TD throw to Mitchell Bailey.

Dick had the Razorbacks driving again moments later when defensive end Jordin Lindsey stretched up to snag the interception and take it 40 yards to the Arkansas 15.

On Garcia's play, he lofted a pretty pass into the waiting hands of McKinley to put the Gamecocks up 27-14.

Smelley was more productive at 9 of 19 for 148 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Garcia was 4 of 11 for 71 yards and an interception for South Carolina's lone turnover.

McKinley had seven catches for 130 yards and, with 2,602 yards, surpassed Sterling Sharpe as the school's career yardage leader.

South Carolina was run over by Arkansas and its backfield stars of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones the past two years. McFadden had one of last season's top performances, rushing for 321 yards in Arkansas' 48-36 win over the Gamecocks.

But with McFadden and Jones both gone to the NFL, South Carolina's SEC-leading defense bottled up Arkansas.

Dick had three interceptions and Arkansas was sacked six times. The Razorbacks rushed for 54 yards.

It didn't help when Michael Smith, the SEC leader at 123 yards a game, left with a shoulder injury right before halftime. He had just 25 yards on seven carries.

The Razorbacks, who upended 19th-ranked Tulsa a week ago, have lost six of their past eight games in coach Bobby Petrino's first season.

Arkansas tried an onside kick in the final minutes after drawing within 34-21 and players from both sides threw punches. Gamecock safety Chris Culliver, a starter, was ejected.

Source - AP

 

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After a big win against Tulsa, the Razorbacks return to SEC play to face the Ole Ball Coach and the South Carolina Gamecocks.

I am eager to see if the Razorbacks can keep up the good play and pull out a big win at South Carolina. The game is scheduled to start at 12:00 pm (CST) and will be televised by ESPN Gameplan.

Prediction for the game:

Hogs win 24-20. The Razorback keep up the good play and get a big SEC win.

Let me know how you think the game will turnout in the comments.
 

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In its final tune-up for the 2008-09 regular season, Arkansas posted a 108-80 victory over Dillard University Thursday night at Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks had five players with double-digit point totals, including a pair of double-doubles from junior post Michael Washington and freshman guard Courtney Fortson.
 
Washington tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds while Fortson notched an 11-point, 10-assist performance in his season debut. Rotnei Clarke and Jason Henry tallied 20 and 14 points, respectively, and Andre Clark knocked in 12 points against Dillard.

After Washington's lay-up to open the game’s scoring, Clarke knocked in Arkansas’ next eight points on two three-point baskets and a pair of free throws. The second free throw gave the Razorbacks a 10-4 lead, but Dillard got a three pointer from David Manning to cut the lead in half.

Fortson put in the Razorbacks’ third trey of the game to spur a seven-point surge capped by a putback by Michael Sanchez. The tip by Sanchez gave Arkansas a 10-point lead, 17-7.

The Razorbacks maintained the advantage but weren’t able to stretch their lead early in the first half of play. A pair of baskets by Dillard’s Michael Bridges cut into the lead and the home team led, 25-21.

Arkansas responded with a dunk by Washington and a three-point basket from Stefan Welsh. The Razorbacks turned up the defensive pressure to force a shot-clock violation and lead 30-21. In the first 20 minutes of play, John Pelphrey’s club forced 15 Dillard turnovers while committing seven of its own.

A putback by Brandon Moore gave Arkansas a 15-point lead and a fast-break dunk by Henry capped a 14-3 run to give his team a 44-27 lead.

Both teams were solid from the field in the first half with the Razorbacks knocking in 53.8 percent of their shots on 21-of-39 shooting and Dillard scoring at a 52-percent clip. The Blue Devils ended the first half making 13 of their 25 shot attempts.

The visitors cut the Razorback lead to 12 with a three pointer by Kenyon Harper with 2:33 remaining in the half, but the Hogs didn’t allow a field goal in the final 2:13 of the half and closed the opening period on a 12-5 scoring run. The push was capped, and highlighted, by an alley-oop from Fortson to Clark. It was one of Fortson’s nine first-half assists.

Arkansas went into the locker room with a 61-42 halftime lead.

At the beginning of the second half, Clarke notched a four-point play to continue the scoring barrage. The Verdigris, Okla., native was perfect from the line on the night and finished the exhibition season without a miss from the free-throw line, connecting on all eight attempts. Clarke was also nine-of-15 from the three-point line in the preseason games.

Dillard lost some of its scoring punch early in the half when Manning fouled out less than two minutes into the second half. Manning scored 14 first-half points for the Blue Devils.

Arkansas used its depth and size advantage to stretch its lead throughout the rest of the game. The Hogs held the advantage in bench scoring, 49-33, and out-rebounded their opponents, 49-34. Washington finished the game with a game-high 10 boards.

