Calling the Hogs

This is using Rivals, Scout, ESPN, and MaxPreps. These are the teams that were ranked on each list. The “lowest” point total wins:

1. TEXAS (7)
2. FLORIDA ST (11)
3. ALABAMA (14)
4. AUBURN (23)
5. USC (25)
6. NOTRE DAME (26)
7. LSU (27)
8. GEORGIA (29)
9. OHIO ST (31)
10. OREGON (48)
11. OKLAHOMA (55)
12. CALIFORNIA (59)
13. FLORIDA (62)
14. NORTH CAROLINA (65)
15. WASHINGTON (66)
16. ARKANSAS (70)
17. TENNESSEE (77)
18. OLE MISS (82)

A couple of Razorbacks make the list of SEC’s most improved players of 2010 list. Sophomore RB Knile Davis and Senior LB Anthony Leon both make the list at #4 and #10 respectively.

Five things to look for as we close out September:

1. Ryan Mallett versus the Alabama defense: A year ago the Arkansas quarterback was simply overwhelmed when the Hogs went to Alabama. He completed only 12 of 35 passes, was sacked three times and rushed eight others. The result was a 35-7 victory by Alabama. Now Mallett has the confidence of winning an SEC game on the road (where he was 0-4 last season). He threw for 380 yards against Gerogia and won the game on a last-second touchdown pass. Will he be able to handle what Alabama’s defense is going to throw at him Saturday in Fayetteville?

2. Streaks by Florida and Kentucky: There have been some close calls along the way, but Florida has beaten Kentucky 23 straight times heading into Saturday’s showdown in the Swamp. Kentucky has played token opposition in its first three games but has not turned the ball over once. That’s hard to do even against tall grass. Will either of those streaks come to an end on Saturday? I don’t imagine Kentucky’s turnover streak will stay intact against a defense that already has 10 interceptions this season.

3. A showdown of great freshman running backs: Saturday’s game between South Carolina and Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium will feature two of the brightest young stars in the SEC. Freshman running back Marcus Lattimore of South Carolina has carried it 70 times in three games (including 37 against Georgia) for 333 yards. Another freshman running back, Michael Dyer at Auburn, is starting to assert himself with the Tiger offense. Some folks have compared these two youngsters to Herschel and Bo (no last names needed). It’s way too early for that. These guys are good, but not sure they are in Herschel and Bo territory.

4. Is LSU starting to put things together? The Tigers still look pretty ugly on offense but the defense, after getting torched for over 400 yards passing in the opener with North Carolina, is starting to look strong. John Chavis’s group forced five interceptions last week against Mississippi State and some of them were great athletic plays (by the way, LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson is the best football player I’ve seen this year.) LSU has a non-conference game with West Virginia on Saturday and Tennessee comes to Baton Rouge next week. Win them both and LSU will be 5-0 going to Florida on Oct. 9. Have I written off LSU too early?

5. Ole Miss is in a “must win” situation against Fresno State: The Rebels got embarrassed by Division I-AA Jacksonville State on Sept. 4. They slopped their way to a win at Tulane on Sept. 11. Then they just got gashed by Vanderbilt in Oxford 28-14 last week. It would be easy to blame bad karma because the Rebels took troubled quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. But the fact is that the defense has not been doing the job. Ole Miss is ninth in the SEC in total defense and rushing defense. The front seven was supposed to be the strength of this team. They had better beat Pat Hill’s Bulldogs on Saturday because the next for games for Ole Miss (1-3) are with Kentucky (3-0), Alabama (3-0), Arkansas (3-0) and Auburn (3-0).

Written by Tony Barnhart

Hey, you’ve gotta say something after getting beat down 35-7, right? Last year, Alabama put a real hurting on Arkansas in Tuscaloosa, grounding Ryan Mallett and the high-flying Razorbacks offense before it could ever get rolling. Alabama, ranked No. 3 at the time, won going away, 35-7. Just how bad was it for the Arkansas offense last year? The Tide defense allowed just 63 yards on the ground and recorded eight tackles for loss.

