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SharpTusk Blogs
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The internet has changed the way we think, work, shop and probably most importantly, how we relate to people. I’ve considered this before, but last week it touched me in a very personal way. Let me explain.
Several years ago, I think it was 2005, I joined the website operated by The Sporting News, TSN. At first it was just to play online Fantasy Baseball (for you true devotees, it was online Strat-O-Matic), but as I starting reaching out to the community I discovered a rich blogging experience. Initially a reader and commenter, I was encouraged by my new found friends to blog—primarily by my internet Godfather Lew Troop. I’ve always been a writer, but had not blogged before. And Lew pushed and encouraged and critiqued me into it. He’s the only one of my TSN pals that I’ve ever had contact with outside the ‘net, and we spoke often and regularly on the phone.
Blogging became a wellspring for me. In addition to a creative outlet that really encouraged and developed my talent, it was a repository for my work—and I’ll tell you that I had some great stuff out there. Twice TSN recognized and posted my work on the national site, I won the only blogging contest I ever entered, and my colleagues recognized one of my pieces as among the best on the TSN site and named me to the Hall of Fame. This was all in the span of a little more than a year.
Unfortunately, my advancing career limited the time I could spend on blogging at that point, and I drifted away from it. Eventually, the sight was shut down, and I lost over 100 of the best pieces and columns I’d ever written. That still grinds me.
But in addition to the writing, I had stumbled upon an amazing network of friends. Not traditional at all, but friends none the less. I only ever had that one that I talked with on the phone, and have never met any of them in person; less from a conscious decision than from circumstance. But they’re friends. We mourn each other’s losses, encourage and support, celebrate the highs. And when one of us is gone for an extended period without contact the network whips into action and we try and find out what happened to the missing member of the family.
When TSN broke down, the core group started another blogging community. I’ve yet to engage to write or post there, but I read it regularly; and others of us connected via Facebook and Twitter. And I can tell you they’re among my closest friends. They’ve shared in my career and job changes, family moments and all of the things your friends are always there for. I’m attached to them. I need only get a retweet from Sharp Tusk (@SharpTusk) or a favorite from Jesse (@WhistlePig11) and it’s like my grade school best friend has called. They rally around you too. Through Sharp Tusk, I’ve become an adopted member of Arkansas Razorback nation, even thoughI’m a dyed in the wool Crème and Crimson Indiana Hoosier fan. I was struggling to reach 100 followers onTwitter (@GregLHoover) and ST fired out a missive to his beloved Hawg Nation and BANG! I had more #WPS tags (Woo Pig Sooey!, an Arkansas thing) than you can shake a stick at. I felt like someone from the country who was a little lost and had been taken in by his City neighbors.
And while this is all centered on our writing and blogging, it’s like the friends you meet from work that you have a beer with or go to dinner or a ball game, you develop other closer relationships. We’ve got standing jokes about the Mayans, the Apocalypse (actually Hogpocalypse as my WPS buds call it), and many others. They’re a very significant and important part of my life and I love each and every one of them.
And last week, the haunting shadow that I knew was back there but had never acknowledged came calling: we lost one of our old TSN gang, Third Stone From the Sun. Third Stone was a great writer—primarily on NFL and NFL Hall of Fame subjects—and he’d been MIA for a couple of weeks…when one of our friends was contacted via e-mail. 3rdStone, had suffered a stroke and passed away on January 22, 2012. Only 45, he left a wife and three young daughters.
Now, I only knew Stone from his writing. He’d have recognized me as well, though we’d never even so much as exchanged messages. I’m not even sure I’d ever posted in response to one of his pieces. But he was part of my TSN family. Certainly not as close as Lew Troop, Frags, Sharp Tusk, Harvey Dakota or numerous others…but there none-the-less. I can tell you that when I learned of his passing I cried, and was maudlin for most of the day and the rest of that week.
So how do you wrap your arms around that? Why this sense of loss for someone you’ve never even so much as exchanged an e-mail with?
Well it’s not as complex as you might think. Our emotional attachments come from interaction…and in this case, I’d interacted with Stone by knowing his opinions, his writing style, his likes and dislikes; even if we hadn’t directly communicated. That’s the thing about the internet—it’s changing paradigms all over the place. And now it’s changed another for me by redefining how I meet, engage, grow fond of other people, and eventually mourn their loss. Hopefully this is the first of many such times, because while it hurts, it’s also the mark that we’re out there developing lasting and important relationships that matter to us; the essential point of life from where I stand.
So Godspeed and Rest in Peace Third Stone; and prayers of sympathy and support to your family and little girls. While the old expression “we hardly knew you” might seem apt here, it really isn’t.
