Hogs drop game to nobody

[Swamp Daddy]

John L. and the Arkansas Razorbacks drop a big one to nobody Louisiana Monroe; a team they should beat by 50.

Bet they drop like a stone in the rankings for next week .

This game alone may have about killed his chances for a permanent job unless they blank everyone big from now on. Oh bobby where are you when we need you?

Swamp Daddy

[Dossenator]

Here is how the week and game went down.

Thursday Hog fans find out starting FB and short yardage LB Kiero Small injured foot in practice, had surgery and will miss a minimum of 4 weeks.

Game starts sloppy but Ark takes a 21-7 half time lead.

Second half starts and QB Tyler Wilson does not come out of the locker room with team. Reports are Tyler broke his collarbone and will miss a minimum of 4 weeks and maybe much more. Backup QB Brandon Allen leads Ark to a TD and Hogs lead 28-7.

Then the wheels fall off:
Both starting corners are injured early 3rd quarter. Mitchel's injured neck/head. Looked just like the Tulane injury. No word on his status yet. Killabrew could not lift his right shoulder. Then the FB Kody Walker goes down in 3rd quarter with what appeared to be an ACL injury (he was filling in for Small (starting FB that is out).

Then terrible play calling. Backup QB throws 10 straight incomplete passes. Ark does not even try to run the ball. ULM slowly chips away at the lead due to Ark going three and out on every possession in the 4th quarter. Ark's defense just ran out of gas. ULM attached Ark's secondary with both starting corners out and it paid off. Secondary and LB's are Arkansas thinnest positions and they lost their 2 starting Corners and short yardage LB. Not good.

Also, ULM decided that they were going to go for it on 4th down all night long. I believe they went on all but 2 fourth downs. Ark continued to get them in 4th down situations but ULM converted on all but 1 attempt. I believe they went 6-7 or 7-8 on fourth downs. Even the winning play in overtime came on a 4th down attempt. You see this sometimes where a team like ULM will roll the dice. What do they have to lose?

Then luck just seemed to be on ULM's side on many plays. Tipped balls would land right in their hands. They fumbled the ball 3 or 4 times and it always bounced right back into an ULM players hands. Just crazy stuff.

It seemed like the stars aligned for them tonight. But no way Ark should have lost this game. Even with the injuries. Below I state why Ark still should have won and the loss is completely the fault of the coaches. Especially Paul Petrino.

Explain this to me: Ark was up 28-7 in 3rd quarter, you have your backup QB in, you have 3 stud running backs (one a Heisman candidate), and you don't even try to run the ball. So frustrating. All the incomplete passes stopped the clock and ULM had triple the time of possession of Ark in the 2nd half. Ark's defense just got tired in 2nd half. This was poor coaching by John L Smith and terrible play calling by Paul Petrino. He kept calling the plays as if Tyler Wilson was in the game. Help the young QB out and let Knile Davis, Dennis Johnson, and Ronnie Wingo run the stinking football.

This was the 2nd most embarrassing loss as a Hog fan. The worst was when Jack Crowe was the Arkansas coach in the early 90's and lost to the Citadel. This is a close 2nd though....especially with the talent on this team.

On a side note, this nobody team ULM did beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2007 (and yes, Nick Saban was the coach).

[Dossenator]

CBS sports just apologized for reporting that Tyler Wilson broke his collarbone. They say that is incorrect. That he did suffer an injury above the shoulders. I am guessing a concussion. I hope it is not serious.

Also, cornerback Mitchel that suffered a neck injury is able to move his legs and arms....looks like he will be ok but will miss some time for sure.

[billybud]

Injuries can hurt a team....but Arkansas, even with a couple of guys out, should have been able to handle UL-Monroe.

I did not see this game, but a starting QB is a bad guy to lose.

[donovan]

I agree....could be a long year for Arkansas...there can't be much depth there...without depth, hard to compete in any league much less the SEC.

[Dossenator]

Lack of depth in secondary and LB and that's where the injuries occurred. They still only gave up 7 points in first half. Ark had 28-7 lead in third quarter. Loss falls on coaches: up by 21 in 2nd half with backup QB, you were averaging almost 7 yards a carry in first half and you have 5 three and outs with only 1 run play called. Backup QB looked like deer in head lights...he had 10 incompletions in that span.

