Hall Closets

Every August a famous neighbor of ours tells me – “Scot, Razorback football, it’ll be good ‘til it’s not.” And as of Monday October 27, it ain’t.

After hanging tough with undefeated and highly ranked Texas A & M, interim HC Bobby “Mr. Football” Petrino and his scrappy band of misfits looked to get good against Auburn in a battle of cellar dwellers of the mighty, mighty SEC on Saturday afternoon in Donald W. Reynolds Stadium. When all was said and done, the visiting Tigers/War Eagles/Plainsmen rolled home with a 33-24 dub tucked into their resumé, perhaps saving HC Hugh Freeze’s job and infinitely clouding up the “interim” Arkansas HC position in the process.

“I tell you, when you’re in the fire and your back’s against the wall, and you’ve had disappointing times, there’s very few people you can count on to fight like heck to help change whatever the circumstances are,” Freeze said after the game. “Obviously, to God be the glory, first…” This is the same Hugh Freeze who was caught red-handed ordering call girls with his cell phone during his brief tenure at Ole Miss. Preach on, blasphemer, preach on.

Word on the Hill was that if MF could manage to beat Auburn, then the powers to be would remove the “interim” tag from his job title, and the immediate future of Razorback football would be clearer. Instead, the Tigers simply imposed their will on Arkansas from the jump, and ran the ball down a thinned-out and harried defense’s throat – over and over and over. Thankfully, Freeze allowed the Hogs to hang around until the final horn blew by continually having ineffective QB Jackson Arnold drop back and fling dead ducks and incompletions late into the game.

Speaking of QBs – Taylen Green continued to unimpress in league play, despite leading the NC2A with 2,781 total yards of total offense and average yards per game at 347.6. He has also tossed his fair share of picks, and threw away another chance of bursting Arkansas’ conference cherry in the fourth quarter on Saturday.

At times, he appears to be anywhere else other than playing QB1 in an elite situation against other athletes of equal or better caliber. Word on Dickson St. is he receives in the ‘hood of $1.5 million to take snaps and call the signals for the Hogs. All that to beat Bama A&M and Arkansas St.

To date, the Hogs have turned the ball over 15 times in eight games and own a -8 rating, one of the worst in all of NC2A, and Green is responsible for the majority of those. Here’s the deal, in MF’s system, picks aren’t usually thrown. Compare Green to QBs during MF1.0 – Casey Dick, Ryan Mallet (RIP) and Tyler Wilson. Look it up.

In other news around the conference, LSU fired HC Brian Kelly the day after the Tigers were thumped at home in Death Valley by Texas A&M, 49-25, and became the second SEC coach canned for cause. Cause why? Cause he couldn’t win no games.

Onward and upward.

Coach John Calipari and his squad kicked off their 2025 campaign Friday night by blowing out the Cincinnati Bearcats – 89-61 in an exhibition game at Bud Walton Arena. Ranked #15 in preseason, the Razorbacks rolled out a most dominant lineup, anchored by returning studs D.J. Wagner, Karter Knox, Billy Richmond III and Trevon Brazile, who were complimented by newcomers Darius Acuff, Jr., Meleek Thomas, Malique Ewin, Nick Pringle and Isaiah Sealy.

The Hogs rolled the entire game and were led by freshman Acuff Jr. with 17 points, while four other Razorbacks scored in double digits in a total-team effort. Defensively, the Bearcats were held to an abysmal 28.6% from the floor and committed 14 turnovers enroute to the rout.

The future looks oh-so bright for Hog hoops, and the timing could not be better, even Coach Cal admitted such. 

Stay dry and GoHogs!!!