Because even though it’s different from how I’ve known others for all of my 51 years, I knew you very well. I liked your writing, I respected your opinions, I looked forward to “seeing”you, and I am going to miss you being a part of my universe—even if it was the digital and virtual one.
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It's probably for the better that I haven't been able to spare as much time to blog recently, so when I have, the posts have gone on Hog Database. The Bleacher Report flagged my writing privileges for a reason which wasn't explained until later. I re-submitted writing samples and waited. When my privileges came back, I had a new button as a "syndicated writer," and I still haven't taken the time to figure that out. In the Arkansas Razorback area, my posts remained in the top 5 in terms of views despite only occasionally getting any featured status. Apparently the problem was formatting. In the absence of an on-site html editor (at least on my page), I reluctantly chose not to post there until I could figure it out...and it's been a great ride.
As Auburn continued to roll, rightfully or wrongly, some of us determined in the early part of November that Arkansas controlled its own destiny to they Sugar Bowl provided that War Eagle continued to win. We laid it out there for anyone to see, stopping short of out-and-out predicting that it would occur. Depending upon where you are in the country (or out of the country), if you type "Arkansas Razorbacks Sugar Bowl" in a google search you will find my post from November 22 lurking around the top 5 despite thousands of other writings elsewhere.
Looking at the situation and knowing that Arkansas could not afford to leave anything to chance, because there are practically no guidelines or requirements on the part of Bowl officials when determining the replacement team when the Bowl lose a team to the BCS Championship game either at the BCS level or the SEC level, Arkansas had to cover all bases.
If things played out according to form (in our minds at least), then Arkansas and LSU would have identical records of 10-2 with Arkansas owning the head-to-head matchup. Auburn would saddle Alabama with its third loss. It was all so-far-so good in terms of persuading Sugar Bowl Officials to take the Razorbacks.
The biggest concern in early November was the differential in Arkansas' and LSU's BCS ratings and whether the Razorbacks could actually overcome the huge difference. In an obscure game with UTEP, Arkansas closed the gap of .3601 points with LSU by almost .0500 of a point with a ranked game against Mississippi State coming up. My post declared that the Mississippi State game was the biggest Razorback game in four years. It ended in a seven-point victory in overtime down in Starkville.
By the LSU game, it became certain that if Arkansas won, the Hogs would more than eclipse the difference in terms of BCS ratings points with LSU. The mean "net gain" (i.e. relative to one another because the point here was that Arkansas needed a higher BCE in BCS ratings points for a Top 25 team beating a Top 10 team was .3599. The net gain was the loss of points by the Top 10 Team and the gain of points by the Top 25 Team.
In CBS's introduction to LSU-Arkansas, the narration on top of the teams' highlights said that LSU would be playing for a BCS birth which was true. I guess Arkansas was supplying warm bodies because the Hogs seemed to be playing for a birth in the Cotton Bowl according to them.
Some of this is kind of a "we told them so," but it's aggravating that people in the positions of the stature of CBS Sports fail to realize the circumstances.
I was not at the game but have played in War Memorial Stadium and lived in the area for a long time. The worst thing that happened to LSU in the game before a down was played was that it won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. The reason has nothing to do with some overwhelming defense, or the like, but was more apt to be reasons in the pages of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
In April and November, and maybe it's this way across the entire U.S., I don't know, there are two weeks or so where the light outside is more brilliantly white than when it is more typically dulled with shades of yellow. The sky is like you might find at the beach without hazy disbursal of light from humidity. For us, most homes are in the western part of the city and the business district is to the east in Little Rock itself which means we drive into the sun in the morning and do the same on the way home. Sun glasses and car visors are a must to make out the color of back-lit light signals. Like most stadiums, War Memorial is generally in a north-south position, well almost. It's actually slanted on the north end to the east. http://www.maplandia.com/united-states/arkansas/pulaski-county/little-rock/ (The stadium is to the south of the river about midway along I-630.)
When LSU won the toss and elected to receive, Arkansas chose the South end zone. LSU's offense was now headed in a southwesterly direction into the sun at this particular time of year. In games through the year LSU's passing efficiency was the key component in its one loss and most of the close games, and now Jordan Jefferson was looking into the sun. http://www.hogdb.com/2010/11/27/beat-mad-hatter-corndog-nation/ Too, LSU's sideline was the east sideline so that Les Miles and crew would be looking into the sun. A ball cap would help some, if he had it with him.
The Razorbacks ran for one touchdown in the first quarter. However, LSU's offense produced no points in the first quarter in large part because Jordan Jefferson was 3-8 in passing with one of the completions being for a loss of five yards. Josh Jasper, LSU's kicker, attempted one field goal which he missed. Funny how he is a right- footed, soccer-style kicker who was on the left hash mark attempting a field goal. He would naturally start facing even more toward the southwest.