It was clear in 2nd half that John L Smith was not coaching. He stood on sideline, arms folded, and was not speaking to coaches or players. He just had a silly grin on his face. Paul Petrino was calling all the shots. John L Smith should have said run the dang ball.

Bobby Petrino may not have been liked by players because he was hard on them but he taught them how to play football. He would have run the ball late to secure a game that was over. I know the University had to let Bobby go, but I wish he was the coach. This Ark team is more talented than the team that won 10 games in 2010 and 11 games last season. With John L Smith leading the team Arkansas may not make a bowl game. Especially if Tyler Wilson (whom I think is the best QB in college) is gone for most of season.

[Dossenator]

John L Smith should be shown the door. He clearly was not the head coach last night. Paul Petrino was calling all the shots. Not sure who you would bring in but this team needs leadership. Most talented Ark team in my lifetime and The coaches are going to piss the season away.

Just read this on a Razorback message board and I could not agree more.

"Its in the second half and your All SEC QB is out, what do you do?

1. Sling it every play, with a shaky qb in his first game ever.
2. Run the ball.

It doesn't matter if you have Knile Davis.  It doesn't matter if every running back you have is hurt and you had to make a LB play both ways. 

IF YOU CAN'T GET THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, YOU ARRE NOT QUALIFIED TO COACH FOOTBALL AT ANY LEVEL."

[armchairqb]

Paul Petrino also needs to be shown the door. I didn't find him to be an effective OC at Illinois last season in addition to not making the best use of the Arkansas offense last night.

[Dossenator]

Two years ago Illinois set tons of school records on offense with Paul Petrino calling the plays. I am not ready to have Paul shown the door. He is an assistant. It is the head coaches job to step in and say run the football. John L is supposed to be the captain of the ship and he was not last night.

[WoVeU]

I don't get it, I can think of no reason not to run the ball. The passing attack should have been whittled down to a few 7 yard and in flat passes. At the rate of about 1 for every 5 running plays. You can easily win without another score when you are working with a 3 TD lead! Especially when the other team is really beating you with tenacity and statistics, leaning on 4th down conversions means many a play has to be ran to traverse the field.

[Spence]

John L. Smith isn't a good coach. He has proven it over and over again.

[Dossenator]

You warned me Spence. This Razorback team is soooo talented. They need leadership. Tyler Wilson provided that, but when he went down John L did not step up and earn his 1 million dollar contract.

[Spence]

You warned me Spence. This Razorback team is soooo talented. They need leadership. Tyler Wilson provided that, but when he went down John L did not step up and earn his 1 million dollar contract.

He caught lightening in a bottle at Louisville. The right combo of asst. coaches. He has rode on that ever since. I watched him coach at Michigan State and he wasn't good. He could get players. He just couldn't manage them. Michigan State is like Arkansas in that they are both good teams who always seem to play second fiddle in their respective conferences. John L. will cause Arkansas to fall back if they don't get him out of their quick. This will be lots worse than Michigan State because he isn't going to recruit knowing he isn't going to be around next year. He is a good recruiter and evidently he interviews well because he keeps getting jobs.

[Yeofoot]

I decided to give the hog fans a few days of mourning...then I'm going to have a little fun.

[Dossenator]

I am just ready for the season to be over. I could care less if I see another game this year. Get a new coach, regroup, and go at it again next season.

I have the feeling with John L Smith at the helm that Arkansas may go 1-11 this year (it is clear now he has no leadership ability). And I am completely serious. With a collapse and loss like that, and getting ready to face Bama the team could self destruct.

Tyler Wilson is a special person. He is an incredible QB but was the coach and leader of this team. When he was taken to the hospital Saturday the team unraveled. He took ownership of this team when Bobby left and it was a shame to not see someone step in and fill that void when he was gone. It should have been John L but he did nothing but stand on the sideline, with his arms folded, and sporting a silly grin.

Just found out that John L Smith darted for the locker room after the game. He did not have the decency to shake the hand of the opposing coach. What a classless act. The team swallowed their pride and congratulated ULM. It just sickens me.

Top 5 talent just going to waste. Not sure how John L is going to rally the troops...especially if the Bama game gets out of hand quickly. This may go down as the worst coaching job of all time...ever in the history of college football.