Razorback Blogs

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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After a heartbreaking loss against Kentucky, the Razorbacks have their former head coach, Houston Nutt, coming to town with the Ole Miss Rebels. With the kickoff being at 6:00 pm, I expect the atmosphere at the ballgame to welcome Houston back to Donald W. Reynolds Stadium will be an amazing thing to witness.

I can't wait to get there and watch for myself. I am sure there will be plenty of boos and probably some cheers. Hopefully, Ole Miss will keep their SEC leading turnovers going for this game. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00 pm (CST) and will be televised by PPV.

Prediction for the game:

Hogs win 27-21. I can't go against the Razorbacks on this game whether I believe they will win or lose. Houston will probably try to come up with a gameplan that is a complete opposite of what Razorback fans are accustomed to seeing just to show us that he can. I believe that the Arkansas defense will be able to put a stop to the Wild Rebel, and Houston will go back to his old ways of the Smoke Draw!

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

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In the spirit of the return of Houston Nutt to Razorback Stadium for the first time since leaving (told to leave), I thought that I would post my favorite pictures that my friends and I have accumulated over the years.

These pictures were created by fans of the Arkansas Razorbacks and were found in numerous locations on the internet. Many were found from the huge fan base on Hogville.net.

These pictures are meant to be viewed in a humorous light. Hopefully, no one will be affended by any of the pictures that I have chosen.

So, here are my Top 20 Photos from the Tale of the Nuttster:

• #20 - Was he a Joker, Evil Genius, or just a Clown?
  
• #19 - Were you always as lost as it looked like?
  
• #18 - Did you get spun too hard as child?
  
• #17 - If you only were given a few more years, we were almost there...
  
• #16 - Pez, please.
  
• #15 - Who knew you could dance the issues so well?
  
• #14 - No, you're the best!
  
• #13 - Soon this time will pass.
  
• #12 - Got room for one more on this hog to the BCS.
  
• #11 - Best impersonation of a Coach in Vegas.
  
• #10 - PawPaw's little boy.
  
• #09 - Unbelievable true story...
  
• #08 - Made it passed the contents?
  
• #07 - Love that Helmet, my Precious!
  
• #06 - Let's go with the Smoke Draw!
  
• #05 - I got plenty of practice at my last job.
  
• #04 - I'm a fighter, I'm a winner.
  
• #03 - I'll ride this horse as far as I can.
  
• #02 - TOP SECRET HDN Playbook
  
• #01a - I called that play, Brutha!
  
• #01b - Ride the bike, Ride the Bike.
  
• #01c - Ohhh, Shibest....
  
• #01 - Uhhh, how about just run right...
  

Updated: 10/20/08 8:45am - Last minute submissions found

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Mike Hartline threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Randall Cobb to help Kentucky beat Arkansas 21-20 Saturday, handing Bobby Petrino his first loss to the Wildcats.

Kentucky spent much of the game struggling to find a playmaker to replace Dicky Lyons Jr., out for the season because of torn ligaments in his right knee. But Cobb, wearing Lyons' No. 12 as a tribute, did his best impersonation of the senior receiver when it mattered.

Kentucky (5-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) trailed the whole game until Hartline connected with Cobb from 21 yards out with just over 2 minutes left. Cobb cut through the middle of the field untouched and Lones Seiber's extra point was good, giving the Wildcats their final margin.

Marcus McClinton's interception in the final seconds allowed the Wildcats to run out the clock.

Cobb, the backup quarterback and a fan favorite to take over from Hartline under center, asked to wear Lyons' No. 12 before the game. Although he got a few snaps at quarterback, his play at receiver boosted the Wildcats most.

A few minutes before catching the winning score, he ran in from 32 yards out, and a Kentucky passing game that had been dormant most of the year showed life.

The loss for Arkansas (3-4, 1-3) was the first against the Wildcats for Petrino, the former Louisville coach who had beaten them four straight times with the Cardinals.

Hartline completed 17 of 32 passes for 239 yards, three TDs and two interceptions. Besides Cobb, he also connected with Alfonso Smith for a 71-yard score -- the Wildcats' longest play of the season.