Arkansas would have faced the same set of problems in the second quarter, except for one slight change during the spring. Little Rock renovated the press box for the stadium and made it higher and wider than it ever had been before. It was now four stories over the top of the stadium bowl. By the second quarter, the sun started to set and a shadow came over the field. However, Jordan Jefferson was off his game enough that LSU had trouble. For the day, Jordan's pass efficiency rating was a poor 116.5. Against Alabama and Ole Miss, he turned in performances rated in the 190's. It kind of makes one wonder about the butterfly effect.
I cannot honestly say that Urban Meyer's retirement was of "no concern" to us. One of my criticisms of Bobby Petrino's original contract was that his "Houston Nutt" clause prevented him from taking employment at any other SEC West school. I wrote to miatay once that Petrino at Florida would make a juggernaut. (btw mia, thanks for the comments on Hog Database! They haven't gone unnoticed. )The time was right to pull out writings from 2008 and a transcript on how Petrino came to Arkansas which were all posted on TSN. I really did not believe that he would leave. http://www.hogdb.com/2010/12/09/bobby-petrino-leave-arkansas/
While Arkansas does not have the resources of Florida, Tennessee or Georgia, we have built fine facilities, have great support, and if the team wins, it competes for a National Championship. But Coach Petrino was not born with nor does he seem to expect to have a silver spoon in his mouth. If he did, he probably would have waited for another job to open instead of taking the Louisville position in the first place. Following his father on the field at Montana’s Carroll College, everything about Coach Petrino says that he finds value in and loves the challenge of making his system work against the best and when his background is considered, there is a measure of attractiveness in becoming the best when the best players are not instinctively attracted to the place he is. The idea is at the heart of You Can’t Get There From Here. But the place where he is has to meet criteria which Arkansas meets in terms of fan support, facilities, and to some measure the respect which is reflected in his pay.
As long as Arkansas keeps up its effort toward Bobby Petrino, we’ll be alright. Both sides have taken leaps of faith before.
Word leaked on Friday night, the night after the post above, that Petrino inked a deal with Arkansas, but those in Fayetteville caused many to wonder whether it was true because both the University of Arkansas and Bobby Petrino delayed in making a formal announcement until almost 10:00 p.m. on Saturday night.
It's here that Bobby Petrino had an out if he didn't want to stay at Arkansas despite the contract. Maybe you've heard the terms of the contract. It is an average of $3.56 million dollars plus incentives over seven years. But the buyout clauses are unprecedented in quite possibly any sport in the world. For 2011 the buyout is $18M. In 2012, it's $18M. 2013 $17.9 M, etc. The contract scales down to a whopping $7M in 2016 and $3.9 in 2017.
Why were Arkansas and Petrino complicit in delaying the announcement of Petrino's contract and what did it have to do with whether Petrino really wanted to stay at Arkansas?
As we might say around here, it had a hole in it as big as Dallas.
The announcement was delayed until after the time that both sides confirmed that Will Muschamp came to terms with Florida.
Despite all of the gargantuan terms of Bobby Petrino's contract, it did not take effect for another 22 days! Until January 1, 2011, Bobby Petrino is still under his existing contract at a $3M buyout!
Thanks ya'll for reading! See you at the Sugar Bowl!
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Sportingnews.com columnist Matt Hayes wrote a piece on November 8, 2009, entitled Conspiracy theorists about SEC officiating might be on to something where he places bad 2009 SEC officiating calls in line. He lists LSU and Georgia on October 3, Arkansas at Florida on October 17, Florida at Mississippi State on October 24 and finally LSU at Alabama on November 7. The latter two were specifically matters for replay officials, and everyone knows that an entire officiating crew was suspended following Arkansas and Florida match up. When he wrote the piece he had not encountered the Arkansas at LSU game where officials stopped the clock on the final drive despite an LSU running back landing two yards in bounds. Nor did he have the benefit of the Arkansas at Auburn game on Saturday or other calls this year.
Hayes was not alone in pointing out the circumstances back then. Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples , Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports, Greg Doyle of CBSSports.com, and others of similar or lesser stature commented on SEC Officiating throughout 2009.. Some acknowledged the conspiracy theory. Wetzel said in essence that it was full of malarkey. Doyle spouts off a bunch of psycho babble. However, Hayes put the ball between the numbers when he wrote:
“The breaks that keep on giving. After the coaches at Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi State all complained about bad calls -- the SEC admitted as much in the Arkansas loss to Florida -- Slive directed his closed-mouth mandate. The problem: The bad calls keep coming.
