Tracking that one from the press box in the Edward Jones Dome, but whoa. Talk about distracting.

We might have seen the Apocalypse.

It wasn’t shown on TV in Arkansas either. At the beginning of the 4th quarter I was convinced they were beat, so I turned the radio off. I turned it back on with a minute and a half to go, and somehow we’re up by 4. What??? Somehow they held on. Too close for comfort.

Wasn’t on in Autin either, but I listened to it via the Western Illinois audio webcast https://www.wiu.com/live/football.asp

I was at the game in Fayetteville. It wasn’t as ugly as you might imagine, but it was still pretty ugly. A lot of mistakes due to inexperience, silly fumbles, and a lot of dropped passes (and worse, dropped interceptions). At the very least, though, they seemed to not make the same mistake twice. By the 4th quarter, though, they were rolling, and I’m still foolishly optimistic.

Excellent comment Drew! Apsalar, maybe you should leave your radio off! I love this coaching staff! They will have the young men playing better week by week. It really is an exciting time to be a Hog fan!

I think it was the red pants.

Youth has to be developed, no matter how talented they may be. I was encouraged to see several of our Freshmen stepping up into thier roles on this team. I think there’s 4 or 5 of these kids that just scratched the surface of there potential last night. I exspect us to be much more focused on the La. Monroe game. There’s going to be some hard knocks this year, and cemistry may not get fully developed until the season is more than halfway gone. We’ll need a little luck along the way, but I’m excited about the future of Razorback football. GO HOGS GO!!!!!

As one poster wrote on another board, we dodged a whole shotgun. I stayed up late last night to watch ESPN’s College Football Final to see how the national media would view the escape in Fayetteville. I know if the Hogs had lost that there would have been joy in Bristol and much cackling about Petrino’s embarassing return to college football, and what were those hillbillies thinking in letting the Right Reverend go? But since we won, it didn’t get a single mention. And really, I am pleased. You don’t want any attention when you have to come from behind to beat the Western Illinoises of the world.

I am driving back to Arkansas for the ULM game in Little Rock next weekend, and I hope to see a much better performance from the Hogs. Given this close scare and the caliber of the coaching staff, I think I will. The people I truly salute this season are those of you who can afford to go to Austin and SEC away games. You aren’t likely to get W’s back for your money all that often this season. But the team needs to hear “Woo Pig Sooie” from the stands, and I commend you for providing it.

CJLR I agree wholeheartedly. Those pants are unlucky

I was at the game, and I have to say I’m looking forward to the rest of the season even all the eventual lows of it. I think that the defense needs a lot of work, but with practically every starter not on the dline gone I wasn’t really expecting that much defense.

The offense gives me a lot of optimism though. At first I was disappointed with Casey Dick, it seemed to me that he was falling into his old habits and not really feeling confident about throwing it to receivers in the middle or those past 10 yards. As the game went on, Dick seemed to realize he was senior and really put the team on his shoulders. I think the way he acted in the second half really sold me on him being the starter and a captain. He seemed to shrug off the interceptions and the fumbles (none of the turnovers were really his fault) and came back and threw the ball well. He did have some bad passes, but he managed the game well and I just think that this was actually the best game he has ever had even if the numbers don’t really show it. I really do feel that we will be better as the season goes on and that next year we will be a contender for the SEC west at the very least.

GO HOGS!

If Petrino et al can teach the guys on offense and defense to catch the thrown football as well as the Louisville Cardinals once did, the Hogs will be all right. Western Illinois had a gap-stunting defense that sold out to stop the run and make Casey beat them, which he did in spite of all the dropped balls.

Relax, piggies. At least you didn’t have to open with A-State!

I was at the game and for my two cents, I came away from it resolved to withhold any predictions about the season until after this upcoming ULM game. In the first half against W. Ill., the defense was put in some very poor positions, yet, for such an under-experienced squad, they managed not to fold entirely. Also, in the first half our offense just didn’t seem to be clicking, which I thought was probably due to some breakdowns in pass protection (resulting in sacks) as well as too many dropped passes. However, it appeared that once the offense got the pass protection problems worked out, the well oiled machine began to stir to life (even managing to overcome more dropped passes). So, for me it seemed like we spent most of that game trying to get traction under our wheels, which we had by some point in the third quarter. I think the ULM game will be a better gauge of our upcoming season since we (had better) have that traction in the first quarter. So, I’d say that while I’m still optimistic, it is a little tempered.