And Mallett? He was a measly 12-of-35 for 160 yards with just one touchdown. The Alabama defense sacked him three times, hurried him six times and picked him off once. “I don’t think we went in with the mindset that we were going to win that game,” Mallett said Monday of last year’s game. “And it showed up on the field.”

This year is going to be a different story!

By Erik Stinnett, Senior Writer

So we know that the Big 12 has plans to stay at 10 teams for the foreseeable future, and that commissioner Dan Beebe said if it ever does expand again it likely won’t do so in the league’s current five-state footprint. However, that hasn’t stopped Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman from looking at possible candidates to get the league back up to an even dozen.

Tramel has a long piece about bringing Arkansas aboard as the 11th team, providing a list of pros for the Razorbacks. (This despite no apparent interest on the Hogs’ part in leaving the SEC.) For number 12, Tramel’s top choice is Louisville, which has a decent overall athlete program, is from a decent-sized TV market and is a decent geographic fit. (Not exactly a ringing endorsement, eh?)

Beyond the Cardinals, Tramel suggests BYU, New Mexico, Air Force, Memphis, Pitt and Cincinnati.

It’s all a pipe dream at the moment, at least until officials at Texas get restless again.

Courtesy of ESPN News Services

On Wednesday we told you about the story by Tom Keegan of the Lawrence Journal-World in which a source familiar with the thinking of Dallas Cowboys owner (and Arkansas alum) Jerry Jones said that Jones wanted Arkansas to play in the same conference as Texas and Texas A&M and that Jones “sees the Big 12 expanding with Arkansas and Notre Dame.” Nowhere in Keegan’s story does he write that Jones is actively trying to make a match.

Yet that’s what has been reported, so much so that the Cowboys issued a statement denying that Jones has been involved in any discussions regarding conference realignment. However, a source confirmed to Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com that Jones does have interest in bringing Arkansas to the Big 12. Moreover, Jones’ son, Stephen, said in a TV interview that Arkansas fits as a natural rival in the conference.

On Thursday, we told you about Chip Brown’s tweet that Arkansas had put out feelers about joining the Big 12 but didn’t have the votes to approve the move. A source close to Jones told Brown that Jones “has nothing to do with Arkansas’ decision making and couldn’t be further from anything having to do with college realignment.” Still, if the Big 12 came to Jones and said it would add Arkansas if Jones could guarantee the Hogs $20 million in revenue, who’s to say he would say no?

With some additional question marks around the health of QB Ryan Mallett, the following video discusses if Mallett is irreplaceable.

QB Ryan Mallett Video

By Harold McIlvain II

Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett will not be able to put weight on his left foot following a procedure that replaced a screw in the injured leg.

But Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino said he expects the signal caller to be back to normal after he takes some time off with the injury.

“He will be non-weight bearing for the next two weeks and I expect Ryan to return fully after that time period,” Petrino said in a statement. “I am completely confident in our athletic trainers and medical staff and the plan they have put in place for Ryan.”

The Petrino said procedure was expected to be done at about this time in the recovery process and was planned to be apart of getting the quarterback ready for the season opener against Tennessee Tech on September 4.

“We fully anticipated this would need to be done in early to mid-June and the timing of it was intentional to allow him to prepare for the season as much as possible during the summer months,” Petrino said.

Mallett, who led the Razorbacks to a 8-5 record last year, finished with 3,624 yards and 30 touchdowns in his first season as a Razorback.

The Razorbacks mens basketball program will not face losing scholarships or practice time due to its 886 APR score released today, the NCAA announced.

24 basketball programs were hit with penalties, including Syracuse which loses two basketball scholarships and UAB which loses two scholarships as well as having their practice time reduced. Portland State received the harshest penalty of all, a postseason ban as well as losing two scholarships and practice time.