“The shame of it all is here is a moment where the SEC should be standing tall and thumping its chest and bragging about another No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the league’s championship game -- a title matchup that will be the most important game of the season for the fourth straight year.”
The calendar says that it is a new year, and Nick Saban made sure that we all knew it was a new and different football season at SEC Media Days. But here we are again.
[edit] On Saturday Auburn's Nick Fairley caught Ryan Mallett with a horse-collar grab, slammed him to the turf, and out of the game. The horse collar tackle was banned generally by the NCAA in 2008 (NCAA.org 2008-2009 Football Resource Page) and remained a part of the rules in 2010.NCAA changes to minimize risk of injury, NCAA.org, December 10, 2009. Nonetheless, as pointed out in comments below, despite general press release statement, the NCAA Football 2009-2010 Rules and Interpretations at FR-119 states:
All players are prohibited from grabbing the inside back collar of the shoulder pads or jersey, or the inside collar of the side of the shoulder pads or jersey, and immediately pulling the ball carrier down. This does not apply to a ball carrier, including a potential passer, who is inside the tackle box (Rule 2-34).
As a quick note, Rule 2-34 is the definition of "tackle box." For this play, the ball was positioned at the snap on the left hash mark. The left hash can be seen in the second screenshot below. The official is positioned in approximately the center of the field. Mallett scrambles to his right attempting to throw to a receiver in the end zone. What the screen shots do not show are the continued movements of Mallett and Fairley in the direction of the official. Both are running in the official's direction as Mallett tries to buy time. Plainly when Fairley begins the horse collar tackle, he and Mallett are inside the tackle box which is defined as the area along the neutral zone "five yards from the snapper" all the way back to Arkansas' goal. The distance between the two inside edges of the hash marks is 40 feet according to the NCAA Field Diagram Details. Five feet from the center of the field, the horse collar tackle became illegal contact. The play ended close to the center of the field for Mallett and Fairley.
The official made no call.
Arkansas defensive back Tramain Thomas punched the ball out of Auburn's Zac Etheridge's arm just before crossing the goal line. Neither the official closest to the play nor the line judge to Zac Etheridge's right called a touchdown and the ball plainly lands between the one yard line and the goal and rolls Arkansas' way. However, the decision on the field called the play a touchdown based upon the line judge's call who was on the left side of a runner carrying the ball in his right arm. The official closest to the play threw a bean bag and did not signal touchdown.
Arkansas running back Broderick Green was determined to have fumbled the ball before being down. Auburn scooped up the ball and returned it for a touchdown. With 100% certainty, Green was down.
The issues deal with fundamental fairness of a game and integrity in the game and impact the appearance of impropriety especially when they benefit what can be perceived as the conference favorite. NBA fans complained of it ad nauseum, and Tim Donaghy finally added fire to the smoke. Fans will come to expect that it is only a matter of time before some SEC official is exposed. In the interim, the SEC Officials' bad calls, suspensions, apologies, etc. do nothing to ensure that there will be a level playing field in the future. The past is gone. At some point, if it has not happened already, the SEC and its officials will carry the perception that “the fix is in.” If there are continued variations on the theme and this keeps happening over and over, enough proof of perception will be accepted as reality.
After further review, there is indisputable proof that Rogers Redding and Mike Slive will permit the play to stand as called. More than anything, this will cause loss of respect for the SEC.
SharpTusk is a Featured writer on Hog Database
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I needed a home for this entry. After everything, it's probably best here. I hope you don't mind.-- SharpTusk
This isn’t a crossover of one particular blog entry. It reaches across bigtoke’s blog, particularly the early entries. They're almost prerequisites for this entry, and as such, all of the hyperlinks, save one small period, are links to bigtokes's blog entries which have inspired this one. Thanks to backell for having the Bloggers Crossover Challenge and to bigtoke for writing for us, his audience. -- SharpTusk
There he sat. His bare feet propped up on the coffee table in front of him. His long khaki shorts were wrinkled, and he hadn’t shaved in two or three days. Bottles of Busch beer, plates, and wrappers cluttered his foot rest while his face reflected the flashing blue of the television screen in front of him. From the looks of the discs stacked on the edge of the coffee table, he was more than ten hours into watching the first four seasons of Dancing with the Stars on DVD.
Without the effort of even a glance, he said, “Did you drink the two beers I had in the bottom and back of the refrigerator from a while ago?"
Of course I had. They had been there for a couple of months, and it’s not exactly the coolest task to do yard work in the Arizona heat, and it’s especially not like they're rockets in Da Nang. To his vacant, blue expression I said, “I was planning on replacing them when I went out this afternoon.”