Washington scored on a putback to push the Razorback lead over 30 at 90-59. Arkansas reached the 100-point mark with a dunk by Montrell McDonald. The play was set up by Fortson and his 10th assist of the night.

Arkansas kicks off its season with a Nov. 14 matchup with Southeastern Louisiana. The game is set for a 7:05 tip from Bud Walton Arena.

Source - UA Sports Information
 

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Five double-digit scorers and a strong defensive effort against Campbellsville lifted Arkansas to a 103-58 exhibition victory Monday night at Bud Walton Arena. Michael Washington led all scorers with 22 points and tied for the game-high with seven rebounds. Stefan Welsh added 20 points on eight-of-11 shooting in 23 minutes of play against the Tigers.

Riding a hot hand all night, Welsh posted the first points of the second half with a layup, his seventh-straight point going back to the end of the first half. After forcing a five-second call on Campbellsville, the Razorbacks extended its lead to 57-27 after a Michael Sanchez three-point play.

Welsh picked up his 20th point with his fourth three-pointer of the night with 16:08 remaining in the game. The junior guard added four assists and three steals to his night’s total. Clarke followed suit with a three-point basket of his own to give Arkansas a 67-34 lead.

Washington scored eight of the Razorbacks’ next 10 points, including a dunk working off a high-low with Sanchez. At the end of Washington’s run, Arkansas held a 77-40 lead. Along with his 22 points, Washington totaled four blocks on the night.

The teams played even through the middle of the second half, but Sanchez knocked in a couple of buckets in the paint to push the team’s lead to 91-50, its first push over 40 of the game. Freshman guard Jason Henry put in a three pointer with 4:21 left in the game to join the Razorbacks’ cast of double-digit scorers. The West Memphis native finished the night with 10 points.

Clarke notched his fourth trey of the game with 3:10 remaining in the game to put Arkansas on the cusp of the 100-point mark. Stephen Cox pushed Arkansas over the mark with a three-point play to give the team a 102-56 advantage.

The Razorbacks connected on 60.6 percent of their field goals and made half of their three pointers (10-for-20) against Campbellsville. Arkansas held its opponent to a 31-percent clip, 18-of-58 from the field.

Washington opened the scoring with a layup 10 seconds into game, but Arkansas struggled from the field early and went 2:37 between buckets. After falling behind by four, the Razorbacks surged ahead with a 10-0 run to take a 13-7 lead. Washington capped the stretch with a three-point play at 12:34.

Washington was one of three Razorbacks that notched double-digit point totals in the first half. The junior forward finished the first 20 minutes of play with 14 points and added six rebounds. Welsh and Clarke collected 15 and 11 points, respectively. The backcourt duo combined to go five-for-seven from behind the three-point line in the first half.

Clarke’s trey with 10:35 remaining in the first half stretched the Arkansas lead into double digits, 21-9.

Arkansas, using full-court pressure midway through the half, forced a Campbellsville turnover with a 10-second call at the 9:22 mark. The turnover was part of a 10-2 run topped by a floater in the lane by Clarke in transition. With the bucket, the Razorbacks pulled ahead, 34-14.

Back-to-back three pointers from Clarke and Welsh made the score 40-16. After the lead dipped below 20 on a three-point basket by the Tigers’ Trey Harris, Clarke was fouled while attempting a three pointer of his own. The freshman guard made all three free throws and the Razorback led, 43-21.

Welsh scored the half’s final five points inside the final minute before intermission, including his third three pointer of the half and a baseline jumper with one second left on the clock. The 12-foot basket gave the Razorbacks a 25-point advantage, their largest of the first half.

Arkansas knocked in 56.3 percent of its first-half shots while holding Campbellsville to seven-of-28 shooting, a 25 percent clip. As a team, the Razorbacks connected on six of their 13 three-point attempts and out rebounded their opponents, 23-17.

The Razorbacks took a 52-27 lead into halftime.

Source - UA Sports Information

 

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Fans will have an opportunity to watch Arkansas battle South Carolina this weekend in a pay per view broadcast through ESPN GamePlan. South Carolina will produce the broadcast and offer it in the state of South Carolina. In addition, ESPN GamePlan will televise the game as part of their package in all other states, including Arkansas.

Fans should contact their local cable systems or small dish providers to order the ESPN GamePlan package. The game is only available through the ESPN GamePlan package.

South Carolina received an exception from the Southeastern Conference to allow a pay-per-view broadcast of the game set for Noon CST. Arkansas used a similar exception to offer a pay-per-view broadcast of last weekend’s Tulsa game.

