Once More, With Feeling: Final Final Final Sugar Bowl Thoughts

I think about Julian Horton falling on that blocked punt instead of taking it to the house. I’m sure I’m going to need plenty of therapy about it.

On the brightside, I’m sure this is not the last time we’ll be making a trip to the BCS, as long as Petrino is around.

I spoke about the defining moment in previous posts. It is finally up to the returning players and new recruits to decide how we move forward in the off season. You WILL or will not rise to the next level in the rebuilding of this program. Where do the PLAYERS want to be, come next season? What are these returning players going to do in the off season to be a better football squad than this year? Are you going to study the game of football, hit the weight room, practice technique, stay out of trouble and learn to work as a unit (team) even thou you may not be allowed to be coached in the periods where coaches can’t be there? Some do, some don’t do, some can’t do, so, what are you going to do?
We are a much better team under a really good coaching staff at Arkansas. Yes, we as fans understand the pain but hey, we are headed for the future. This year we saw a product on the field that wowed and humbled us. We were close and going to be even better when all the pieces are in place. Take a look at Alabama against Utah after that did so well in the SEC. It takes time to get all those pieces into place. Coach P. has learned his lesson after this game. The Players have learned a valuable lesson, “don’t drop the ball”, “Get tough and stay tough from play one to the end”, “Quit playing second best or nervous”. The players lost this game not the coaches. The question is what are they going to do to rectify the inconsistency next season?

We still have room for improvement in the overall defense. I see no reason why we won’t be even better on the D-line next season.
I see no reason to believe we won’t be better in the secondary next season.
The LB positions are a bit of a head scratcher to me because we are losing one starter (A. Leon) and a good, experienced ex-starter in F. Burton, but with T. Williams and Austin Moss becoming more active in the rotation next season, my hope is that we’re at least just as good.

With N. Davis coming back and R. Mallett gone to the NFL, I fully expect to here the Hiesman whispers surround Davis leading up to the 2011 season.
With D. Johnson coming back from injury and continued improvement from R. Wingo and B. Green, we should be super-deep at RB with talent and experience.

We’re in the same boat at the WR positions we are with the RBs. "Nough said.

TE may have a little dropoff, but I don’t expect much.

If we can replace our departures at OT, we’ll be just fine. I have a lot of confidence in T. Wilson to get the job done next season. I think we have a great chance to repeat at a BCS bowl if you look at who we have coming back, combined with our schedule and the starters both Bama and AU lose this season to either going pro early or graduation.

That I haven’t had time to let this game gnaw on me too much.

We were one play away. One Play.

The part that hurts is that we had 5 or 6 opportunities to make that One Play and couldn’t get it done.

Nerves, big game jitters, big stage or whatever, the Razorbacks played what is undoubtedly their worst game of the season, and they were still just One Play away from beating the mighty Ohio State Buckeyes – the #6 team in the BCS on the biggest stage our team had ever seen.

This team never quit. They didn’t quit at Auburn. They didn’t quit vs. The Gumps. They didn’t quit in New Orleans. After getting their asses handed to them, they came back in the second half poised, determined and ready. They dug themselves out of an enormous hole.

They were One Play away from finishing.

The loss in the Sugar Bowl to OSYU hurts, but there is no shame in this loss. The Hogs didn’t quit. They weren’t out coached. They weren’t out-talented. They were out experienced.

Learning to win is a process. It’s an acquired skill. It takes some determination, some toughness – it is a mindset. It takes some experience too. The Razorbacks are learning how.

I understand the ’couldn’t get over the hump ‘feeling, but the fact is, we’ve never come this close to doing it.

Saying " Sugar Bowls don’t come around every year" is every bit as defeatist as saying “just happy to be here”. The fact is, the Sugar Bowl does come around every year, along with the Orange, Fiesta and Rose.

We’re poised to get another shot. We have the coaching, the players, the facilities and the resources to get there.

We will be back on that stage soon, and we’ll win. I have absolutely no doubt.

All it takes is One Play.

Let me say that in no way, shape, form or fashion am i saying that we won’t miss Ryan Mallett, but am i the only one to think that there is a whole other playbook in Coach P’s playbook for a qb that can scramble just a little bit. With the skill that we have coming back don’t you think that with a qb that can scramble for those 3rd and 8’s instead of having to wait till the last minute for a receiver to come open or get sacked, which having a qb like that will only make the linebackers stay honest where you can make those throws. I just feel like a slightly more mobile qb can make a world of difference in our system.

played the Sugar Bowl the week after the LSU game, and I wish we had a game to play say next weekend. Alas, neither are to be. Feb. March, April, May, June, July, they are going to seem like forever in the doing!

I think the problem at Arkansas is learning to play with the mental atitude that we belong in the big games and then execute to prove it. When the throphies begin to be placed in the displays, the teams that follow will play and perform with less nervousness. They will finally turn the bowl win/loss record around.

I have a been a Razorback fan for many many years. I have watched them at their best and worst and have been glad to be part of Razorback Nation. What I see in this program with Coach Petrino is a team that DOES believe that they can win. It is true we were just a play or two from having a one loss season. I know there are those who will pooh pooh my thoughts as “shoulda coulda, woulda”, but I am an optimist by nature. Look at the future, I have a gut feeling that Tyler Wilson is going to be a great quarterback for the us. I believe that we have a stable of fine running backs that are big and fast. There is a toughness about this bunch that I believe in. Look out SEC and look out FBS. There’s a new HOG in town…

Take into account the nervous nilly drops, the freakish tussel for the fumble on OSUs first score, and the interception at the end we were the better team. The score just didn’t show it in the end. They were full strength as well with some players that should not have played. I wanted them in the game because I thought we still could beat them. We did when you take away the above mentioned points. That doen’t get us the trophy but I think we can hold our heads high the way we shut them down in the second half and had them worn completely out. They knew we were to tough for them and could not win if they did not throw everthing they had at us in the 1st half and get a lead.