Diesel was in a funk. Divorces are rarely without their hard times. He wasn’t getting along with his ex-wife, and his kids were deciding that their own friends were better company. Being around Diesel, a tough hide went a long way right now.
I wasn’t exactly the best company either. A while back BMW had done a marketing study which said that the BMW dealership of Chapman’s Auto Group in Scottsdale would be better off in Tucson. The folks at Chapman's were working to implement BMW’s recommendation and would expand the VW part of the business in Scottsdale as part of the transition.
Chapman Automotive had grown and made a lot of changes since Mr. Chapman rescued me from a management career at Frontier Lanes Bowling Alley in 1974. Over 30 years Chapman’s business became one of the largest dealerships in the country as it grew with Scottsdale. I stayed on after Mr. Chapman left Scottsdale some years ago to open a dealership in Las Vegas. But these times were different.
Customers were becoming harder sells. We had a few returning cars. Others wouldn’t buy the step-up vehicle because of increases in mortgage payments. I could see that there would probably be more of everything except sales on the horizon and that made me uneasy after 30 years.
While I was out doing errands, Bud was on sale, so Budweiser it was for Diesel. I really hadn’t seen Diesel so down before. The man needed Mark Grace's solution to life's downturns. About the best I could do for him was to get him out of the house. I needed to get out, too.
I really didn’t want to get Diesel too pissed off. The effort took nearly two episodes Dancing with the Stars to convince him to go and had the season not ended I might have been there hours more. I even promised to spot him a couple of hundred dollars at Casino Arizona. He didn’t owe me if he lost and could keep whatever he won over the $200.00. This was one of the rare times I cleaned the funk in my house while Diesel made himself look respectable.
Driving into the casino parking lot, the place looked hopping. Not wanting to get behind from the start, we played the video poker machines for a while. I went with Diesel around the casino as he played a little of everything, and he came out a little ahead as he went. We decided to go our own ways and meet up later. He milled around, and I headed back to video poker.
Maybe a couple of hours and a few machines went by before I went to find Diesel. I walked around the place once or twice. To this day I don’t know where he went, but as I walked toward a 7 card stud table, one side of the table had a group of a dozen or so drop dead gorgeous women dressed to the nines who were easily having a good time. No sooner than my focus had shifted away from the vixens, the disheveled dealer motioned to me and said, “Come on, buddy, we’ve got a seat right in the middle for you.” “Why not?” I thought.
I sat at the five seat table, and one of the women from the drop dead group sat two players to my right. I had to double check that this was a $6/$12 table when I saw a couple of stacks of $100 chips as she put some of the chips in a handbag with an F and an upside down, backward F on it. Despite the large room of tables, there wasn’t a soul trying to tell these ladies to hold it down. Most seemed to be as interested as I.
I played for a few hands and was mainly paying the pot when up strode Diesel with a drink in his hand talking to a woman who stopped to mill with this group. I just glanced at him and grinned while he did his thing. After I won a second small pot, the gorgeous player to my right looked away over her shoulder and said, “Daddy, do you want to take my seat?" He said, “Sure, I’ll play a hand or two. Leave me some chips, would you?"
When he sat down, I knew him. I’d seen him in person a couple of times and even talked to him, but he didn’t recognize me. As the dealer tossed my second card, I saw Diesel start to move along with the group of women. He was wasn’t too far away yet. I laid my cards down and turned to Diesel who was having a really good time. I motioned for him to come over and said, “Give me all the chips you have.” Diesel didn’t hesitate and looked over his shoulder to make sure the woman wasn’t going anywhere.
The new gentleman player talked to whomever came up and seemed to be happy enough with his cards that he raised everybody the first round. After the dealer laid down a pair of Jacks on the table, everyone started to get a little excited. One of the players bowed out and the gentleman kept raising. I had enough to stay in the game and had the cards to justify it. Some of the women started gathering around and as the dealer threw down an Ace to go with the pair of Jacks on the board; another player folded. The first player checked and then folded when I bet, leaving me and the gentleman to my right who promptly raised me. I called. The dealer flipped another Ace, and I noticed the crowd around us beginning grow and buzz. I bet, he raised, I raised and he raised again before I called. The dealer dealt our last cards. Mine was no help to me.
I bet and we kept raising with neither backing down. I finally told him, “You can outspend me if you’d like, but you won’t beat me.”
He looked back at me and said, “Have it your way. I call. Let’s see what you got.”
No sooner than I showed my cards he stood up, threw his cards face up and announced, “A pair of pocket Aces. Four bullets. I win.” And he did.
