2008 Woodie Awards
Razorback fans leave happy
Razorback Road
Matt Jones
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
OXFORD, Miss. - If there were 52,671 in attendance Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, at least one-fifth were from Arkansas. Maybe more.
The heart of the Magnolia State had a touch of Razorback red as a surprising number of Razorback fans followed the then-winless Razorbacks south for a battle of winless teams in the Southeastern Conference.
And it was a good sign for the Razorbacks. There isn't as much chatter 390 miles from the Fayetteville campus among Razorback fans about Houston Nutt's job security. There isn't a lot of talk about play-calling and a Heisman Trophy takes a backseat to a win.
Saturday it was all about winning.
That's what Arkansas did, and the Razorbacks did so convincingly.
Not only did Arkansas win Saturday - the Razorbacks made a statement. Although the statement came against the league's last winless team, a lot of positives can be taken from Saturday's performance.
Arkansas' offense had eclipsed its total yardage mark from the Auburn game by halftime. The Razorbacks converted 10-of-15 third downs, including many third-and-longs on draw plays.
The rushing game got back on track with two quick scores from Felix Jones and never looked back. A week after Auburn held Arkansas to 67 yards rushing, the Razorbacks looked more like themselves by rushing for 293 yards.
Casey Dick continued his stellar performance in the state of Mississippi, completing 11-of-17 passes for 96 yards and three touchdowns. In three career starts, Dick has passed for 383 yards and eight touchdowns, but more importantly has a 3-0 record.
Arkansas played aggressively and gave its first complete game of the season. Arkansas learned how to not only finish, but start and play well in between, too.
Defensively, the Razorbacks are getting better. Arkansas has held back-to-back SEC teams to single-digit scoring. In fact, Arkansas has held its last four opponents to 7, 15, 9 and 8 points, respectively.
The heart of the Magnolia State had a touch of Razorback red as a surprising number of Razorback fans followed the then-winless Razorbacks south for a battle of winless teams in the Southeastern Conference.
And it was a good sign for the Razorbacks. There isn't as much chatter 390 miles from the Fayetteville campus among Razorback fans about Houston Nutt's job security. There isn't a lot of talk about play-calling and a Heisman Trophy takes a backseat to a win.
Saturday it was all about winning.
That's what Arkansas did, and the Razorbacks did so convincingly.
Not only did Arkansas win Saturday - the Razorbacks made a statement. Although the statement came against the league's last winless team, a lot of positives can be taken from Saturday's performance.
Arkansas' offense had eclipsed its total yardage mark from the Auburn game by halftime. The Razorbacks converted 10-of-15 third downs, including many third-and-longs on draw plays.
The rushing game got back on track with two quick scores from Felix Jones and never looked back. A week after Auburn held Arkansas to 67 yards rushing, the Razorbacks looked more like themselves by rushing for 293 yards.
Casey Dick continued his stellar performance in the state of Mississippi, completing 11-of-17 passes for 96 yards and three touchdowns. In three career starts, Dick has passed for 383 yards and eight touchdowns, but more importantly has a 3-0 record.
Arkansas played aggressively and gave its first complete game of the season. Arkansas learned how to not only finish, but start and play well in between, too.
Defensively, the Razorbacks are getting better. Arkansas has held back-to-back SEC teams to single-digit scoring. In fact, Arkansas has held its last four opponents to 7, 15, 9 and 8 points, respectively.
Be the first to comment on this story