SB Nation User Blog: Stephen U

Hogs vs. Horns History, Part 2: The Heartbreaking Losses

Stephen U — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:10:52 -0000

It's Texas week (again!). A couple of weeks ago, John detailed some of the heartwarming moments in the Arkansas-Texas football rivalry. Well, I'm here to recount some of the heartbreak, to be - in this instance at least - the John Lennon to his Paul McCartney. (In another attempt to emulate the late Beatle, I've started to bring my Japanese conceptual artist girlfriend to our blog writing sessions.)

Let's face it: No team has broken the hearts of Razorback football fans more often than the Longhorns. John and I have decided that the games below are the three most demoralizing Texas losses of our time as fans (which began in the early 1980s). Please share your most heartbreaking moments in the comments thread (we have a feeling some of you might mention a certain 1969 loss). Now, on with the misery!

1. Texas 16, Arkansas 14. Oct. 17, 1987, War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock. Hands down, this one hurts the most. Arkansas came into the game ranked No. 15 with a record of 4-1. The Longhorns, on the other hand, were unranked and below .500, with a 2-3 record. I probably don't need to remind you how this ended up, but here goes: Down 14-10 with 1:48 to go, the Longhorns began an 11-play, 56-yard drive that culminated in a knife-through-the-heart, 18-yard touchdown pass from Bret Stafford to Tony Jones with no time left on the clock.

Moments later, some losers heckled Arkansas coach Ken Hatfield on his walk back to the locker room, and he made the understandable - but perhaps not terribly PR savvy - move of talking back. This loss came only three weeks after Miami had humiliated Arkansas 51-7 on the same field, and I'm not sure that Hatfield's relationship with the fan base ever really recovered from the one-two punch of those defeats, even with back-to-back Cotton Bowl appearances in the next two seasons.

On a personal note, I remember watching this game at my grandmother's 75th birthday party in Pine Bluff. Needless to say, the ending dampened the festivities for a while, at least until the alcohol started flowing in earnest.

2. Texas 15, Arkansas 13. Oct. 19, 1985, Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville. Hatfield's second Razorback squad was off to a fine start, undefeated and sitting at No. 4 in the polls, when the unranked Longhorns (sensing a theme here?) came to Northwest Arkansas with a 3-1 record. The Hogs kept Texas out of the end zone, but lost anyway after Jeff Ward kicked five field goals for the Longhorns and his Razorback counterpart, Greg Horne, missed three field goal attempts. Within hours, it seemed, the oh-so-tasteful joke that Horne had tried to commit suicide after the game - but failed when he couldn't kick the chair out from under him - had spread across the state. (By the way, if you want to check out some hilariously dated footage, check out this clip from the pre-game show. Don't stare directly at those blue blazers - they may burn your retina.)

3. Texas 24, Arkansas 20. Oct. 21, 1989, Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville. OK - I know I sound like a broken record, but once again: Arkansas - ranked (No. 7), Texas - not ranked. Arkansas took a 14-13 lead into halftime, but the Longhorns used a third-quarter touchdown (followed by a two-point conversion) and a third-quarter field goal to take a 24-14 lead. Arkansas cut Texas' lead to six with a third-quarter touchdown run by Barry Foster, but failed to convert a two-point conversion attempt. Neither team would score afterwards, and Arkansas' hope for a second-straight undefeated conference season went down the tubes.

To their credit, the Hogs did a good job of cheering us up quickly: One week later, they defeated Houston 45-39 in an epic shootout in War Memorial Stadium.

Honorable Mention:
Texas 33, Arkansas 7. Dec. 4, 1982, Memorial Stadium, Austin. We were ranked No. 6, and Texas was No. 12. They routed us, which is always painful. To add insult to injury, this match-up take took place one week after the "pass interference, my ass" game against SMU.

The Grades Are In

Stephen U — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:00:20 -0000

Both Chris Bahn of ArkansasSports360.com and Alex Abrams of The Morning News have graded the Hogs' performance ... and, understandably, the results ain't pretty. In fact, the report cards would make Bluto Blutarsky and his Delta frat brothers proud.

Here's a quick overview of Bahn's assessment (click here to get the full grisly details) - Offense: D. Defense: D-. Special Teams: C-. Overall: D. Choice quote: "This could be a really long year for Arkansas. There are problems all over the place and just about the time one liability looks improved, another one springs up."

Abrams breaks it down like this (again, just press here to see his report in full) - Quarterbacks: F. Running Backs: B-. Wide Receivers: C. Offensive Line: D-. Defensive Line: F. Linebackers: D. Secondary: C-. Special Teams: B-. Coaching C-. Choice quote: "Whether it's fair or not, the coach always takes the blame for a loss. Willy Robinson's defense seemed to regress, missing tackles and giving up big plays. And Petrino and offensive coordinator Paul Petrino could never get the offense into a rhythm."

Ouch!

Stephen U — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:08:24 -0000

The good news: The Razorback defense recorded its first turnover of the season (although it was against a second-string quarterback).