The table and the crowd around it erupted. More people came up and the eruptions continued. I shook my head and couldn’t believe it. I stood up and held out my hand and said, “Nice game, Mr. Bidwill.” He said, “Maybe you’ll win next time.” I replied, “I was surprised that you didn't have to check with your wife before you laid down your cards.”
I don’t think he remembered as he gathered his chips because tonight, that's all he was getting from me. He blew it off, but it was a while before I made it out of the casino. The pit boss came over and talked to the dealer and us, while a couple of security goons waited close by. They let Mr. Bidwill leave after a short conversation. One of the goons came up and told the pit boss that the tape was good. A little while later, I made a couple of passes around the casino. I didn’t see the women or Diesel anywhere in sight. People kind of looked at me and stared.
I was done for the evening. I stepped out of Casino Arizona and called Diesel. I could hear women’s laughter and voices in the background as he said simply, “I’m good.” Click.
As I walked toward the car, I could hear the excited voice of a man talking on his phone up ahead. “Yeah, that’s right, baby. That many thousands of dollars. Can you believe it? I can move you all out here. God how we needed it! Thank you sweet Jesus!!” As I walked past, he stopped talking and looked over at me with an Arizona Cardinals ball cap on. It was our dealer. I glanced through the rear window of his car. It looked as though he was living in it. He looked up with a big smile and said, “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.” Politely, I told him, “Don’t worry about it” as I kept walking.
I started the ignition and flipped on the radio. Diesel was doing what he wanted and a more fitting song couldn’t have started on the radio. It was one of the best evenings I've ever had.
I belted my own lyrics along with the bluesy Bon Scott as I drove home, "You got the Aces ... but I got the Jacks! The Jacks, the Jacks, the Jacks.”
For my friends who don't play, I lost with a hand of 4 Jacks which is called a "bad beat." The Bad Beat Jackpot had progressed over 6 figures and most is paid to the "beaten" player.
Things were going to be alright.
As the way things have gone lately, everyone could use a little pick-me-up. My friends would enjoy your reading and commenting on their blogs. Thanks.
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The full post is below. Clicks on the regular home are always appreciated!
http://www.hogdb.com/2010/10/14/arkansas-vs-auburn-50-cool-comparison-stats-big-game/
Any basic understanding of Arkansas Razorbacks Football starts with the Hog Database Research Wizard where you will find that Arkansas and Auburn have played 19 games since their first one in 1984, and Auburn leads the series 10-8-1 with six of those games being decided by three points or fewer. Nine (47%) have been decided by seven points or fewer.
Arkansas has won the last two outings since Bobby Petrino took the head-coaching job. (25-22, 44-23)
The two teams have never faced one another when both have been ranked. Hog Database Research Wizard Filter 2491 Arkansas is ranked No. 12 in the A.P Top 25 and No. 13 in the USA Today Poll.
The Razorbacks were ranked in 1998 and 2003 and split the games with the Tigers. On the other hand, the Tigers have been ranked 13 times when playing the Hogs and won seven of those times. Ranking has not mattered in this series. Hog Database Research Filter 2493
Being on television does not matter either. 14 games have been televised with both teams winning 7 of them. Hog Database Research Filter 2494
 Courtesy of Hog Database
Typically, three points have proven to be the home team’s advantage in college football over many games. If it were a cushion, you might as well sit on the metal bleachers. Nine of the 19 games have been played at Jordan-Hare Stadium and the series is tied 4-4-1 at Auburn’s house. Arkansas has won three of the last four at Jordan-Hare stadium. Hog Database Research Filter 2495
Even with a tie making this series even, the Tigers and Hogs have never played an overtime game. Hog Database Research Filter 2496
Arkansas owns the two highest point totals scored in this series from 44 in 2009 and 42 in 2001. Auburn scored 38 points in 2004 and 34 points in 2005 for its highest point totals. The highest combined score was 63 points in 2009 and the lowest was 13 (Auburn won 10-3) in 2003. (Derived from the information above.)