Source - UA Sports Information

 

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Every quarter this season, Tulsa had found a way to score. No matter the opponent, the Golden Hurricane kept moving the ball and found the end zone.

Then in the final minute against Arkansas, with it's unbeaten record hanging in the balance, David Johnson and Tulsa finally fell short.

Johnson threw incomplete on fourth down from the Arkansas 7, giving the Razorbacks a 30-23 victory Saturday and ending No. 18 Tulsa's unbeaten run.

"Obviously our BCS dreams are wounded, but we still want to finish up conference undefeated and win the Liberty Bowl," defensive lineman Wilson Garrison said. "This is just a bump in the road."

It sure was a big one. Tulsa (8-1) came into the game leading the nation in scoring, putting up 56 points a game with its fast-paced offense full of misdirection plays. The Golden Hurricane, who play in Conference USA and had not played a team from a BCS conference, were hoping an unbeaten regular season would be enough to earn a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

They rallied from an early 17-0 deficit, but Dennis Johnson's 96-yard kickoff return gave Arkansas a 30-23 lead in the final minute of the third period. Neither team scored in the fourth -- Tulsa's first scoreless quarter of the season.

"You watch them in their other games, and they're scoring 60 points and 77 -- and you don't sleep very good all week long," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. "For our defense to come out and hold them to 23 points, I think that's an excellent job."

The Golden Hurricane (8-1) caught a huge break when Casey Dick threw an interception in the end zone with just over three minutes remaining. Arkansas (4-5) was well within field goal range, but the turnover gave Tulsa a chance to tie.

Johnson moved his team downfield with ease, but after reaching the Arkansas 5, Tulsa was stopped on two straight runs. That brought up fourth down, and Johnson's pass to the back corner of the end zone fell incomplete.

"Arkansas' defense did a great job up front, especially early," Johnson said. "They did some things that confused us a little bit, and came at us hard from the get-go."

Tulsa appeared overmatched at first against its Southeastern Conference opponent. Arkansas scored on the game's first drive on a 13-yard pass from Dick to Andrew Davie. The Razorbacks then sacked Johnson on Tulsa's first two offensive plays.

The Golden Hurricane called two early timeouts while Arkansas had the ball, but still couldn't stop the Razorbacks' momentum. When Smith scored on a 7-yard run with 2:22 to play in the first quarter, it was 17-0.

Tulsa turned the game around quickly. Backup quarterback Jacob Bower found Trae Johnson for a 22-yard touchdown. Charles Clay added a 28-yard touchdown run and later caught a 2-yard TD pass from Johnson to tie it at 20.

Johnson threw for 322 yards and was intercepted once.

Arkansas led 23-20 at halftime, and Tulsa turned the ball over at the start of the third quarter when a wide receiver pass by A.J. Whitmore was intercepted. On their next possession, the Golden Hurricane came up short on fourth down, but their defense rose to the occasion. Arkansas went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Tulsa 16, and Smith was stopped.

Tulsa drove all the way to the Arkansas 2 and had first-and-goal, delighting the large group of blue-clad fans in the northeast corner of the end zone. But a mishap on a snap cost the Golden Hurricane 12 yards. They eventually settled for a field goal, and Dennis Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff all the way to put the Razorbacks ahead to stay.

"I thought about it all last night that I wanted to break one," the Arkansas freshman said. "When I saw that opportunity, I took it."

Dick threw for 385 yards, but aside from Johnson's return, Arkansas didn't score in the second half. The Razorbacks made up for that by holding Tulsa to by far its lowest point total of the season. The Golden Hurricane had scored at least 37 points in every game under the eye of offensive assistant Gus Malzahn -- who was the offensive coordinator at Arkansas in 2006.

Source - AP

 

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After a tough loss against Ole Miss, the Razorbacks will face another of their old coaches in Gus "Mal-A-Zahn" as the offensive coordinator of the #1 offense in the nation of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. With the kickoff being at 1:00 pm for this homecoming contest, I expect the atmosphere for the ballgame to be in high spirits.

I can't wait to get there and watch for myself. I am sure there will be some boos and probably some cheers. Hopefully, Arkansas will be able to keep Tulsa's high powered offense off the field and pull out a win. The game is scheduled to start at 1:00 pm (CST) and will be televised by PPV.

Prediction for the game:

Hogs win 38-35. The Razorbacks keep Tulsa off the field enough to pull out win.

Let me know how you think the game will turnout in the comments.
 

