2008 Woodie Awards
Hogs' road to bowl game gets tougher in November
Matt Watson
Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Sports
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In '02, quarterback Matt Jones passed for roughly 1,600 yards, completing 52.1 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Casey Dick has 979 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven picks through eight games this season with a 53.4 completion percentage and is on pace for 1,470 yards.
Fred Talley led the Arkansas rushing attack in '02 with 1,119 yards. Matt Jones and De'Arrius Howard combined for 1200 more yards on the ground, and Cedric Cobbs added 400 more yards to push the team over 3,000 rushing yards.
Darren McFadden has rushed for just under one thousand yards already in 2007, complemented by 863 yards from Felix Jones. At their current pace, the Hogs would rush for 3,450 yards this season. The UA school record is 3,523, set in 11 games in 1975.
The '02 squad blanked South Carolina 23-0 on the road and beat Mississippi State 26-19 two weeks later in Starkville, Miss. With an epic 21-20 victory against LSU in Little Rock, remembered as the "Miracle on Markham Street," the Hogs won the SEC Western Division title, finishing November 5-0 with a pair of non-conference wins.
After Georgia dominated Arkansas in the conference championship game, the Hogs lost to Minnesota in the Music City Bowl to finish the season 9-5. Matt Jones had two years left at the UA, senior tailback Fred Talley graduated and junior Cedric Cobbs stayed and led the SEC in rushing the next year.
In 2007, quarterback Casey Dick is just a junior, but Heisman candidate Darren McFadden is likely headed for the NFL. Will junior running back Felix Jones stay for his senior season and produce like Cobbs did in 2003?
Going into November 2007, Nutt will have to win at least one game to be bowl-eligible and will have to leapfrog four teams to play for the SEC title in December.
"We've always hit on the way you finish. November is always the time that they remember," Nutt said. "It's what happens at the end of the year."
Changes on Offensive Line
Last Saturday against Florida International, freshman Ray Dominguez alternated at left guard with junior Mitch Petrus, the former fullback who started preseason camp as the left guard going into the season.
Against Tennessee-Chattanooga, freshman Wade Grayson shared time with Petrus on the offensive line.
"We'll keep the same guys going, Ray Dominguez and Mitch Petrus," Nutt said. "They're splitting duties there."
Nutt said that Petrus will start against South Carolina this weekend and continue to rotate players on the line at left guard.
Casey Dick has 979 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven picks through eight games this season with a 53.4 completion percentage and is on pace for 1,470 yards.
Fred Talley led the Arkansas rushing attack in '02 with 1,119 yards. Matt Jones and De'Arrius Howard combined for 1200 more yards on the ground, and Cedric Cobbs added 400 more yards to push the team over 3,000 rushing yards.
Darren McFadden has rushed for just under one thousand yards already in 2007, complemented by 863 yards from Felix Jones. At their current pace, the Hogs would rush for 3,450 yards this season. The UA school record is 3,523, set in 11 games in 1975.
The '02 squad blanked South Carolina 23-0 on the road and beat Mississippi State 26-19 two weeks later in Starkville, Miss. With an epic 21-20 victory against LSU in Little Rock, remembered as the "Miracle on Markham Street," the Hogs won the SEC Western Division title, finishing November 5-0 with a pair of non-conference wins.
After Georgia dominated Arkansas in the conference championship game, the Hogs lost to Minnesota in the Music City Bowl to finish the season 9-5. Matt Jones had two years left at the UA, senior tailback Fred Talley graduated and junior Cedric Cobbs stayed and led the SEC in rushing the next year.
In 2007, quarterback Casey Dick is just a junior, but Heisman candidate Darren McFadden is likely headed for the NFL. Will junior running back Felix Jones stay for his senior season and produce like Cobbs did in 2003?
Going into November 2007, Nutt will have to win at least one game to be bowl-eligible and will have to leapfrog four teams to play for the SEC title in December.
"We've always hit on the way you finish. November is always the time that they remember," Nutt said. "It's what happens at the end of the year."
Changes on Offensive Line
Last Saturday against Florida International, freshman Ray Dominguez alternated at left guard with junior Mitch Petrus, the former fullback who started preseason camp as the left guard going into the season.
Against Tennessee-Chattanooga, freshman Wade Grayson shared time with Petrus on the offensive line.
"We'll keep the same guys going, Ray Dominguez and Mitch Petrus," Nutt said. "They're splitting duties there."
Nutt said that Petrus will start against South Carolina this weekend and continue to rotate players on the line at left guard.
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