Smith and Cobb each had five catches.

The comeback ruined a huge performance by Arkansas' Michael Smith, who scored twice and had a career-high 192 rushing yards. After toiling two years behind first-round NFL draft picks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, Smith has distinguished himself as their successor against some of the Southeastern Conference's top defenses.

Coming into the game, Kentucky had been stingy against the run, allowing just one rushing TD all year. But Smith put a quick end to that with a 2-yard spin into the end zone.

On the next drive, Smith flashed his breakaway speed with a 51-yard sprint through the middle of the field. He showed similar abilities as a receiver before halftime, reeling in a pass from Casey Dick in the flat and taking it 23 yards untouched make it 14-0.

For the first time all year, Kentucky won a game with its offense, not its potent defense.

In the first 20 minutes of the second half, Kentucky ran just six plays. Other than that, Arkansas chewed up clock, with a combination of its running game and several costly Kentucky penalties and mistakes, even though they only had two field goals to show for it.

First, an Arkansas punt bounced off the foot of Kentucky's DeMoreo Ford, giving the Razorbacks the ball at the 7. Shay Haddock's 19-yard field goal attempt got a fortunate bounce, ricocheting off the left upright before falling through.

Then came an 87-yard field goal drive that seemed to never end. Arkansas consumed nearly 10 minutes on the drive, using 20 plays. The teams were penalized six times on the drive.

Source - AP

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After a big win against Auburn, the Razorbacks travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats. Hopefully, Kentucky will already have their minds on basketball. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00 pm (CST) and will be televised by ESPNU.

Prediction for the game:

Hogs win 24-10. Arkansas keeps improving and pulls out a big win over Kentucky. I am hoping that the Razorbacks won't be looking ahead to next week when the Ole Miss Rebels and Houston Nutt come to town.

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

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The Arkansas-Ole Miss football game, scheduled for Oct. 25 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, will kick at 6 p.m. CST and will be televised on a pay-per-view basis in Arkansas and Mississippi it was announced by the University of Arkansas and Razorback Sports Properties on Monday.

"With the Ole Miss game already a sellout, we wanted to give fans who do not have a ticket the opportunity to watch the Razorbacks play a key Southeastern Conference game," Arkansas Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. "The outstanding turnout for home games and the response we received from the two previous pay-per-view offerings made this an easy decision. We appreciate the support our fans provided for the early start times for the Alabama and Florida games, and know they will turnout in full force for the Razorbacks with the 6 p.m. start against Ole Miss."

Per SEC television regulations, the game is available through cable systems in Arkansas and Mississippi 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 game will also be available for purchase through ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

The game may also be made available outside Arkansas and Mississippi via ESPN GamePlan. ESPN GamePlan will announce games for its package on that weekend in the coming days.

Other cable and small dish owners can contact their service provider for ordering information.

Source - UA Sports Information

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Arkansas found an offense it could stop, and a little running back No. 20 Auburn couldn't.

The 5-foot-7 Michael Smith rushed for 176 yards on 35 carries and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 63-yard run in the fourth quarter. The beleaguered Razorbacks defense then mounted two late defensive stops to preserve a 25-22 win over the Tigers on Saturday.

"We've been through a lot in the last couple games and we've gotten a lot better than where we started," said Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick, who ran for a touchdown and caught a scoring pass from receiver Joe Adams.

"We've grown as a team, become a lot closer. We knew if we could get it to a close game in the fourth quarter that we had a chance."

They hadn't had the opportunity to prove it. Arkansas had lost its last three games by a collective 139-31. The 19-point underdogs outgained Auburn 416-193 in the return of former Tigers offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino as Razorbacks coach.

The Razorbacks (3-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) forced Auburn's Kodi Burns into three straight incompletions from their 5 to halt one drive. Then Matt Harris made a diving interception with 29 seconds left on the Tigers' last chance.

The Tigers' second straight loss capped a tumultuous week. Coach Tommy Tuberville fired first-year offensive coordinator Tony Franklin three days before the game, then picked assistant Steve Ensminger as the playcaller for the rest of the season.