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The Arkansas-Tulsa football game, scheduled for this Saturday, Nov. 1 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, will kick at 1 p.m. CST and will be televised on a pay-per-view basis in Arkansas and Oklahoma it was announced by the University of Arkansas and Razorback Sports Properties on Tuesday.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to offer a television option to our fans for a game that wouldn’t otherwise be televised," Arkansas Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. "The positive response to our previous pay-per-view offerings as well as our continued fan support and attendance at home games made the pay per view broadcast possible. We are grateful to the Southeastern Conference and our conference television partners for working with us to maintain the 1 p.m. kickoff time for Homecoming while still offering the game to our fans around the state via pay per view."

Per SEC television regulations, the game is available through cable systems in Arkansas and Oklahoma and to small dish owners who subscribe to DirecTV or Dish Network in the two states. The cost of the pay per view broadcast is $34.99. The broadcast will also be available for purchase to watch the game online at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

The game is also available outside Arkansas and Oklahoma via ESPN GamePlan. Other cable and small dish owners can contact their service provider for ordering information.

Source - UA Sports Information

 

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Houston Nutt exchanged hugs with the Arkansas players, surrounded by them again after an emotional game.

This time he had come over from the opposing sideline.

"I love my team right now," the Mississippi coach said. "But it is hard not to love players that you recruited and coached. You are close to them and you have been in their living rooms, so it was harder than I thought."

Jevan Snead threw two touchdown passes, and Mississippi held off an Arkansas rally to give Nutt a 23-21 win over his former team Saturday night. The Rebels allowed a late touchdown, then let the Razorbacks recover an onside kick before finally holding defensively.

Afterward, Nutt stayed at midfield for a while, greeting the team he used to coach. Nutt left the Razorbacks late last season to take over at Ole Miss.

"I just shook his hand and said, 'Congratulations, good luck the rest of the season,'" Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs said. "It's common courtesy with a guy you spent a lot of time with the last four years. It was a tough one to swallow, but they did a good job."

The Rebels (4-4, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) led 23-14 with 1:45 remaining, but Arkansas quickly cut the deficit to two with 1:07 to play on Casey Dick's 22-yard touchdown pass to Greg Childs. The Razorbacks (3-5, 1-4) then tried an onside kick, and Arkansas' Aaron Fenton appeared to recover it.

Officials initially ruled the play out of bounds, but the call was reversed on review, giving the Razorbacks the ball. London Crawford caught a pass near the Ole Miss 20, but it was called back for offensive pass interference, and Arkansas didn't threaten again.

Nutt coached the Hogs for 10 seasons before leaving after last regular season to take over for Ole Miss. He and the Rebels were booed as they took the field.

"I think everybody on the team wanted to give 100 percent so we'd win it for him," Snead said.

Snead went 14-of-27 for 209 yards with an interception.

Arkansas trailed 20-14 after Dick's 8-yard touchdown pass to Lucas Miller with 4:28 remaining, but Snead found Mike Wallace for a 42-yard pass on the next Ole Miss possession, and Joshua Shene kicked a 28-yard field goal with 1:45 to play.

After that kick appeared to put the game out of reach, the Ole Miss fans in one corner of the stadium began chanting "Houston Nutt! Houston Nutt!"

The Arkansas fans booed, and a few of them began chanting "Bobby" in reference to Nutt's replacement, Bobby Petrino.

Petrino's Razorbacks then rallied to make it interesting.

Nutt's final months at Arkansas were tumultuous. Shortly after the 2006 season, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and quarterback Mitch Mustain abruptly left the team. Nutt's 2007 included plenty of fan unrest -- planes were spotted towing anti-Nutt banners at games.

The Rebels took the field Saturday at exactly the same moment Arkansas did -- which might have spared Nutt a truly hostile greeting. Still, there were plenty of audible boos for the former coach and his team.

Nutt said he expected that.

"I've been booed when I was on that sideline," he said, pointing toward the Arkansas side of field.

Petrino made a key call in the second quarter. The Razorbacks had already missed one field goal, so he decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Ole Miss 13. Michael Smith took a pitch to the left and went untouched to the end zone for a 7-3 lead.

The Rebels answered, scoring twice in the final two minutes of the half. Snead threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Shay Hodge to give Ole Miss the lead with 1:58 remaining, then Fon Ingram intercepted a pass and returned it 38 yards to the 17. The Rebels had time for one more play, a 34-yard field goal by Shene that made it 13-7 at halftime.

Ole Miss went ahead 20-7 with 13:21 left in the game when Snead found Wallace wide open in the back of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown. Arkansas' offense came back to life after that with a 97-yard scoring drive.

Smith rushed for 129 yards for the Razorbacks, and D.J. Williams added 10 catches for 129 yards. Wallace caught five passes for 120 yards for Ole Miss.

The win was a major boost to the Rebels' bowl hopes and their first over Arkansas since 2003.

"We have some goals in sight," Nutt said. "It's going to be a happy plane ride and a happy practice tomorrow."

Source - AP

 

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