When Arkansas leads at the half, the Razorbacks are 7-2-1 against the Tigers. Hog Database Research Wizard Filter 2498
 Courtesy of Hog Database
When the Hogs lead after three quarters, they are 7-1 against Auburn not having lost since 1994 in that circumstance. Hog Database Research Wizard Filter 2499
Jeff Sagarin ranks Auburn No. 17 with a strength of schedule ranking of 74th and Arkansas No. 24 while the Hogs’ SoS shot up from 102nd last week to 66ththis week. For the purposes of BCS calculations Sagarin would contribute a No. 9 ranking for Auburn while ranking Arkansas 39th. Removing BCS mandated consideration of excluding points, Arkansas ranks No. 15 in Sagarin’s Predictor with an 83.24 value and Auburn ranks No. 25 with an 81.44 value. The difference between the two values estimates that Arkansas is under a two-point favorite. Jeff Sagarin, USA Today, October 10, 2010
The Las Vegas line is Auburn –3.5 as of this writing. VegasInsider.com
Performance Standards of BCS Champions defines BCS Champions by regularly published statistical categories. Certainly not all BCS Champions play the same way, and some variability in styles is a given, but averages establish common ground among them. Sorted with the highest average BCS Champion Rank to the lowest, the areas where BCS Champions excel and provides some proof of the old adage “defense wins championships.” Data from the 2000 through 2009 BCS Champions are the subject of the post.
 Courtesy of Hog Database
The table below is sorted based upon the BCS Champion Rank in the center with Arkansas' and Auburn’s respective ranks in 2010 through last Saturday according to NCAA.org football statistics. Sandwiched between the BCS composite champion figures in the center and the respective teams’ numbers on the outsides of the table are the differences between the average BCS Champion standard and each team. Negative numbers in the “Rank Diff.” columns mean that the team is worse than the composite BCS Champion and the “Value Diff.” column indicates the actual number of the difference.
.........................AR...........AR.........Rnk.......Val......BCS .......BCS..........Rnk........Val........Aub.......Aub
........................Rnk..........Val..........Diff........Diff......Rnk.........Val.............Diff.........Diff........Rnk......Val.
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Scoring Defense
|
13
|
15
|
-8
|
1.3
|
5
|
14
|
-41
|
8
|
46
|
21.3
|
Scoring Defense
|
|
Pass Efficiency Def.
|
21
|
108
|
-15
|
13
|
6
|
95
|
-64
|
34
|
70
|
129
|
Pass Efficiency Def.
|
|
Total Defense
|
19
|
302
|
-12
|
25
|
7.4
|
278
|
-33
|
57
|
40
|
335
|
Total Defense
|
|
Scoring Offense
|
50
|
30
|
-36
|
-8
|
14
|
38
|
-4.3
|
-1
|
18
|
37
|
Scoring Offense
|
|
Rushing Defense
|
43
|
135
|
-29
|
39
|
14
|
96
|
-0.3
|
-.1
|
14
|
96
|
Rushing Defense
|
|
Passing Efficiency
|
10
|
166
|
4.5
|
17
|
15
|
149
|
13
|
31
|
2
|
180
|
Passing Efficiency
|
|
Turnover Margin
|
80
|
-0.4
|
-64
|
-1.4
|
16
|
1
|
-37
|
-.8
|
53
|
0.2
|
Turnover Margin
|
|
Pass Defense
|
19
|
168
|
4.8
|
-14
|
24
|
182
|
-67
|
57
|
91
|
239
|
Pass Defense
|
|
Total Offense
|
19
|
462
|
5.4
|
31
|
24
|
431
|
14.4
|
52
|
10
|
483
|
Total Offense
|
|
Rushing Offense
|
96
|
108
|
-71
|
-91
|
25
|
199
|
17
|
77
|
8
|
276
|
Rushing Offense
|
|
Net Punting
|
51
|
37
|
-23
|
0
|
28
|
37
|
-63
|
-3
|
91
|
34
|
Net Punting
|
|
Punt Returns
|
27
|
11.4
|
2.8
|
-1.2
|
30
|
13
|
-38
|
-5
|
68
|
7.7
|
Punt Returns
|
|
Sacks Allowed **
|
55
|
1.8
|
-22
|
0.3
|
33
|
1.5
|
5
|
-.3
|
28
|
1.2
|
Sacks Allowed **
|
|
Sacks **
|
4
|
3.4
|
31
|
0.9
|
35
|
2.5
|
-1.4
|
0
|
36
|
2.5
|
Sacks **
|
|
Kickoff Returns
|
109
|
19
|
-62
|
-3.2
|
47
|
21.7
|
-12
|
.4
|
59
|
22.1
|
Kickoff Returns
|
|
Passing Offense
|
3
|
354
|
45
|
122
|
48
|
232
|
-22
|
-25
|
69
|
207
|
Passing Offense
|
|
Tackles for Loss **
|
15
|
7.6
|
39
|
1.4
|
54
|
6.2
|
44
|
1.8
|
10
|
8
|
Tackles for Loss **
|
Numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number to accommodate format. The original chart and related post may be found here, Arkansas v. BCS Champs v. Auburn .