It has gotten bad enough Tuberville even found himself answering a question about his job security in the postgame news conference.

"It's been a tough week," he said. "I put our guys in a tough situation. I thought they fought hard, real hard. We didn't have a lot obviously on offense. Defensively, we couldn*t get off the field.

"It was just a tough night and a tough week overall. I feel really [bad] for our players. We struggled in every area."

The Tigers (4-3, 2-3) stopped Smith on three consecutive runs and used all three timeouts to get one final chance. Punter Jeremy Davis then ran out the back of the end zone for a safety to avoid a potential block.

That left Auburn needing only a field goal to tie it.

Burns opened the Tigers' final drive with a run to near midfield, but Harris made his downfield interception on the next play to preserve the first big win of Petrino's return to college football from the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.

"It's very rewarding," Petrino said. "It shows that the hard work we put in is paying off. It shows the ability of our players and their great attitude."

Burns, who had been alternating with Chris Todd, took a sputtering offense 76 yards late but came up short. He ran for two first downs and completed a 38-yarder to Tim Hawthorne on a third-and-8 play.

Burns then threw two straight incompletions on fade routes to the left corner of the end zone and heaved the ball over the head of running back Eric Smith in the end zone on fourth down.

The big blow had come from Michael Smith. He burst through the middle and shed two would-be tacklers downfield to make it 25-20 with 8:50 left. Dick checked off into the play at the line of scrimmage and gave it yet another time to his speedy back.

"I didn't even know that I had that many carries, but I think my body knows it," Smith said.

Dick was 17-of-32 for 222 yards but his two interceptions set up Auburn field goals. He also caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Adams on a reverse late in the third and had a 1-yard scoring run.

Both Auburn quarterbacks continued to struggle. Burns was 7-of-18 for 119 yards and was picked off twice. Todd was 3-for-10 for 18 yards and also was intercepted, but said the change in offensive bosses wasn't the problem.

"I don't think it had any negative effect on the offense at all," he said. "If anything, it kind of makes you come together when you face adversity like that."

Unlike Arkansas and Smith, the Auburn tailbacks never got involved in the game. Ben Tate had just eight carries for 32 yards, and Tuberville attributed that to the Razorbacks stacking the line of scrimmage.

"When you're about last in the league in throwing offense, you put them all up there and that's what they did," he said. "They forced us to throw the ball. We completed 10 passes all night. You've got to be able to take advantage of what they give you and we just weren't able to do it."

Tristan Davis supplied two of Auburn's biggest plays. He scored on a 97-yard kick return in the first quarter, the Tigers' first kick return for a score since Brad Lester's 93-yarder against Ball State in 2005.

Davis also forced a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half to set up Burns' 3-yard TD run for a 20-10 lead.

It was all Arkansas from there. Adrian Davis picked off Todd's pass and returned it 17 yards to the Auburn 23 on the final play of the third quarter to settle for a 44-yard field goal by Shay Haddock, who had an extra point blocked by Sen'Derrick Marks a few minutes earlier.

Auburn's Wes Byrum, who missed a PAT try in last week's 14-13 loss at Vanderbilt, then pushed a 33-yard field goal attempt wide right.

Source - AP

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The Arkansas-Kentucky football game in Lexington, KY, on Oct. 18 will be televised by ESPNU, it was announced on Wednesday by the Southeastern Conference office.

The game between the Razorbacks and the Wildcats in Lexington, KY, will kick at 6 p.m. CST (7 p.m. EST).

Arkansas has appeared on regional or national television three times already this season. The Razorbacks’ game at Texas was broadcast on ABC Sports while matchups against Alabama and Florida were aired by Raycom Sports. In addition, Arkansas’ game against Louisiana-Monroe was broadcast on a pay-per-view basis.

Arkansas will play Auburn this weekend in a game televised on a pay-per-view basis through Razorback Sports Properties. Fans should contact their local cable or home dish provider for ordering information.

View the 2008 Football Schedule.

Source - UA Sports Information

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