Davis out after one year at North Carolina? Sounds just about right
By Derick Moss,
November 12, 2007 - 11:48PM
It’s hard to imagine, but there is considerable talk around the state (the entire Southeast really) about North Carolina head football coach Butch Davis leaving the school after just one season. And the destination most often mentioned is his alma mater, Arkansas.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am an Arkansas guy, too. But that also means I have friends near the program that give me the scuttlebutt On the Hill in Fayetteville.
And they’re all talking about Davis a lot, too. [read more]

The abysmal Razorback passing game once again bites Arkansas in the butt. Tennessee obviously wasn't too concerned with getting beat in the passing game and focused their secondary on stopping McFadden. As a result, Jones and McFadden combined for less than 50 yards rushing in the first half. DMac ended with 116 yards rushing on 22 carries for a 5.3 per carry average, but without some passing effectiveness to go with that, it again wasn't enough. Felix Jones was injured on his first kickoff return of the day and wasn't able to contribute. Michael Smith filled in for Jones and ended with 25 yards on eight carries.

The passing stats don't look that bad compared to what Hog fans are used to seeing with 15/30 for 164 yards, three interceptions and no touchdowns. Casey Dick was 3/10 for 15 yards and an interception in the first half. The total lack of offense along with the defense's inability to get the Tennessee offense off the field resulted in a 20-3 halftime deficit. A quick Vol touchdown at 11:22 of the third quarter pushed the lead to 27-3. That lead was too much for our lame passing game, with or wihout Jones.

It's clear that if we're playing someone that we can't run the ball down their throat, we're going to lose. Just like last year after Nutt took the offense back from Coach Malzahn.

Hog fans better enjoy that win streak over substandard teams, because Mississippi State (winners today over Alabama) comes to town next week, followed by LSU the week after. The Razorbacks are going to have to win one of those two to have any chance at a decent bowl, with 11 teams in the SEC bowl eligible.

FAYETTEVILLE - The University of Arkansas turned over more than 1,000 pages of documents last week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the attorney representing former Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain.

Rogers attorney Timothy Hutchinson requested the documents on Oct. 24. He was seeking any information the university uncovered in its investigation of a harassing e-mail sent to Mustain by a booster on Dec. 7, 2006. Mustain, a graduate of nearby Springdale, spent his freshman season at Arkansas, but transferred in the spring to Southern California.

In addition to any documents pertaining to an e-mail sent from booster Teresa Prewett to Mustain, Hutchinson also sought "any and all records of any employee of the University of Arkansas which mentioned or referred to Mr. Mustain."

[read more]

Heisman-o-meter: Welcome back, D-Mac. After slipping down the list in the past month, McFadden had arguably the single best performance of any Heisman contender all season, all the more remarkable considering he had 260 of his rushing yards in the last 32 minutes (and after Gamecocks safety Emanuel Cook absolutely lit him up in the first half, forcing a fumble). He's back in the race, but, in this opinion, he needs to produce in each of the next three games to make up ground on Dixon and Tebow, who have been brilliant more consistently. [read more]

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas’ Darren McFadden and Felix Jones now can add an NCAA record to their resumes. The NCAA confirmed on Monday that the Arkansas duo owns the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) record for most combined rushing yards by teammates in a single game after combining for 487 rushing yards against No. 23 South Carolina last Saturday night.

McFadden tied an SEC record with 321 yards on 34 carries, matching Vanderbilt’s Frank Mordica who rushed for the same total in 1978 against Air Force. Jones turned in a career-high 166 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries. [read more]

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Darren McFadden ran for 323 yards and a touchdown, boosting his Heisman Trophy hopes with a breathtaking performance in Arkansas' 48-36 victory over No. 23 South Carolina on Saturday night.

McFadden also threw for a touchdown, and Felix Jones rushed for 163 yards and three TDs for the Razorbacks.

Arkansas led 21-3 after the first quarter, and although the Gamecocks rallied in the second half, they never could stop the Hogs' running game. Arkansas 541 yards rushing on the night. [read more]

Fayetteville, AR (Sports Network) - The 23rd-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks are desperate for a victory, and they are set to do battle with the Arkansas Razorbacks in an SEC affair.

After a 6-1 start to the campaign, South Carolina has lost back-to-back decisions to fall out of contention for the SEC title. Last weekend, the Gamecocks suffered a 27-24 loss to Tennessee in overtime, and the previous loss came by double figures to Vanderbilt. Neither the Vols nor the Commodores are mentioned among the elite of the SEC, an indication that South Carolina may not be as good as many fans and analysts thought. [read more]

It's not often that a coach takes over a program with as much talent in it as John Pelphrey has in his first season at Arkansas.

Former Razorbacks coach Stan Heath, who was fired and is now at South Florida, had put together a senior-laden team that is coming off consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

Arkansas sneaked into the Big Dance a year ago with 21 wins and a 7-9 SEC mark.

This year they return everyone. [read more]

In front of a sadly empty Reynolds Razorback Stadium, the Hogs hammered Florida International 58-10. Nathan Emert was the leading passer of the football game going 13/25 for 154 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Casey Dick started the game but had to leave with an injury in the first half. The FIU defense keyed on McFadden, as all other defenses have this season. DMac ended the game with 19 carries for 61 yards, but had four touchdowns. Felix Jones led the Arkansas rushing attack with 17 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown.

FIU's quarterback ended the game with 217 yards of total offense against an attacking Razorback defense, but had five interceptions with Rashaad Johnson picking off two. Jerrell Norton, Michael Grant, and Kevin Woods all had one each.

The game thread is here.

The hype surrounding Darren McFadden is still centered on whether he will or won't be awarded the Heisman Trophy this December in New York City. (Individual tickets are still available at only $500.) While McFadden is still ranked on top or near the top of most Heisman hopeful lists, it's where he'll go in the 2008 draft that will be the next big question.

(We're assuming that the junior running back will leave Arkansas early to head for the NFL. We're also going to assume that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow.)[read more]