** Stats are only available for 2005-2009.
Of the categories where BCS Champions rank the highest, four are defensive categories, scoring defense, pass efficiency defense, total defense, scoring offense, and rushing defense. In the three most important categories Auburn currently ranks five times higher than the composite champion in scoring defense, ten times higher in pass efficiency defense, and four-and-a-half times higher in total defense. On down the line, Auburn ranks 91 in pass defense, giving up 239 yards per game.
For 14 of the last 15 games, Arkansas’ defense has held opponents under a net of 24 points by offsetting points allowed with defensive scores. This year Georgia averaged 30.5 points per game before playing the Hogs and scored 24. Alabama averaged 44.67 points per game before scoring 24 points as well. Texas A&M averaged 39.5 points per game before scratching out 17 points last week. Arkansas does show some weakness in rushing defense but more than offsets it with a pass defense performing better than the composite BCS Champion.
 Courtesy of Hog Database
In a stunning turn for a Gus Malzahn offense, the Tigers rank 67th in the NCAA in pass offense. Generally, we like Gus in Arkansas and wish him well everywhere else. Heck, we even have his own playbook, Amazon.com, The Hurry-Up, No-Huddle: An Offensive Philosophy . Auburn fans should check it out sometime. It would be remiss to fail to remind Tiger fans that before last year’s game, Auburn averaged 41.4 points per game in scoring offense and managed 23 with a brilliant twenty-point third quarter. However, this year Arkansas’ defense has given up few long plays and has generally improved.
Arkansas and Auburn do have a common opponent in Louisiana Monroe. Auburn beat ULM 52-3 while the Hogs beat ULM 31-7. Arkansas players played as if everyone on the team woke up in the morning with cricks in their necks and had headaches by game time. For Arkansas, Georgia and Alabama were in the following weeks, and Coach Petrino was determined to work on Arkansas’ meager running game while showing nothing of his offense. However, the Louisiana Monroe game for Arkansas was on many fans’ minds this past week after Texas A&M. The Hogs played about the same way, except that the runners ground out 173 positive yards compared to 111 against Louisiana Monroe. Both games were nothing more than preparation for the important conference games to come.
Occasionally Michael Dyer grabs headlines at Auburn having rushed for 390 yards in his first six games. However, of Auburn’s 2,898 total yards for the season, Cam Newton has his stamp on 1,810 of them or 62.5% of them. Then too, Ryan Mallett has accounted for 1,710 yards of Arkansas’ 2,314 yards on offense. This is one of those deceptive stats since someone has to catch the ball to created a passing yard, and it sorely fails to take “yards after catch” into consideration. For Auburn, Onterio McCalebb has 345 yards while Mario Fannin adds another 164. Arkansas’ Knile Davis adds 203 yards rushing and Broderick Green has toughed out 192.
Both teams have exactly 17 players who have logged 10 tackles or more. Zac Etheridge leads Auburn with 38 while Jerry Franklin has 37 as a linebacker for Arkansas.Each team has 12 scorers with Cam Newton leading the way for Auburn with 54 points while true freshman Zach Hocker, who kicked a field goal of 52 yards in high school, leads the Hogs with 34 points. Not surprisingly kicker Wes Bynum is second at Auburn with 52 points. Any guesses as to whom Arkansas’ second leading scorer is and what scorer has scored the fewest points?
Arkansas is due for a break-out game. The Hog offense has had flashes of the ability to move the ball quickly for a score against Georgia and Alabama but nothing has been a sustained effort for even three quarters yet. With the Razorbacks plainly working on their running game last week, both the players and fans felt like there was a damper on the offense. This week Arkansas has every incentive to pass as much as possible against the Tiger defense, and the players ought to be excited about it. Auburn’s defense could be much better against the pass, and everyone knows that the Hogs throw the ball. What is better is that even Coach Petrino calls this a big game. He loves big games and his teams all the way back to Louisville show up for big games. Even when Willy Robinson’s defenses did were giving up numerous big plays, his defensive schemes have shut down offenses like Auburn’s for two years. While Malzahn is more than intelligent enough to draw up plays which will break for some yards, the trick will be to string those together for more than one drive. Bobby Petrino knows that defense wins championships. Arkansas may not put up 44 this time around but it will not need to do so as Auburn finds the same fate of scoring fewer than 24 points as everyone else has. The Razorbacks should score in the low thirties.
The net result will be to create a three-way tie for second in the SEC West with everyone’s sites on LSU and hope for the best BCS ranking when the music stops. Oh, by the way, Arkansas running back Ronnie Wingo, Jr. scores the second most points for the Razorbacks. The last scorer is the Team having logged a safety this year. Arkansas will throw the ball, right? :)
SharpTusk is a Featured writer on Hog Database
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