UA-MSU NOTES : Bowl bid likely for Hogs, but destination unknown
Posted on Sunday, November 18, 2007
LITTLE ROCK — Houston Nutt was adamant minutes after Arkansas defeated Mississippi State 45-31 at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Razorbacks’ season would last beyond its game with No. 1 LSU next Friday, the Hogs’ coach declared.
“ No question about it, ” Nutt said. “ We’re going to a bowl. We’re going to a good bowl. ”
Arkansas (7-4, 3-4 SEC ) reached the seven-win plateau, a benchmark that seems to put the Razorbacks in good standing for a spot in college football’s postseason. Although Arkansas had already achieved enough victories to become bowl-eligible before its win over Mississippi State, an opportunity to play in December or January didn’t necessarily await the Razorbacks.
“ We knew it wasn’t a guarantee that six wins was going to get us to a bowl, ” Razorbacks senior wide receiver Marcus Monk said.
After all, 10 teams in the Southeastern Conference had already won six games and there are only eight bowl tie-ins with the league.
“ It’s fun to see parity in college football, ” said Cotton Bowl spokesman Charlie Fiss, who attended Saturday’s game. “ Once you think you have it figured out, you don’t have it figured out. ”
Fiss was among representatives from the Independence, Chick-fil-A and Liberty Bowls who were mingling in the War Memorial Stadium press box. They were there to evaluate both Mississippi State and Arkansas as potential suitors.
The result of Saturday’s game was expected to have significant ramifications on the postseason picture. Even with the victory, Fiss said that in all likelihood the Razorbacks would have to defeat LSU to spend New Year’s Day in Dallas.
“ Arkansas is always a factor, ” Fiss said. “ But they really need to finish 8-4 to be seriously considered. ”
The Independence Bowl, on the other hand, is already looking hard at Arkansas, according to its chairman, Joe Darwin. “ I think this bodes well for them, ” Darwin said. “ They looked very good and I think their fans will be passionate about their bowl destination. ” Players, Nutt motivated
by distractions A whirlwind of rumors spun Friday that centered on Arkansas coach Houston Nutt’s future with the Razorbacks. Reports filtered out that Nutt would not return in 2008 as the team was checking in to the Embassy Suites hotel in Little Rock. Insulated from the outside world, the players were informed of the speculation surrounding Nutt only when the coach addressed the team that night. “ We were in a hotel watching a movie, ” Arkansas wide receiver Marcus Monk. “ You guys probably heard about it more than us. ” But when the players learned of the rumors, they rallied behind Nutt. Early this morning, wide receivers Robert Johnson and Reggie Fish were among several team members who text-messaged Nutt to offer their support. Nutt, meanwhile, said he was upset the reports about his job status came on the eve of a game day. “ It wasn’t true yesterday and it wasn’t true today, ” Nutt said. “ It’s not right to do that unless you have a real source from that athletic director at that school or me. And you don’t. It’s just not good business. ” Nutt said he could sense the Razorbacks were playing for him Saturday. “ There’s no question about it, ” Nutt said. “ They said, ‘ We’re going to get this one today, Coach. ’ That’s what it’s about. ”
Dick has big day For much of the season, Casey Dick’s play has been forgettable. Before Saturday, he completed 54. 9-percent of his passes and was ranked ninth in the Southeastern Conference in passing yards per game. But Dick was superb Saturday. He connected on 14 of the 17 throws he attempted. And he tossed four touchdown passes while accounting for 199 yards through the air. “ He was so good, ” Arkansas coach Houston Nutt. “ You’ve got to give credit to your trigger man. He was so efficient. ” Dick looked nothing like the quarterback who was taken out of the game during the Razorbacks’ 34-13 loss to Tennessee on Nov. 10. “ We felt comfortable with our gameplan, ” Dick said. “ We had to be efficient throwing the ball. We didn’t throw the ball a whole lot. But when we did throw it we made the most of it. ” Johnson goes out in style Robert Johnson played his last home game as an Arkansas Razorback on Saturday, and he made it one to remember. The senior wide receiver caught two touchdown passes — one from Casey Dick and the other from Darren McFadden while making three receptions for 71 yards. “ It feels good, ” Johnson said. “ You’ve just got to go up and make a play on the ball. ” That’s exactly what Johnson had to do on McFadden’s only pass of the game — a 24-yard completion in the fourth quarter that gave Arkansas a 38-17 lead. “ The one Darren threw was ugly, ” Johnson said with a smile. “ But it was all good. ”
Injury report Arkansas sophomore defensive tackle Malcolm Sheppard sprained his right ankle, and sophomore cornerback Jerell Norton suffered a bruise on his lower leg.
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