The strange news: Despite trailing 35-7 at intermission, Arkansas actually outgained Alabama in the first half.

The bad news: Just about everything else.

The young and inexperienced Hogs are in the midst of a brutal stretch of four straight games against opponents currently in the AP Top 10. Expect the growing pains to continue.

We'll be back with more thoughts later. In the meantime, consider this an open thread for detached, level-headed and trenchant post-game analysis. Or unhinged ranting.

Whatever gets you through the night.

He Just Might Make Me a Cowboys Fan

Stephen U — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:52:56 -0000

What a Monday night game - and what a performance by Felix Jones.

One day after his former Razorback teammate grabbed a bit of the national football spotlight, Felix put on quite a show last night, returning six kicks for a total of 247 yards. His evening included a 98-yard return for a first-quarter touchdown, as well as returns of 43 and 31 yards.

I've always been fairly ambivalent about the Cowboys, half-heartedly pulling for them every now and then because of the Arkansas connection but usually too annoyed by some of their players to be anything close to a fan. But with Felix now in a Dallas uniform, it's going to be hard not to actively root for them.

"Light My Fire" May Never Sound the Same Again

Stephen U — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:52:06 -0000

In honor of the Crimson Tide coming to town this weekend, we present this YouTube clip of the fourth-quarter touchdown drive that gave the Hogs their first-ever victory over Alabama. The date: Sept. 16, 1995. The location: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Nothing says SEC football quite like 1960s psychedelic rock, so it makes perfect sense that the uploader of the clip chose The Doors as the musical accompaniment. The footage is so sweet that it almost makes Ray Manzarek's interminable organ solo bearable.

510, meet 501

Stephen U — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:50:17 -0000

In just his second NFL game, Darren McFadden conjured up visions of his years in Fayetteville by rushing for 164 yards on 21 carries in Oakland's 23-8 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. McFadden's day included a 50-yard run and a touchdown.

DMac's heroic effort came as rumors were swirling that Raiders owner Al Davis was all set to fire coach Doogie Howser Lane Kiffin if Oakland lost yesterday. After playing for three years for a certain prodigious sender of text messages, McFadden may be better equipped than many to handle off-the-field drama. Unfortunately, it's hard to escape the feeling that Darren has landed in a spot where the story off the field will always be much more interesting than the one on it.

Thursday Hodge Podge

Stephen U — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:17:42 -0000

• The votes have been tabulated, and the latest edition of the SEC Power Poll has been released. (Our ballot can be viewed here.)

• The university has released the men's basketball schedule. The non-conference highlights include home games against Oklahoma (Dec. 30) and Texas (Jan. 6). Also of note are back-to-back road games in late November against Missouri State and South Alabama.

As for conference play, the Kentucky Wildcats will come to Northwest Arkansas on Valentine's Day for a nationally televised contest. We here at RazorbackExpats can think of no better way for you to say you love us than to send us tickets to that game.

• ESPN.com's Chris Law shows Casey Dick some love, and the AP's Noah Trister explores why the Hog QB already has been sacked eight times.

• Somebody buy Michael Smith a copy of "Sweatin' to the Oldies."

• Jim Harris at ArkansasSports360.com has a nice piece on the "playoff mentality" that he says he has gripped American sports fans. Teaser quote: "Truth is, American sports fans aren't looking for the best team anymore. We're just wanting excitement, while administrators, league officials and owners are just looking for more and more money. We end up with what we deserve."

• Wally Watch will be returning soon, but we couldn't let much more time pass without highlighting this gem of a statement from the Old Graybeard's Sunday, Sept. 7 column: "Last-minute heroics by D. J. Williams — three catches for 95 yards in the fourth quarter — is not the way the game or day started."

• And, in honor of what is now our next game, our archivists present the following footage:

We (Don't) Like Ike

Stephen U — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:12:38 -0000

It's now official: Saturday's game has been postponed until Sept. 27.

Not a Bad First Day on the Job

Stephen U — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:18:25 -0000

Felix Jones sure didn't waste any time in making a good impression: On his very first NFL carry, he scored an 11-yard touchdown. Mr. Jones finished the Cowboys' victory over Cleveland with 62 yards on nine carries; his longest run of the day was 22 yards. And oh yeah - he also returned a kick for 20 yards.

Our small army of lawyers is working to build a case that Felix actually has some NCAA eligibility left and should be allowed to play Saturday against Texas. Needless to say, that's proving to be quite a challenge.

Schadenfreude

Stephen U — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:52:09 -0000

Given the Hogs' own brush with death on Saturday night - and the prospects of humiliating losses on the horizon - perhaps we shouldn't be too gleeful about Arkansas State's upset of Texas A&M. But, we can't help ourselves: those old SWC rivalries are slow to die, and our cup of schadenfreude doth runneth over.

Just more than a year ago, the then-Indians teased us with an oh-so-close loss to Texas in Austin. This Labor Day weekend, however, they closed the deal.

All in all, not a bad debut for the new Red Wolves mascot.