Arkansas was granted leniency, partially based upon a one year APR jump from 755 to 933. It is that 755 score from the 2007-08 season that will keep the Arkansas APR score below 925 for the next couple of years, meaning the threat of losing scholarships and practice time will remain until it falls off the rolling four year average.

By Harold McIlvain II

The second day of the MLB Draft is in the books, and six Razorbacks found out where they were selected. Third baseman Zack Cox was selected 25th overall in the first round by the St. Louis Cardinals. Below is a press release from the Arkansas athletic department breaking down the action that took place today:

FAYETTEVILLE – The second day of the 2010 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft saw six Arkansas baseball players taken between rounds two and 22 headlined by Brett Eibner and Drew Smyly who were each selected in the second round. Along with Arkansas’ six current players, four Razorback recruits have also been taken over the first two days of the draft.

Along with Eibner and Smyly, Andy Wilkins, Mike Bolsinger, Collin Kuhn and Jeremy Heatley were also drafted on Tuesday bringing Arkansas’ total to seven, the most since nine Razorbacks were plucked from the 2007 squad and the tied for the fourth most in Arkansas history. It should be noted that there is still one more complete day of the draft on Wednesday and the 2010 Razorbacks could challenge Arkansas’ record of 10 draftees from the 1985 season.

Following Zack Cox, who went in the first round to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, Eibner was the fourth person selected on Tuesday, going to the Kansas City Royals with the 54th overall pick. Eibner, widely considered one of the best two-way talents in the draft, was selected as an outfielder by the Royals. Eibner has had a breakout season at the plate, ranking among the nation’s leaders in home runs with 21, while also hitting for average at .337. His 41 career home runs ranks fourth on Arkansas’ all-time list and to go along with his raw power at the plate, Eibner has played sterling defense in center field. His second-round draft position improves upon his fourth-round selection in the 2007 draft by the Houston Astros.

Smyly was not far behind his teammate, going 14 picks later to the Detroit Tigers as the 68th overall pick. Arkansas’ Friday night starter this season, Smyly is 9-1 on the year and 12-2 in two seasons as a starter and spot reliever. This season, his 2.56 earned run average is among the best in the Southeastern Conference and he became just the sixth pitcher in Arkansas history to strike out 100 batters in a season. Undrafted out of Central High School in Little Rock, Smyly has been a mainstay in the Arkansas rotation since joining the staff in 2009 after a redshirt year.

In the fifth round of the draft, junior Andy Wilkins was selected with the 158th pick by the Chicago White Sox. A power hitting first baseman, Wilkins has been on scout’s radar for several years and helped himself with a solid summer as a member of Team USA (Collegiate) last summer. A career .305 hitter with 42 home runs, Wilkins was drafted as a first baseman, but can also play third making him an attractive utility player. This is Wilkins’ second time drafted as he was taken in 2007 by the Texas Rangers in the 25th round with the 770th pick.

Like the second round, a pair of Hogs was taken in the 15th as senior pitcher Bolsinger and sophomore left fielder Kuhn each had their names called. Bolsinger was selected with the 451st pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks while Kuhn was called on by the Detroit Tigers at 463rd. Bolsinger was picked up for the third time by a major league club, going in the 34th round in 2006 and in the 33rd last season. Kuhn, the Fayetteville Regional Most Outstanding Player was drafted for the first time.

Rounding out Arkansas’ current players in the draft was the senior Heatley who went in the 22nd round of the draft to the Florida Marlins. Heatley was previously drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2008.

Arkansas’ recruiting class was also high on the Major League draft boards over the course of the first two days. Justin O’Connor from Indiana was selected in the first round by the Tampa Bay Rays with the 31st overall pick. Ryne Stanek, a right-handed pitcher from Overland Park, Kan., was taken in the third round with the 99th pick by the Seattle Mariners. Jared Lakind, of Cypress Woods, Texas, and Dominic Ficociello of Fullerton, Calif., were each taken in the 23rd round by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers, respectively.